Are you a content creator?
Do you make videos, art, indie journalism, photography, reviews, streams, pictures of you making duck faces scantily clad, memes, comics, jokes, or any of the other millions of things people like to consume?
Do you have a following on Youtube, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, or whatever platform?
If the answer is yes, this post is for you.
I don't like information that tries to fool you into reading to the end so I'm going to give you the briefest summary I can manage first, then I'll go into details below. If what you see here sounds interesting, keep reading. If not, catch ya later.
- Hive allows you a direct connection to your audience that no 3rd party can sever.
- Hive allows you an account that can't be shut down.
- Hive allows your fans to give you tips/donation/support of any amount. Including micropayments down to fractions of a cent without 3rd party intervention.
- Hive is global, so if you have fans ANYWHERE in the world, they will still be able to support you.
- Hive is growing, you will benefit greatly by getting involved earlier than later.
- Hive is community owned and developed, Hive is not a company or corporation, it doesn't have a board, it doesn't have employees, it doesn't have a CEO, it only has us. WE are Hive.
Still here? Great!
Now something I won't sugarcoat is that if you've never heard of Hive, or Steem, or Steemit, or blockchain, this is all going to be confusing, but I promise you it's worth it to push past the confusion and take the time to learn about this system. Here's an overview as simple and quick as I can explain it while still conveying some meaning to you.
Blockchain technology IN GENERAL is a mechanism for decentralization. The most recent large scale decentralizing technology that you're all familiar with is the internet. Before the internet, information was CENTRALIZED. If you wanted to learn about random material maybe you'd grab an encyclopedia, or a dictionary, or some publication, look at the news, etc. Now anyone in the world can gain access to the rest of the world and you can be informed(or misinformed) by anyone in the world. The President of the United States communicates with the world on the same platform as kids sending each other memes and everything in between.
The internet did this by increasing people's access to each other and cutting out some middle men that were the gatekeepers of information.
Bitcoin, the first innovation demonstrating the power of blockchain technology did this with money. The middlemen when it comes to money are the banks, and Bitcoin allows people all over the world to exchange value and transact without the intervention of middlemen. Now...
Hive
Decades in, the internet has found it's stride and whole new industries and opportunities have become available. This whole idea of a professional "Content Creator" is really only a thing because of the internet, and that's great. It's something that empowers individuals to be able to create and receive value in ways that weren't possible before.
The problem is...we have a new set of gatekeepers.
As an artist, when I started sharing my work on blogging platforms like Tumblr back in the day, or Facebook or Instagram, I just thought it was a cool way to share my work with my friends and to create easily accessible portfolios for potential clients and employers.
I didn't think about the fact that under the hood, mine and everyone else's content was being monetized to great effect. Even when this became obvious, I still thought about it as the reward for the platforms creating something fun and engaging to use. Then I discovered Hive...(actually Steem, but that's a story for another time)
A few years ago I started sharing my artwork on Hive and earning for it. The exact same thing I was doing on those other platforms, but suddenly, the value was going to me, instead of them. Since then, my eyes have been opened. When I see all my fellow artist, and content creators on Instagram, Twitter, Youtube etc, I can clearly see the problem.
These platforms have total authoritarian control over YOUR content. They can decide if you get paid or not, how much you get paid, how well your content is discovered if at all, what you can say, what you can share, and even if you can use the platform at all.
I've lost count of how many people I've seen that have dedicated years of their life to building a following on one of these platforms, only to say or do the wrong thing one day and have their entire livelihood swatted away as if it were nothing. Seeing them then beg the social overlords for access to THEIR content, to THEIR audience in now something that sickens me. This is where Hive comes in.
What Bitcoin does for money, Hive does for your digital social account and identity. It cuts out middlemen, allows you sovereignty over your account as well as your followers and community. You can't be kicked off Hive because it is a decentralized, permissionless blockchain. No one has the authority to remove anyone else. There are mechanisms for moderation so that it's not just a troll box, but true censorship is almost impossible. It would take a complete takeover of the system for censorship to happen, and in Hive's current state, it is the most censorship resistant social platform in existence.
Monetization
Not only is your account something rock solid that belongs to YOU on Hive, but like most blockchain projects, Hive is also a currency. When you create content that others find valuable, they are able to easily and quickly reward you for it, directly. As easy as sending a text message. No banks, no middleman "paying" you. It's a direct connection between you and your audience. There are several ways to monetize on Hive that I won't go into the weeds of in this post, but know that this is one of the most advanced systems for allowing people to transact in abstract forms of value in existence. What I mean by that is something like a painting, or a meme, or a song, or a video have different value to different people, and Hive allows for the definition and exchange of value at the individual level. It might be hard to grasp without getting on the platform and trying it out.
Hive is Global
Since Hive is it's own global digital currency, it has a USD dollar value, but it exists apart from other global financial systems. Depending on where you are in the world, your reward for a post on Hive could buy you a cup of coffee, lunch, or pay your rent. It's a level playing field across the entire globe. Or at least as level as possible considering internet access isn't universally accessible.
So to wrap this up
Why should you bring your following to Hive?
- You have a direct connection to your followers in terms of discovery and monetization. No algorithm working against you and pushing other content in front of yours.
- No overlords with the power to remove you, your content, your followers, or your community.
- Opportunities to monetize with a lower barrier to entry since it comes directly from individuals vs an algorithm.
- Censorship resistance - a must if you happen to be sharing content that goes against the grain or isn't PC.
- It's the future. Once the world can really grasp what something like Hive is and what it has to offer, the current order will change forever. Would you ever go back to a world without internet? Can you even imagine it? For those of us that are already using this technology, that's what it feels like.
When new people come to Hive a lot of time they'll say the community can seem a bit culty, it's true. Imagine you knew what the internet was and what it was capable of before everyone else, like in the early 80's you knew about Netflix and Google and Facebook and knew these things would change the world. All us Hivers want you all to catch up because the faster you do, the faster the Hive grows, and it expedites the power going into YOUR hands. Hive empowers people, not corporations. What we have here currently is like the early internet, it's not the final product, it's only the beginning. Come join the revolution.
If you need a Hive account send me a message on whatever platform you see this on, I'll hook you up. I can make you an account instantly and for free. For all you Hivers reading this, share it on your social networks. It's time to spread the word.
Hi Midlet,
Excellent post. You have showed the "good" side. In fact, as a content creator and a full-time blogger, I have been enjoying my experience on Hive. I come here at 6 PM in the evening and try to do my best to write content and engage with the community.
(It is almost 4 am here).
So true.
In fact, that is why I have messaged a couple of journalists and told them to get on the platform. They show interest but they are uncertain of the financial certainties (as opposed to a blog). For anyone planning to Hive full-time, while quitting their blogs / media sites, is a huge ask.
It is a personal challenge for me as I have outlined here.
Other than that, we will get more content creators with time. And with dramatic change in price.
yes I make videos, and hive are awesome! still trying to get more people engage on my content:D
I’ve been mulling over my “recruitment essay” for Hive and you’ve got me motivated to work on it in earnest! In the meantime I’ve shared this with the little Facebook following I have and hope someone at least takes me up on the offer to join!
Posh
I'm kind of working on a couple of people but at the same time still trying ot make up my mind about the blockchain thing XD
Mainly because while I can see many use cases for it I also don't think it should be used for everything
My biggest issue is trying to get people over "it's very definitely and obviously a scam and I will absolutely not under any circumstances be told otherwise" which I think might be a bigger blocker than the insanity of then actually trying to get your head around the wtf of the actual operations.
That aside, I wish I had a following to bring to hive XD
love Hive already and will do my artposts here 🙃😊🔥❤️
Hive is the best thing that happened to me since I found out weed.
lol, quite high praise 😊
Because the first was sex and the second weed. Third place goes to the best social media platform. What else is there? 😅
I've actually had trouble creating accounts on hiveinvite and beeme.
I've tried, it doesn't work for me.
Thats a really good and well written article to start with, i have reblogged it to save it. I am working on bringing some of my instagram followers to the party. I am only new here and thats the kind of article you want to find to explain crypto based social media to people.
excelent