I'm sure such systems are under constant attack and I don't envy the security teams.
I will always say that anyone can earn something on Hive, but it may not be a lot. I remember $10k posts when I was making nothing. In the early days it was harder to hit the threshold to pay out. I do okay now and can give out nice votes.
I've bought a fair few books and much from Hive people. It is a fairly small audience though. If we had millions of active users it would be a different place. I think we have a better chance by focusing on niche communities for now. There are some hubs of activity in various places, but not many active Hivers where I am.
!BEER
For sure, it reminds me of the Matrix scene where thousands of Mr. Smiths are attacking Neo.
Hive is ever-evolving, the content creator demographics shift as token prices fluctuate. I'm noticing way less active users from North America/Europe in my feed this past year. I'm not sure if this is just my own perception or not. It seems as token prices drop the user base shifts to countries where post payouts can still move the budgetary needle in the right direction.
I've purchased a lot too throughout the years. I remember that eBay clone (the name of which escapes me) that was once on the Steem blockchain. I think that marketplace fizzled out after a few years.
We each have to decide what is worth our time. I enjoy Hive and so keep coming back. I have seen a lot of people getting local businesses to take crypto and that has to be good for Hive. I am just not sure how it would work here.
One hundred percent. I still enjoy it too, the day I stop feeling that enjoyment will be the day I bow out. Shake Shack here in the States is taking BTC now. There's no way I'd spend BTC to buy a burger though and end up a meme someday (like the BTC pizza-day guy). Lol.