Hello good people,
I need your help. Don't worry, it won't cost anything but a moment of your time to read and reply to this post, if you care to do so.
I was going to ask about half a dozen trusted people, the ones I consider the most intelligent and attentive and informed about the last year on Hive/Steem, a question, but when I started trying to form the question, with the requisite side-bars and explanations along the way, it became a full on post-length piece.
Because the query grew massively during it's construction, I decided to ask the question of the larger audience here. But I am primarily focused on those who have known me here already. Those of you who know how deep my rabbit hole had once gotten on the old platform prior to the Hive thing coming to pass.
Those of you who knew me when, as it were. It would be you folks, who either interacted with me, or watched from afar, who would best be able to offer insight for my consideration as I make a decision about the coming days and how or even if I should or could apply my time, energy, stress and perhaps finances toward the Hive ecosystem.
I guess I either suck at summarizing, or this is a very short brief for a novel which leaves a lot of important pieces out. I dunno. Either way, here we go with what I originally started trying to type as a discord DM to a handful of trusted people that I admire, respect, consider intelligent and informed and aware, but which became too long to ask of anyone in a DM and so I present it here instead.
I am ready to withstand the responses, if any, negative or positive and will reflect on all of them, reply to them if warranted and then, I will feel less like I am making a decision about my potential endeavors in a vacuum.
The question that spun into a book. Here we go...
Hey there, how are you doing after this past couple years of my time mostly away? Happy new year and such niceties. With that out of the way...
I have a question. If you do not care to reply, I am fine with that, and will not press on with the inquiry with you. If you do however, share an opinion, I will guard it and use it in my considerations ahead. Here we go.
The Premise:
I am missing the connections, the people, and to some extent, the limelight I enjoyed in my time on Steem. I have spent the last few days reading blogs, comments, off-site articles and perusing hive and Steem and loitering in some of the old discord groups. I am trying to decide if I want to "come back" to Hive, (as if it were formerly Steem, which it is, more or less as far as I can tell) or if it's not worth the stress, time and investments it would require on so many tangible and philosophical fronts. Then there is my personal reputation here and beyond, last left in some degree of tatters and shreds with some of the people who seem to have remained in power on Hive as they were on Steem in days prior. No need to name names, we know who hates me and who I pissed off, and who doesn't, for the most part, that's all in the chains.
The Time Between:
So - in the past three years, my exodus from Steem was pretty final. This was just before the Sun set upon it. I got out alive, and didn't make Justin's hit exclusion list, probably because I was gone, not because I was any less danger to them as a widely heard vocalist against their shenanigans than at least one other specific person who did make the list (@ats-david). He and I always saw eye to eye on the power games around that place in general and often could be heard singing the same songs of lore back then. So I suspect we could have easily been lumped together in a court of opinions.
But anyway... in the past few years, I helped co-found a software company from 2016 till 2019, got super involved in that, and sold it to venture capital in 2019 leaving me at loose ends but hyper involved for the three years that took, sucking up all my time, that plus my issues with people and politics in Steem caused me to vaporize from that entire Steem-y scene just in time, apparently. (on Justin time, apparently?)
I also moved house, four times total, twice to new states during that time, from my farm in North Carolina, to a city in Virginia and finally to middle Tennessee where I am settling long term, not too far from my 29 year old daughter. Things in my life were tumultuous and stressful and time consuming and rapidly changing from 2018 till basically now. Now, I finally seem to be wrangling some control back over my destiny and my time on the planet. At long last.
Currently:
So now, I find myself realigning with my self or some hippy dippy shit like that.
I have taken a fairly menial, low stress, stable hours, predictably easy job with benefits, in retail management in a rural town in Tennessee, and I am moving there this week to begin what I hope will be a much simpler life. This is all by design, after taking about 8 months completely off and not really working much at all during the covid nonsense of 2020, aside from a bit of contract consulting, and took the time to reevaluate my life's direction and try to choose a better path for myself.
I have done so, or started doing so anyway and let me just say, It's a HUGE departure from my six figure per annum tech career of the last 35 years or so, but is straight back to my youthful roots in a low paying, highly physical and strenuous retail pre-tech career, and I enjoy it. It's "honest work" where I earn my money on effort, not just on pretending to know high tech mumbo jumbo buzzwords better than the guy across the table knows them.
I have found that I enjoy the pace, the human/non-computer interaction of a thriving IRL brick and mortar establishment and love the fact that it doesn't hurt my brain or my heart or offend my sensibilities in any way at all.
But I need to use my brain. I need to create when my manias demand it. I need to stream a talk show again. I loved doing that so much. And when I move to a rural place, I will crave the chats and discord groups and human interaction that living alone in the sticks and creeks of rural Tennessee will not include as a feature very often outside the workplace.
Finally, The question:
So. With all that in mind. My exodus in flames from steem: con, my life changes allowing more free time again: pro, my friends here: pro, my enemies here: con and so on, would you invest time and energy and even money in this place -- IF you were me, trying to stand in my shoes, but also in general, does Hive even offer comfortable shoes to try on at all in the first place? Or is it going to be a diminished sequel that never lives up to the first movie? Or worse yet, is it just remake of the same movie, on a lower budget with amateur actors? What is your opinion, and optimism level for the place in general, and is there a place for me in it again? Dare I say, should I maybe even consider running a witness in the current climate, with my history around these things?
Thank you so much for your opinion(s).
So that is that. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or message me on discord directly, if you have private thoughts to share. If there is another chat platform I should be using now, I need to be informed of that too please. I do know there is one hive chat system that I'd prefer not to use unless I have to, due to issues I have with it's developer. If you know me, you already knew that, and your input here will be that much more valuable, though all input here is valued, and I thank you for it in advance.
As always, I am and will remain,
@SirCork
I think the trick is to figure out how much you want to be involved and stick to just that. Find a community or two that interests you and get posting and commenting. Don't get sucked into the big black hole too much. When Whisky/Port in a yurt?
Whisky/Port in Yurt when hive makes honey.
Good advice. Good goal. Thanks for both.
Welcome back @sircork! Good to see you back!
I would say you should definitely come back. Why not? Hive is a much better place than it used to be user the old brand. It is a new beginning of the original mission of building decentralized web for all. I think it is in a better place than ever before for builders and participants.
I would suggest exploring existing communities in the communities section, see you can find any you may be interested. Also explore the tribes and apps. I highly recommend Leofinance.io.
We still play poker at lucksacks.com. Come play with us, if you still remember how to play. :)
Regarding friends & foes. I would focus on friends and ignore the foes. Or better yet forgive the past and embrace all as friends. We all are friends here. :)
Welcome back and see you around.
Sounds like a solid assessment. I remember how to play poker. I also remember how to win :) Thanks for the thoughtful response and sorry for my delayed reply. I've been moving to a new house and in a bit of technical disarray for a couple of weeks now.
Again, I upvoted past payout just to make a statement. I am so happy to see you around these parts. Here's to good times, past and future!
Here's to times! of some sort...
Yes, here's to!!!
I think @ats-david can sum up the politics here pretty well.
I can dm you in discord about what I’ve done and am doing when I get home.
Please do. I have to "get up" for work in 4 hours and its 2am here, so I may not reply tonight. I am very interested in your insight and input though. Thank you for it.
Congratulations @sircork! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP