The main problem is that 98% of those who come in only do it for the possible earnings and not because they genuinely want to have a blog. So the moment the earnings go down they leave along with them or continue with minimum effort which often already wasn't that high. As much as I like Hive as it perfectly suits my needs, I don't think the overall model is good enough to properly work.

This said, I do believe it has a niche audience that will always be there which will keep the chain alive. It's hard though to see it ever go anywhere near mainstream even though I would love it to happen one day.