After a few failed attempts, I finally got something I wanted out of you, PeakD. In general, I'm becoming more and more impressed with the power of this Hive blockchain as well.
Finding the right home.
Now there's something a lot of people struggle with in life.
Content creators online have the same problem. Where should I build my brand?
With so many options out there, finding one platform with a solid foundation can be difficult. Choosing only one almost seems counterproductive, on the surface.
Looking deeper, I see how some content creators work these days. Rather than focusing on one platform, they place many instances of the same content on multiple platforms. From there, typically, since they're everywhere but not really well known anywhere all at the same time, they'll sometimes struggle, waste far too much time micromanaging, and end up earning only small amounts from each platform they live on. Often you can total up those earnings and discover many of those creators aren't earning anywhere near what a creator who is dedicated to one market pulls in.
If I was to tell you today my work can also be seen on platform 'x', would you, as a consumer, feel the need to go to the other platform to see the same stuff? Some might go, then I've effectively created two smaller markets for myself. I could keep doing that, mentioning platform 'a', 'b', 'c' as well, creating even smaller pockets of consumers.
In my mind, it would be more efficient to have all consumers in one place. Similar to how it's wise to create a department store, rather than a store for every department.
Don't take this as advice.
Do what works for you.
I'm sure a few reading this (not everyone) who've been double posting on both Steem and Hive have already noticed a decline in overall income, so I shouldn't need to point out more as to why I think that loss might be happening, other than I think it's best to perform only where the eyes are looking, or where you want them to look.
Right now I prefer Hive over anything (there are hundreds of platforms I could be using) and I want to attract consumers here with my work because I'm also an investor with skin in the game. Every other creator here producing exclusive content helps build my market and contributes to strengthening my investment. My work and focus on the same platform does the same for them.
It's better than teamwork.
Team players in competition with one another. I like that.
It's like being on a hockey team. Even though you want to be the player on the team with the most goals, you'll still pass the puck to someone else so they can score, because that could lead to a victory.
No other platforms in existence today provide these elements and the atmosphere I prefer to breathe.
Not all content creators are invested in nor care about the future of the platforms they utilize. So again I say don't take this as advice. Not everyone needs or wants the same things and we all blaze our own trails.
Anyway...
Something else happened.
Something I needed to happen.
Not long ago I published a post titled Captain Catastrophic. There you'll find a line that doesn't seem to make any sense at all:
"Captain Catastrophic doesn't deserve to be a number one hit on Google."
I had done my research before publishing. Many times in the past while publishing on Steem, I could easily place my creations in the top slot on Google. I was confident I could do the same using PeakD to publish my work.
Failed miserably. 'Captain Catastrophic' does not lead to my work or this platform when Googled. But it was supposed to, according to my evil plan. That quote above was intended to be some lighthearted cockiness. I had hoped I'd say that before publishing, then someone would read it after I published it, then Google 'Captain Catastrophic', and see it sitting at the top; but it wasn't there. Woe is me!
I lost some confidence in my new home, especially after reading a post (what I'd now consider to be political propaganda) stating Hive does not have the power I once enjoyed while publishing on Steem when it comes to having links placed high on Google. The post I had stumbled upon that deserves no official mention had attempted to persuade me into thinking what I have already accomplished couldn't happen for at least another three years using Hive.
That's quite the dilemma to be in while attempting to rebuild on a new platform.
But giving up was not an option!
So I tried again.
Once again I went back to the drawing board; did my research.
It's important to do this research. Some of you may have noticed I often produce what could be considered comic or cartoon characters. They're created from scratch and I'm applying my own artistic styling to them, rather than copying or using characters in existence as inspiration.
If I come up with a character that resembles a mouse, it would be a huge mistake to name that character Mickey Mouse or Mighty Mouse. Those characters already exist. Nearly everyone knows those names. There are also thousands of artists and characters nobody has heard of, so it's best to research before producing and naming your own creations.
After many tense hours, I finally came up with Herbert the Horrendous.
For those who missed him, here he is again:
Within an hour!
That's all it took.
I Googled 'Herbert the Horrendous' and my PeakD link was sitting right there at the top. A number one hit.
Things changed since then. As of this writing, the PeakD link no longer sits there (vanished) but the Hive.blog link is sitting nice and pretty at number two.
In time — as Hive becomes more popular — I feel confident I can be back to my old games of messing with Google for my own entertainment at least, while I continue working on my brand, placing my randomness nice and high whenever I can.
The Kicker
If only more talent from all over the world knew what could be accomplished here on Hive...
Google was confused and gave the number one slot to a book on Amazon selling for CDN$ 5.38. I don't see any customer reviews after three years of being up for sale so just for shits and giggles, I'll go ahead and tell myself my Herbert the Horrendous has already made more money than that author's attempt at being a New York Times Bestseller.
This business model in place here on Hive, where we publish content and that material is then positioned in front of a market of actual people in a social setting the instant someone is finished creating it, is genius.
The fact a consumer gets paid to consume or be entertained is glorified genius.
The chance at earning curation rewards, the chance of receiving comment upvotes, the chance of a consumer seeing their investment in content and creators rise in value as more consumers catch on and purchase stake. Wow...
Many platforms have their own approach. When it comes to fusing cryptocurrency with the arts, entertainment and information world; creating demand for the token is necessary in order to keep the token alive. Some try tipping. Others try sales. All that leads to is money coming in the door, and the exact amount of value leaving, since the one receiving the tips or proceeds from sales then wants to sell the tokens. Very difficult to create constant demand and raise the value of a token under those circumstances especially with no incentives to hold.
Content generates revenue. The consumers always outnumber creators. It's those consumers this platform needs to attract. The paying consumers who stake their tokens and hold for rewards. Those people.
Not doing anything to attract those consumers but still creating content is much like planting apple trees then allowing the apples to rot because you refuse to sell them.
I hope someday more people catch on so the true potential here on Hive is finally realized. I've been waiting to see that day for many years. Until then though, I'll continue celebrating the small things, one tiny victory at a time.
Thank you all for this wonderful opportunity.
Have a nice day.
Images are not looking good today, so I won't be posting until they are!
'This should be an image of many recent posts showing no images but cause the image server is fucked we can't even see the image that shows no images. I know this make complete sense.'
Yeah I noticed, so decided to hammer some keys. Images here in this post aren't necessary, for now. I did see some folks post their usual photo or maybe some art. Kind of looks a bit odd once the auto votes roll in. I didn't want to be that guy. I'll save some new art for when people can actually see it. I'm sure it'll be fixed in time. If not, maybe tomorrow I'll once again focus on writing only. Maybe some fiction.
Oooo, trouble with images. Yeek. I have done the Google thing too. Annoyingly, the multiple front ends for the old place confused things a little but it still is the thing to do. I don't think at the moment there are too many that care about off platform results. That old can't see the kitchen for the fire thing!
Things will be shuffled around for a little while now until Google figures out we're now here. I was quite annoyed when I discovered NoNamesLeftToUse shows up on all of those tribe platforms, but it's okay, for now. I'm glad my art still shows up in the google images tab. These things are important to me. The only thing I don't do constantly is spam links to my content so my social media following sees it. That typically annoys them and I like to keep this entity separate. It is the consumers duty to share links of things they find to their following. That way their following sees a variety and doesn't treat it as spam.
Yes, trouble with images today. I'm glad I had some thoughts to share on my mind. Would have been a dumb idea to create an art post today. There's another reason why I prefer this platform. If I was only found on art platforms, I don't get to write anything. Goddammit I'm rambling. Half buzzed, trying to sound smart.
You can't be smart without being half buzzed!! It's the law.
I used to post my links on Twitter but kind of stopped when the whole this place that place drama started. It's a good point you make though. I think that if it is done cleverly and not just spewed our everywhere it might help.
I will see when the dust settles!
Did you see the ad I ran for Herbert yesterday? Directing traffic to my actual blog is more my style. I'll probably do something like that again, but not often, because you wouldn't want a band constantly leaving flyers under your windshield wiper.
This place that place drama only harms the brand.
Overexposure harms the brand and I talked about that a bit in the post. Even the small things matter though. For instance, this post is on Hive's trending page. I will not be posting again until other content comes and goes, shuffling the deck. Having two posts in the top 20... not cool. There's more to this game than collecting tokens and maximizing. We all got to see how annoying chbartist became. Would you want to be that guy?
For me, the dust has settled. Others are still being negatively impacted, and that's too bad. Some more will need more time to gather themselves. Just like the old days on Steem though, when there's drama and a lot of witness/development posts, there ends up being a huge market for actual entertainment and content that's meant to appeal to a broad general audience. On Steem I noticed the popular thing now is "What are we going to do now?!?!" LOL... And here it seems folks are just carrying on, business as usual, slowly but surely, and most importantly, nobody needs a babysitter.
I’ve noticed some people try and post on every single platform they can find. I often wonder how on earth they are able to keep up with any kind of engagement with their audience by being in so many places.
I myself prefer to just focus on a couple and that is it. With my content living purely in one place. While using the others to promote to it.
As far as PeakD and showing up on google. You got keep in mind this is a very young platform and it lacks a high domain score. Even more so with 99% of the content on it all being on other platforms due to us forking away from that other place. Once this place gets up and swinging and climbs that ranking ladder you will be doing lots of dirty things to many top search results that not even Herbert could dream of!
I’ve been slowly crawling some of my SEO from that other place and reclaiming it here. It’s going be a long process and a lot of waiting.
Just go try getting a response from someone who's scrambling to be everywhere. Often they don't respond and in many cases I find they're not even worth talking to. Asking a question or telling a joke and only getting a generic 'thank you for commenting' response is kind of annoying.
I'll also use other platforms to drive eyes to my actual content. Even ran an ad on Steem recently for Herbert. Strategically placed links on popular social media also helps. It would be strange to copy/paste the entire post to Facebook, or another platform, when you can simply use those platforms to maybe bring more eyes to the actual content where it exists once.
And you're right about PeakD being young with a low domain score. Same with Hive.blog. But look how much progress has already been made in between the time Captain Catastrophic was released and Herbert the Horrendous. Two weeks and I'm already hitting those top slots. It'll only get easier from here.
Do you Google your gaming content to see how high it ranks? I'm sure that's a battle considering there's so much content available. I'm at a disadvantage because I create things from nothing but I still know those outside hits happen so I think it's worth it. Maybe someone will become a fan of the work and want to sign up. I limit their options to signing up to the platform I'm invested in. I'd like to say that's kind of smart. Not advice though... LOL!
Hive's concept of paying for creation or be entretained always seemed to me a winner approach, an idea that could change many things like are designed actually. Facebook, Twitter and all that shit steals your data, don't respect your privacy and only a few gain some profits from it.
What is really surprising to me is to see that so few people cares about it, they have their family, content creators in those social media without understanding that this is a much better place that could change the way we work, the way we socialize, when you speak to someone who doesn't understand this, they look you as if you were saying that you're Napoleon. Is really frustrating, even in my family and wife, nobody wanted to join LoL. I'm definitely like Don Quijote battling against those windmills.
It's not that nobody cares. Many either don't know anything about it, or can't
understand the concept fully, since it's so new. I could say to a potential consumer, "It's like flipping through a magazine with coins taped to each page." They have trouble seeing the importance. They'd sooner buy the magazine and get nothing back, then eventually recycle it. Programmed by the entertainment industry to consume and keep coming back for more, while happily throwing their money away. I doesn't have to be like that anymore.
Even now, you're about to receive a token of my appreciation for commenting. It's not much, but it's still far more than you'd get if you left this comment anywhere else. These things add up. I see people buried in their devices all day, earning nothing, and paying fees to do it. So why not pay the same fee, but get something in return, do to the exact same thing? I bet even that would confuse your average online consumer. Many don't even realize they are consumers. I honestly didn't until I started studying this business model here.
"If I was to tell you today my work can also be seen on platform 'x', would you, as a consumer, feel the need to go to the other platform to see the same stuff?"
No.
Of course not. Would television have been a success if every channel had the same content?
Now I could dive deeper and explain how content creators who plaster their content on any platform they find are actually doing more harm than good, contributing to a similar disaster television could have been, if all networks had the same shows.
Ahh the Google wrangling, bringing back unpleasant memories from webdev when I kind of had to think about seo sometimes XD
That's assuming that all the potential consumers have got multiple accounts on multiple sites. Some do, most don't seem to, so the logic behind cross-posting is that you'll reach different people on different sites and thus expand the audience.
I don't know how people manage that many accounts unless they're full time managing social media on top of doing whatever they're doing, or they're just not answering comments.
I also know people who use art sites as a form of cloud storage and delete all their files after uploading x_x ("they take up too much space") so if they're site monogamous and that site goes for whatever reason that's all their work just gone. So a lot of them spread it around different sites to mitigate that risk.
Please keep messing with Google XD
A problem many of these platforms face is they're filled with creators not working to attract consumers. Creators simply throwing work everywhere hoping something sticks. Many of those platforms don't have a dedicated consumer base and quite a few lack the social setting. Who's looking at the work (aside from a few followers trickling in) if majority are creators scrambling to post everywhere? If crypto is involved, there are plenty of other factors one must consider as well. I see a lot of time being wasted. It works for some though. Not many. These days we can create a market and direct traffic to it, using other platforms, rather than attempting to be in every potential market going virtually unnoticed.
Storage is fine but if everyone did that for those reasons and did nothing for consumers, those platforms have no future. More efficient ways to store files as well.
I had meant to keep posting on steemit too, as I didn't really know that much about the divide, but I find that I post to Hive and then simply forget to do so on steemit...as now Hive feels like old steemit to me especially with the 'old crew' I like to follow all being here. Now peak'd I thought was also hive? But sometimes I'll go to comment on someone from a link on Hive and it goes to peakd which I guess is different and I have no signed in there yet? I suppose simplicity is out of the question for anything in the post modern digital world, but I try and keep trying anyway :) @nonameslefttouse
Hive is what you'd be familiar with if you've been on Steem for awhile. Most of the familiar faces would be on Hive by now, with more coming. Steem now I think would be more for those who would post, sit back, and wait for a miracle reward to fall from the sky.
PeakD is just another frontend one can use to access stuff on the Hive blockchain. Hive.blog does it as well. PeakD has more features so I prefer it. Hive.blog is basic, which I don't mind either. If you're looking for simplicity and want to post on Hive, use hive.blog. PeakD is like a new car or tv remote. Eventually you figure out all the buttons. There are still some features I haven't used.
I’ve got a brand and character I’m waiting to start using. I haven’t thought of searching it on the ol’ google. I will be a bit annoyed when I see the results I think lol it’s probably got someone staking claim to it already.
The original name ideas for both of the characters I mentioned here were already closely related to something. Even as I worked closer to giving them official names I had to compromise. Captain Catastrophy was already used. Same with Horrible Herbert. I'm glad I checked though. Wouldn't want to be stepping on someone's toes. Also don't want my work to lead to someone else if searched. Being close but not exact can lead to that creators work being searched and consumers stumbling upon yours further down the list, which isn't a bad result.
I'm actually surprised, I just searched it and it wasn't staked a claim to exactly! It did pull a close match that, like you said, may give people that are searching the other phrase an additional thing to look at. I'm actually now pretty happy that I came up with the name with some help from a friend. I may start writing the series soon. I have to come up with some image to style it though, not my strong suit.
Plenty of digital artists and graphic designers around the platform. I do my graphic design freehand and often break the rules so I'm probably not much help but I know there are some more traditionalists out there who'd probably be more than happy to help.
Good morning @nonameslefttouse, I was hoping to see some new artwork from you, but images are just not coming up. I hope hive and peakd start to work better, frustrating.
Be well.
Have a blessed day
These things happen but the problem appears to be fixed now. I'll have more art coming soon!
Very cool, I am trying to get things straight in my head, this whole change, as well as being excluded from air drop has me scrambling to catch up. I hate that when I upvote some really good content, it's just dust right now. But trying very hard to get some "skin" in the game. heehe
Were you one of the unlucky folks who was added to the list due a bug in the code? If so, that's being sorted in the next hardfork. Then after that, I assume they're still going through with the appeal process where the community votes and I'm sure if you're in the that situation, you'll get voted in. Unfortunately some of those excluded have turned an unfortunate situation into something really ugly and I have my doubts those folks resorting to extreme instances of antisocial behavior will be included now, since I'm not sure many here would want to include the riffraff.
Dude no offense, but your images are creepy af.
I'm not offended at all. I wasn't going for cute... LOL!
Who even uses google anymore? 🤣Well said I am focused only on Hive as well. See you at the top!
Plenty of people use it. 63000 searches per second.
I hope that some of the dev's and investors take note of what you wrote. I'm one of those consumers, I like cruising around the Hive Ways, finding stuff every now and then to look at and or read. Thank God they have not created smellovision yet, because there is still a lot of crap out there too. Do not google that word though, I did not know it was real, I am just glad it did not take off.
I hope so as well. And I hope it can be seen as just one way that can be combined with many other options. There's games, dapp development, things that appeal to investors who simply want to sit on the sidelines. All these things combined have huge potential. Content and consumers is only one thing we have going for us, but that one thing is just as necessary as everything else.
Sometimes I want smellovision though. I never used to like foodie posts but every now again I find one that looks like it would smell good.
Where's the art in the post?
Stashed away for a rainy day. There seems to be a problem with images so I focused on writing today. No new art to see in this post. Didn't even tag it as an 'art post'. More art coming up though!
I thought for a second that your title is sarcastic.
You would think like that! But no, the title has a lot to do with what I actually wrote. The part about Captain Catastrophic not hitting Google when it should have, then seeing improvements later with Herbert the Horrendous is important to me. Those names are researched and designed to hit those top slots on Google. Plus some other stuff I said is also important to me. I realize not everyone takes this all as seriously as I do, and that's fine.
Herbert is a bestseller in my book. He will hold a place in my heart for all of eternity. Not in a creepy way.
I'm proud of that one. And now you folks know there's a method to all this mayhem as well. A peek behind the scenes. Found the perfect name and then the story developed around that. Anyway, no, that's not creepy at all! Well, maybe a little bit... HA!
that's all well and good, but has anything really change... i mean, should i just power down or wtf is the new plan. ? Peace
That's up to you. I personally lost confidence in Steem. Censorship to the point of entire blogs being wiped over a comment someone doesn't agree with is absurd. The witnesses don't act like leaders, more like rulers, with a hint of mafia. I can't work under those conditions. The market shrunk for my work, much of it moved to Hive. I can continue on listing plenty of reasons why I'm not interested in Steem. I can't tell you what the new plan for you is though.
i would just want to inform you that your Herbert the Horrendous are the first search on google (hive not peakd)
you also made me realize that weird name that i chosen from frustration of not being able to get and username is a good name when you ask google. if you search bil prag almost whole first page are my accounts. never did that before, so thanks.
Oh? It's number one now? This is good news. Maybe things improved after a few folks searched that term? ;)
I think the results get shuffled more often now. Usually I'd do something like I did recently with 'raffle-coppin', it hit's number one, then stays, solid. I've been playing this game for awhile...
And yes it's easy to build a brand name using these tools at our disposal. Most don't even realize that.
looks like a fine balance of not being to ridiculous, and yet not to common. never played with it really, well never really tried to make a wide world brand.
this is all fucked, isn't it? i'm going to go watch birdman again .... at least that make sense.