Mass adoption of crypto/blockchain is a very important personal mission for me. I strongly believe web 3+ to be decentralized. Certain problems need to be solved for internet users.
Platforms and databases being controlled by governments. This is especially problematic on the side of censorship. A government can ban a type of music because it doesn't align with their values. Suddenly, it's illegal for all the media (including the internet) to host or promote that kind of content. And we're not talking about just porn or adult content. It could be music or art such as tasteful nude paintings to rap or rock music.
Platforms being "jurisdictions" controlled by corporations under the formerly mentioned governments. I'm pro-business. And I understand that companies have to make a profit for their shareholders in America by law. I also realize they are regulated and monitored to follow the law. And most of blockchain also applies sadly (most mostly monetarily, not socially posted content wise.) This often means shit rolls downhill. Platforms like Facebook and Youtube have strict community guidelines and terms of service that downvote and limit content. Some strange ones include things considered "violent" or "triggering" or "inflammatory." This limits REAL NEWS, and many types of ART and MUSIC. They often also limit affiliate programs, as well as, anything to do with cryptocurrency.
Platforms ask for too much. They want the rights to your actual intellectual property, the right to monetize your personal data and property for their gain, and more. All for the privilege to access a fanbase you built for them in a limited way (on their algorithm, which judges your popularity as well) at the expense of you advertising to the same, by paying the same platform for advertising to your own userbase you brought their... they did all this in layers, so it's too late to change your mind.
SASS/Services ask for too much money for tools. While I realize that the expenses of advertising and tools is often tax deductible (and you could build your own on the main web too); cost is a barrier for small-midsized businesses and creators. To speak for myself, I've spent thousands of dollars on tools to message my own friends, manage my social media, and advertise. After the pandemic hit, this (among a myriad of other issues) pretty much put most small-midsized businesses OUT OF BUSINESS including many mom-and-pop sized brick and mortar businesses.
Demonetization. Platforms have taken it upon themselves to remove monetization on all content previously monetized. It's one thing to say, "No more swearing going forward." But it's another to say, "We're removing ads from all videos with swears because we don't condone it." It also is a big lie that the companies advertising care about swearing. They were fine with their ads placed on anything generating them leads- period.
The Hidden Gatekeeper Agenda. At a risk of soundng tin foil hattish, this is very personal to me. I've made controversial content with swearing, violence, etc.- specifically, RAP MUSIC, and moreover, battle rap curation. As you may or may not be aware, battle rap is not violent. In fact, battle rap started a way to solve for violence by creating a platform where people could diss (disrespect) each other verbally, legally, debate style, and the audience would judge who won the battle (rap/argument.) But because of the verbal content, it's considered triggering and a bad influence. To digress, music and art that is considered DARK in any way is slowly being washed from the Gradeschool Friendly mainweb. And because it's not able to be advertised, monetized, and promoted widely- it doesn't get any visibility. Therefore it doesn't really get picked up by major publications. And it doesn't therefore easily get verified on social media platforms. As a result, only certain content is ALLOWED to compete and certain safe content becomes popular and it's a big "circle jerk. Also, the masses due to logical fallacy, BELIEVE that content to therefore be BETTER because it's more popular, verified, and press covered. We have seen things like PORN be pushed into the recesses of the web and I wont argue if it should be. (As a parent, I personally agree with PORN being behind a consent shield.) However, it seems as the world becomes more global that a lot of kinds of content is also being shamed into the closet such as MUSIC, ART, REAL NEWS, among other things.
These are just 6 of the dozens of problems that creators, influencers, startups, midsized businesses, and fans of these face.
Problems with SOCIAL-BLOCKCHAIN
It seems that social-blockchain can help solve some of these problems and I've been attempting to research and test where blockchain is at for years for this reason. Although it too has problems.
- Most blockchain dapps look like shit. They look like something out of the 90's. Even many of the games can't compare to the games on Xbox. The interfaces look worse than AOL circa 2000. I'm really proud of Peakd, and Audius, and several other platforms to stepping up the designs to be comfortable aesthetically.
- All things blockchain are complicated to USE. From wallets to exchanges to all the sections to how it all fits together is something most of the masses don't have space in their brain for. I really appreciate platforms like Bitclout for being mass adoption friendly (but their design sucks.) They did this by (a) removing the need to have a wallet or coin to get started. (b) Making it easy to earn something right from your first post. (c) Onboarding High Net Worth English Speakers, celebrities, influencers, investors, first. They also made everything intuitive by copying Twitter. I love how Peaked is alot like Medium!!! So in that respect, Peakd nailed it. Peakd will appeal to Medium writers. However, the other Hive dapps emulating other platforms have a long way to go.
- All things blockchain are complicated to UNDERSTAND. Building on their previous problem, diving right in and using it lowers a barrier. But beyond that, people need to understand. Large social media platforms have EXTENSIVE (and easy to navigate, complete) FAQs, forums, onboarding reps for influencers, books, classes, universities, you name it. And people have written their own as well. There are dozens of classes by Facebook and by authors on Facebook.
- Blockchain dapps don't get fast enough results. While we all love our principals and community, most get on social media with their goals as well. Why adopt something else- something HARD to do, HARD to understand, that looks like shit, only to see no results? I was reading a post about how it's better to onboard people that onboard their own tribe rather than looking for a tribe within the existing platform. But the truth is that Social Media is a little of both, right? People want to build fanbases, be able to reach them all, and monetize that effort. And they want the support of the community on the platform they're building on, not to be ignored or to be fought. Don't we hate it when we reach out to Facebook devs for help and they never respond? Don't we hate it when Twitter blocks our content without any explanation or remedy- just no, too bad, move on, 1 strike left? Yes, we hate that shit. And then worse yet, we still aren't getting anything from it. We just spend spend spend and hold hold hold and if we ever profit, we are demons. And to digress, after working, writing, promoting etc. if you only get 1 like, eventually we move back to Facebook where we get 2000 likes- because if we're not making money, the least thing we could get is some kind of validation.
Can HIVE/Peakd be a solution?
I've been trying to learn the interface because I come from the pre-fork platform. Some suggestions for HIVE (and peaked where applicable.)
- SOCIAL MEDIA EMULATORS. If it doesn't yet exist (I haven't found it) grabs the code from appics and port it to HIVE asap. And make peaked automagically NOT copy the content ie filter out the content from the appics clone so that they SEEM on different chains. Or use a different token. It would be well to clone:
- Youtube /Twitch (done w/Speak and Dtube)
- Soundcloud (where did dsound go???!??!!? omg! get that back!)
- Medium (PEAKED is IT! It is wonderful)
- Facebook (Peaked works for that too)
- Reddit (Peaked works for that too)
- Patreon (I thought there was one?)
SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING. Some mechanism by which posts can be shared either automatically to social media apps. Even a way to easily link up IFTTT or Zapier.
FOCUS ON AUDIO-VISUAL, NFT, AR/VR & Images
- Embedding is super important. Wordpress lets you Embed almost everything. If it isn't supported, it can be created easily. I realize that's a big undertaking. But it might be helpful if the Discord has a channel that would allow people to easily request sites allowed to embed not just the common ones. And a running list of sites allowed to be embedded.
- Various layouts for the header image. Not that important since Youtube thumbnail size is fairly standard. But square is also pretty standard. And also long, because most stories are long.
- Support for video or gif headers to actually animate. Do they? I've not looked. And if video cant be supported, then maybe an easy video to gif header tool.
- Some way to embed buttons that aren't an image.
- Embedding NFTS from all the NFT sites. Sorry, I know they compete with NFT showroom but it would be helpful if people could embed their NFTS from anywhere.
- Audio/Video media-- here is the tough one. Most social media now have "stories" and audio clubs (Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, etc.) I noticed Hive uses Discord for most of the audio chats and video chats. However, HIVE has live platforms. It might be well to deeper integrate them so that (like other social plarforms) friends are notified when you go live and those lives are visible on the profiles top space when live, and available in a tab for later viewing. Also perhaps integrating discord audio chat and video teams, or something like tiny chat (preferably discord because it's free.)
SIDECHAIN FRIENDLY ASF. Something that has me really turned on about Phantasma is all the work they're doing in the NFT space but also because they are wrapping ETH and making it possible to transfer NFTS bought from Ghost to Metamask to sell on Opensea. In addition, they have pavillion which is making it possible to use those in actual games on steam. Also, thru steam, many VR worlds will be able to use NFTs from the market, and possibly also those bought with eth through metamask to phantasma. Not shilling. And they have a long way to go. But do you see the use? *Here I saw some star cards "on wax" and I noticed Leo doing something with eth. Otherwise I noticed most commentary to suggest hive and hive tokens don't play well with other chains. My suggestion is hive learn to play well with others. It's about the users being happy, not loyalty. Wide adoption is about if the users can use it and are happy.
NFT CRAZE. I'm not going to bullshit anyone, Ghostmarket has the most advanced NFTs. They are not popular granted. And ETH NFTS are more popular but a headache. Bonus for some platforms accepting FIAT! I would love to see NFT showroom compete at that scale. Especially the "russian doll" feature and loading an NFT with other crypto. Imagine if Hive NFTs could load coins from the other tokens? Whoa.
Parts need work together I noticed how BeeChat didn't include my followers. That's essentially a different app, yes? And then we see how notifications lack. Hive mind is different, yes? It would be great if everyone were on board with each other more perhaps? Because from a user perspective, we don't "get" that these don't always play nice together, or play at all sometimes.
I still need Wordpress, here is why.
I'm a creator, influencer, small business, crypto-enthusiast, affiliate marketer, anti-statist, occultist, secular, woman- whew.
Installing Wordpress on a host is fairly easy and boom, I have a blog. From there, I can import Bossbuddy plugin and have my own mini-Facebook member site. I can also set up Woocommerce and create paywalled content, member tiers, classes, a shop, etc. I can install other plugins to have points, gamification, and have a whole economy. It just works seamlessly, mostly. I can email or ping or message my whole userbase, in groups or individually. I can create drip email campaigns for my music releases. I can embed almost anything, or there is an app for that.
4 Big Drawbacks of Wordpress?
- My host can shut me down
- The government can shut me down
- My content and everything could be erased by a DB error
- Although people can buy points with crypto, the point system isn't crypto itself. It can't be cashed out into anything. Points themselves can't be used on another site.
- Hackers and others can just attack it easily
First things first...
I think onboarding lots of regular users here is a bad idea right now. I think HIVE should FIRST onboard PROGRAMMERS and DEVELOPERS first. Perhaps those who can really support the backbone, dapps, development, support, education, etc. People that can create all the things to make it truly superior to not only other blockchains but also to social media in general. Get them on board and delegate them MUCH POWER.
Second thing second...
I know some of the whales here are doing practically NOTHING with their HIVE POWER. And many lease their power out. But really? Wouldn't bringing up the overall value of all of hive be worth more to you than a few dollars from a leased HP?
EMPOWER THE BEST PEOPLE HERE FREE! JUST DO IT! You don't care. You know you don't. Let them free to build it up. Consider it a form of enlightened capitalism.
That's it for now. I'm sure I'll be back with a part 2.
I don't have a signature yet.
If you think I'll be valuable here, delegate me HP, make me a voting proxy or tip me.
xoxo
-O
"Support for video or gif headers to actually animate. Do they? " yep in https://ecency.com/ dapps... deep text, many interesting ideas. my turn to propose something? :) hmm more fun quality games + integrations with lead labels in crypt industry, wax etc?
Yeah I haven't gone into ecency much yet. Lots more to explore here. :)
a cool thing the desktop and mobile version looks nice and as a bonus, there is a system of stimulating activity with internal points (comments, posting, stay online)) they can be spent on showing and upvoting a post ;)
Sorry for this!
Thanks for coming to check on it. I really am just trying to understand everything these days @discovery-it
we are really sorry that a new user has had a bad experience, we will send you some positive votes, and we send you to join our discord
Hello @sandymeyer @engrave @sanjeevm @discovery-it @jlsplatts @urtrailer @marcocasario @splatts @keys-defender @veteranforcrypto @obsesija @hive-defender @b0t5-t3sting, I'm very interested in understanding why my very extensive post was downvoted by all of you. Your feedback will help me understand why you don't like my content and about your expectations. This post was me being completely honest. I'm not a hater and you might not know me, but I always help onboarding efforts as I learn and contribute. So do help me understand why you disliked what I wrote and if you read it. Thank you :)
i believe they're likely all following @keys-defender which is usually a well intentioned but sometimes seemingly reckless account.
please see my last post
@jarvie I powered up your tips hope that's cool.
Yes that is totally fine.
I was following the @keys-defender downvote trail to help them fight with spammers but right now I have stopped following it. @steevc is @keys-defender account compromised now ?
I'm not sure what is happening with that, but maybe it's gone a bit crazy. I suspect it was intended to undo votes by certain people, but it's hurting the wrong users. My own downvotes are all manual and done with care as I know others follow them.
@peakd @sanjeevm @steevc I'm pre-fork and coming from steemit and I know @pfunk told me about a big effort to fight spammers here so it didn't turn out like Steem. I do understand things being well intentioned but I believe that these efforts may be one reason why Hive isn't retaining users. And I get that the opposite approach is almost scarily dangerous because of spammers.
I just saw a silent comment that said farming detected. I'm assuming that means that because I promoted the post (and paid for it) that it looked like I bought votes. This is strange because why allow said services in the platform to pay for promotion at all?
My last few posts were about this. I would like to (in a happy world) onboard about 1000 users to start from another platform by adding my reflink to my next NFT distribution. I was thinking of building a community here. But I can't even get a hang of this myself. I've been massively downvoted TWICE this week out of 5 posts, murdered. None are abusive at all (unless you don't like my personal opinion. lol!)
Strongly feel that this is going to scare away new users. Is there not a whitelist program or verification program? Should not downvotes be manually audited?
I put 60+ minutes into this post and a lot of real thought. :(
Can't we make hive friendly?
I understand what you're saying but you got 20 cents of downvotes... and $10 of upvotes is it really worth all this? And a 4hive tip.
To anyone that is worried about downvotes I'd say turn off votes and focus on tips. Motivate people to tip on your stuff. Voting is a process where over a million accounts have full rights to vote UP and DOWN and they have 7 days to do it. So out of million+ accounts to expect no downvotes is maybe a very anxiety packed mindset to be in. On the other side... no one can "down tip" or "un tip" you.
Screenshotting this and adding it to my post...
It looks like you were temporarily on the HiveWatchers list, but have been taken off now. The trail with hive-defender seems to have been a mistake. Shit happens, but I hope it is being resolved. Hivewatcher are approachable on their Discord, but it can get busy there as there really is still a lot of abuse. Some of us do what we can to deal with it to make Hive a good place.
What is allowed and what is considered good for Hive may not be the same. I have not looked into promoting posts on peakd and have no idea what benefit it gives.
Most people on Hive are friendly, but there is the freedom to be a troll that some will exploit. We do not have to conform to any whitelists, but I think the witnesses and others want to keep abuse at bay as much as possible.
You can verify yourself to Hivewatchers to avoid some issues. My own downvotes are all manual as they have impact.
I am hoping Hive can be better than Steem (which is getting worse from what I see), but it is up to us. It is technically complicated, but with tools like Keychain it gets easier. Bringing in 1000 people would make a massive difference and I hope they can be made welcome.
I cooperate with others on fighting abuse, but I act as an individual.
!ENGAGE 25
Thanks for the suggestion. I will get on that verify process immediately. I do see having a community here superior. Neither Communities nor SMTs were ready when last I was on Steem. So I'm SO EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL HERE. And see what Leo did with it, I am literally STOKED. But like... not if every other post gets demonetized by downvote bots. Not that I mind so much, but I know my userbase would feel like shit if I brought them into an uptight, overly judgmental or toxic environment. Many don't join medium and stay on Facebook simply because users there will flat out comment that your article sucks! LOL! (I know, I'm a writer for 3 publications on Medium too.)
I have big dreams that's all. I don't want special treatment. Just the ability to participate.
Back on Steem I never liked when folks promoted posts all the way up $500 and I would never do that here, but I definitely think it's valuable if I'm spending an hour on a post that I can boost it— after fees and the WAIT for rewards, they usually half. And then converting SBD to LEO or HIVE or Tips will run it down, etc. It's working for pennies, most of which I keep or put back into the system. I'm very much about staking- but I like to maximize my efforts but not be wasteful.
Anyhow, thank you for your help and advice.
People have to realise that with rewards at stake there will be abuse, but people should not cry over every tiny downvote. Some will choose to troll the system. What you have suffered this week is definitely not typical and seems to be an unintended effect of a script.
Buying votes is generally frown upon on Hive. There's a thing called Project Hope that was giving votes to their community if it got 50% of the post rewards, but the greater community did not like that and many were downvoted to remove the big vote.
Nobody is entitled to rewards here and they should be earned based on what the community thinks. That does not always happen as some big accounts automate their votes, but there are curation projects that use manual reviews.
There are no hard rules here, so you have to see what works for you without upsetting too many people.
ENGAGEtokens.Just seen the guy behind @keys-defender is going to apologise to those affected by this issue. Unforeseen events broke his script. At least some downvotes should get removed. This does not happen that often.
They should stick to "defending keys"... they should not meddle in anything else create a different account and be specific about it if they want to do other things.
Well that is up to them. Those who follow a downvote trail are giving up some control. I do not follow any trails that are out of my control.
@jarvie I did a month ago (@hive-defender) and that's the account that triggered the trails.
Please see my last post for more details
(it's not "they", I'm the only maintainer of the project)
please see my last post
This post was shared and voted inside the discord by the curators team of discovery-it
Join our community! hive-193212
Discovery-it is also a Witness, vote for us here
Delegate to us for passive income. Check our 80% fee-back Program
Thank you @curie
Guys, let's think about how to attract Elon Musk in HIVE!?
hehe