I've been in Steem/Hive for 3+ years, I started with 0 upvotes and without any knowledge about blockchain and crypto--I even had several hiatus in between.
I studied Hive, the code and the reality, there is really no guarantee of "compensation", but anyone will "earn" by growing with Hive. What worked for me is sticking to a community and engaging with like-minded folks. I even made friends in and out of Hive because of Hive. In the end, Hive is not equal to compensation, but simply a proof-of-brain, proof-of-stake, proof-of-patience. My blogging journey extends 10+ years, but only in Hive where I felt being a part of it instead of a siloed blogger.
Anyone can go to Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, etc., and they nobody will earn a following or subscribers without consistency and/or directly giving back real value to the people who consume their contents.
I did have acquaintances who got counseled by HW "police" due to their principles, it was sad seeing them go away, but that's reality, and we need to accept it.
Proof of patience, that's a good one. POP
It took me 2+ years, to gain a following because I was so introverted to engage with people outside my posts before, but tbh everyone likes to hear comments too. Some people might be "against" your perspective (but not on you) can be also positively impact on your understanding of things, and also you might win good friends afterwards.
I agree. Your experience mirrors mine in a lot of ways. Patience is required. That's always been the case though, anything that's worth doing takes time. Building, cultivating value. Doesn't happen overnight.
Most of us had to build up from nothing. If someone with an existing following elsewhere joins up we don't want them to get chased away. HW can be a bit blunt with people who may have made a mistake. They may come here with the wrong expectations for how they can earn.
Maybe it started by the original slogan "blog and earn," we might need to change that like what I heard in the HiveFest vids.
I'm still waiting for influencers to really jump Hive, idk when, but maybe they can drive more bloggers here. My friends on WordPress haven't asked me yet, even if I am open with Hive.
Wordpress users could be using the plugin (@exxp) to get their content on Hive too, but they need to engage here to get support. It is a matter of whether they consider the Hive community to be an interesting audience.