If my wife had told me three months ago that I would have an online life outside the normal facebook and whatsApp which were my regulars, I would have laughed and see her as a joke.
For me, online life before was simple, very simple. I scrolled, liked, argued in comment sections, watched people become judges and jury on someone's life, and then sleep with data exhausted. I was tired of that kind of internet because I didn't learn anything good. And then there were others like LinkedIn and researchgate in which I go to interact academically with other academicians.
And then I found Hive through my wife. And my online life changed completely from being a consumer to a creator.
Before Hive, I was just consuming. Consuming other people's drama, other people's opinions, other people's lives.
On Hive, I started creating.
I started writing what I really think. Like when I wrote about why you should have enough money. On facebook, people would say you love money too much. But on Hive, people actually read it, related to it, and upvoted it. For the first time, my thoughts had value. Not just likes, but real value.
Hive taught me that I don't need to just scroll. I have something positive to say too.
On hive, I moved from a toxic comments to a positive conversation.
This is the biggest one for me. I wrote a post here, In Being Civil, Maturity Matters More Than Education.
I wrote it because I was tired of the insults on other platforms.
On facebook, if you disagree with someone, you are his enemy. People with degrees insult like touts and it was very sickening.
On Hive, I found mature people.
People who can disagree with you in the comments without calling you names. People who correct you with respect.
Sincerely to say the least, my online life is now peaceful. I don't wake up to see 30 notifications of people fighting on my post that carries my opinion.
Hive gave me a community where maturity and exposures are actually valued.
On hive, there is no fake life, only real life.
On other platforms, everybody is forming. Everybody is showing only the fine side.
On Hive, I was able to share my real story. My Car Crash Experience As A High School Student.
That is a very personal story for me.
I still have the scar on my forehead.
I never thought I would share it online.
But on Ecency, I felt safe to share it.
And people didn't laugh.
They encouraged me.
They shared their own stories.
Hive made my online life real.
Not packaged.
Not filtered.
On hive, one can feel the real ownership.
I recently commented on someone's post about How Our Data Still Safe With The Introduction Of AI?
I was scared.
Because truly, on Web2, our data is not safe.
One day facebook can block you.
One day your account with 5 years of memories can disappear.
You don't own anything.
On Hive, I own my account.
I own my content.
No central boss can just delete my blog because he doesn't like my opinion.
My data is on the blockchain.
My words are mine.
That peace of mind changed how I use the internet.
I now post with confidence, not fear.
Most importantly, I stopped chasing likes to building the future.
Before Hive, online life was about likes and followers.
Now, my online life is about building. Building my hive power.
Building my reputation.
Building friends from Onitsha to Port Harcourt to people I have never met in Venezuela and Germany.
Building a small stream of income that helps me handle those bills I talked about in my money post.
Hive changed me from someone who goes online to waste time to someone who goes online to invest time.
So if you ask me, how has hive changed my online life?
It made me more civil.
It made me more real.
It made me more valuable.
It made me more secure.
It took me from an internet where people are judged and cancelled, to an internet where people are heard and rewarded.
I am still learning.
I am still growing.
But one thing I know, I will never go back to being just a scroller again.
Thank you, hive.
Thank you, Ecency.