These are my depictions of what it feels like on Hive sometimes.
We all know about the great times, but what about the down times? Surely you can recall your most successful weeks on Hive, but most would rather focus on the bad moments.
I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed somebody get started on Hive and do great their first week or so. Then, when they make a post that gets little to no upvotes they just decide to quit and disappear. Did they jump off of a bridge and kill themselves? Probably not, but they may as well have since their existence on Hive totally vanishes. Sure, that little bit of content that they did post will remain forever on the blockchain, but not many people are going back any further than 24 hrs to see a post right now.
What if I told you that every single person in these photos is still very happy, despite sometimes being alone with their content? Would you believe me?
That's the type of positivity and commitment that is needed to be able to watch your wallet value continue to grow over the years. You will make many great friendships along the way too, but one of the best parts is being rewarded and being able to reward others. None of this is possible if you give up at the first sight of resistance.
I've been blessed to be one of the top rewarded users on Hive for several different months, but not every single month. Hive can be very inconsistent, but remember that it's not always about you. Other people exist in this ecosystem and if one person was getting all of the rewards then Hive would not be something that many care about.
The goal is to make Hive the new standard for social media. Instead of sharing a post on Facebook, people should be sharing on Hive where they have many incentives to host their thoughts. You can't just force everyone to do this all at once. In fact, some people may never do it and will remain back in the wastelands of Web 2 until they die. You don't have to be one of those people.
I'm nearing 5 years on Hive, and less than a month away from that mark. I'm not amazed that I'm still here, I set a goal and have stuck with it. Although in the beginning, I struggled and struggled to gain ground. The first few years were spent and I didn't have much to show for it yet. Still, it was more than I had to start, so I knew that bigger things were at least possible here.
Fast-forward to now and I have Hive to thank for the amazing life that I get to live daily. I am no longer chained to an employer who cares nothing about me. I look forward to waking up every day. I get to do the things that I enjoy most. My life is as close to stress-free as I think it can get. All because I didn't give up during the times when people forgot about me or disagreed with something that I posted. You cannot please everyone all of the time. You also cannot always be in the spotlight, it's just most likely not going to happen.
I'd like to think that my designs today are self-portraits for the community and not just myself. We all know how it feels to put a ton of effort into something, only to be left with no interactions or love of any type. Don't give up hope though, because there is almost always somebody watching whether you know it or not.
