I'm sure some of you may be a little thrown off by the title.
This post came about from questions I’ve received and questions I have seen asked to others.
Isn't a hiver and a member the same thing?
In the sense I'm speaking of, no. They are not the same thing.
When it comes to communities on Hive a member is more than just a hiver.
Anyone who joins Hive essentially is known as a hiver but people have asked me
What does it take to become a member of a community?
From the communities I am familiar with and their leaders I have come to know, there are some common expectations that are looked for. Posting in a community once or twice might not grant you the privilege of that member role.
Community leaders look for those who not only post there but also support other’s posts as well.
For instance, say you decide to join a contest and your entry was outstanding. That’s all good but most likely there will be other outstanding posts. To help narrow down the winner’s selection the leaders of that community may grant the next place to an author that not only entered an exceptional post but this person also took the time to read other entries and leave a comment.
This doesn’t mean you have to read all of the entries or spend half your day doing so but it could simply mean reading one or two entries and leaving a genuine comment of feedback/support. This shows that you not only care about others reading your entry and supporting it but you are willing to take some extra time to do as you wish is done for you.
Way to Go!
You're Superb!
Nice!
Great Post!
Interesting!
Keep it Up!
In the photo above are stickers I give to my students when they have done a good job on their work. They are very encouraging for them and make them feel proud. They appreciate these small comments because they’re easy for them to understand.
When replying to a post on Hive with these short 1-3 word comments here is what that author is probably saying
I know my post is great, but why is it great to you?
If I just read a very interesting blog post that was like 8 minutes long, I'm not even gonna waste my time or theirs leaving a "Nice Job" message in the comment section. If I don't have the time to leave valuable feedback or input that the author can appreciate, I'll bookmark it and come back when/if I do have that time.
Here's a list of questions you can consider answering that the author would love to know:
As I've stated many of times before the way you comment and respond to a post shows how well you paid attention and your level of interest in what you’ve read. If you really want someone to know you enjoyed their content putting some effort into how you respond will do the trick.
Community leaders look for people who are responding with care and really show their support to fellow authors.
One sure way to get leaders irritated is to continue posting your content in the wrong community. This is something we are currently trying to do right now in the OCD Community. To clean it up a bit we are directing authors to post in the communities that best fit their post topics (the OCD Community is for general post topics that do not fit in any of the other communities).
It seems to be a trending habit to automatically post in the most popular communities where whale votes are being distributed. This is especially true for newbies who want to get good support right away.
Trust me, I get it!
However, there is a program set in place to help newbies get seen and to help communities support under-supported authors. If you post your content in relevant communities that fits your topic, you have a good chance of getting your post nominated for an OCD vote. If you continue posting in the wrong communities, you are risking getting your post Muted and could lose your chance at receiving member status.
Knowing this, why would one continue with this type of irrelevant community posting?
It is as simple as browsing through the list of communities and choosing the one that best fits your post topic ;)
I hope this post has helped those who were wondering why you haven't received the member role in a particular community or just wondering what it takes to get one.
Being given a badge shows that you have earned your status as a valuable member of a community and your involvement there has not gone unnoticed.
Now let me say this, it could also just be a case where the leaders haven't updated the roles and have not had the time to review the activity in their communities to grant those out. I can speak on behalf of the NeedleWorkMonday Community and say this has been the case with us lately. We've had some leadership role changes (which we will be announcing soon) and trying to keep up with daily nominations along with contest entries...we simply just haven't had the time to be consistent with this. I can assure you we will be updating and distributing the member role out to more active users very soon :)
Those who normally leave me one of those sticker messages, I challenge you to pick a question from above to answer and leave your response down below in the comment section!
All photos are my own and were taken with our Cannon EOS Rebel T6.
