One of the things in life that is almost a *given* is that whenever you have a community of *people,* you are also going to have a *"community"* of ideas and opinions. Thus, the question I pose as the title of this post is at *partially* unanswerable: If you ask a dozen people *"what Hive means to them,"* you're likely to get a dozen different answers. At best, we can each hope to answer the question *"What does Hive mean to ME?"* and then toss that bit of information into a larger cookpot from which — hopefully — some semi-collective consensus reply will arise. ![0871-SnowyTwig2.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23uQk4aV5Aegm6LNXCBv8hPuzepUepScy8HdXZdMvasRUoNdg2fcFhS7wXv5LKRNTu44z.jpg) ## *Looking at the Basics* This post was partially inspired by **[a recent post](https://peakd.com/hive-189306/@ryzeonline/hives-most-effective-but-controversial-marketing-video-so-far)** by **@ryzeonline,** putting forth yet another very good marketing idea for Hive... as well as a post by **@quillfire** (first post after a LONG absence) who posed the question **[Does Hive have a future?](https://peakd.com/hive/@quillfire/does-hive-have-a-future)** To my mind, there's little doubt that both Jay and Quill have some really good ideas.. and there's also little doubt that many of these ideas are not necessarily very *popular* around these parts. I sort of *"know that music,"* thinking back to my years in *usability* in the IT Industry... *"the problem"* being that Jay *(as best I understand)* is a *marketing and ideas* guy, and most people around here are blockchainiacs, crypto people and developers. Well... most people who *speak up* are. We tend to speak different *"languages,"* and that's where the ride gets a bit bumpy. And — almost invariably — *content creators* tend to be underrepresented because they are more interested in *creating content* than running interference in *community politics* and marketing. ![0871-Tower.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23zky7GZkqQv1FCxGAykca2fNzBCywrU4NTz2ZbZpfMsZytDjAHCGWm56GJXGExMXSjDE.jpg) ## *Whyfore, Exactly, Are You HERE?* We often tend to think there's a very easy answer to that question... but it's seldom *actually* easy. Most people might immediately say *"for the money/rewards, dummy!"* but that's a horribly *inadequate* response, like saying you go to work *"because you have to make money."* Yes... absolutely right... *BUT* why do you accomplish that by drawing plans for houses, rather than from writing scary stories, rather than from making delicious food, rather than from repairing cars, rather than from helping people right their lives after a traumatic experience? In most cases, *"money"* is merely the *desired side effect* of doing/participating in something that's at least moderately meaningful/rewarding in *NON-financial* ways. It's those deeper motivations we have to uncover to help us build a meaningful and *sustainable* community. It's those motivations we have to *appeal* to, in sharing Hive with the world, because simply treating this growing ecosystem of ours as our *"eternal personal cash dispenser"* is *not* sustainable! ![0919-Currants.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23yTYfwG4TYtWdCNerxwuxdNs8yWGGJHQhbiyBeAkSKeNPewjkU3KYfcRZTcTSpR42Uuy.jpg) ## *Don't Get Me Wrong!* *Money matters!* But simply pitching the idea of *"money"* lacks something essential to *most* human psyches called *"differentiation."* For example, I could probably *"make lots of money"* telemarketing shitty timeshares to gullible people who couldn't really *afford* them, but I'm not even *remotely* interested in making *that KIND of money.* Let's look at it from a *different* angle. If this were not a *social blogging and content creation venue* I'd most likely NOT be here. Let's say it were only *gaming* and a place for developers to create dApps. I'd have pretty much *zip* interest in that, regardless of whether I were assured I could *"make money."* ![0973-TurtlePond.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/241EtVWrDMj6wPD4SUiTuTr3VhwSJ9y6XqJtgupuTkbRC8GB4Mc6LwTtdf19xJiC2Mpk7.jpg) ## *Case Study: How This One Person Got Here:* In January 2017, there was *no* marketing that reached me, to make me interested in what we might now call *"Hive 1.0."* I ended up here *solely* because a friend shared a link to an article about a private Basic Income initiative, and *it happened to be published here.* What got me interested in exploring more was *the long string of comments* that seemed *far more intelligent and courteous* than I was accustomed to on any other sites from Facebook and Reddit to Medium and beyond. So I looked around a bit and read more articles and decided to create an account *because the venue reminded me of pre-Facebook social blogging communities,* and I felt inclined to leave comments in several places. ![0981-Eagles.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/Eq9VJDKU9h1jCZhbCGVGAb6i7hezoqymEKCDbVf81tKwHZd2sMh6eprSYgatHvcRrNn.jpg) ## *What Appealed? Three Weeks Later* Upon arrival, I knew essentially nothing of blockchains; my knowledge of cryptocurrency consisted of a small speculative investment in Bitcoin and having *heard* of Ethereum via a friend who had worked on it. Period. End of story. However, I *did* arrive as a 20-year *online content creator* who had had *(and still maintained)* dozens of blogs, and had been a participant in *more than FIFTY* content creation sites who purported to *"pay contributors for their content."* The greatest *appeal* was actually this notion of *"the immutability of the blockchain,"* meaning that I had finally found a place were I wouldn't try to log in one morning only to get a *"not found"* error message because the company had folded up the tents and *left* during the night. The idea that I could *publish* and not have my content suddenly *vanish* was *HUGE!* ![1070-Droplets.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23xAVcJ6T49CvwSaYBNQBGmQ6S56oi7GXcJ91rQk3x6YVTmZi3YVHTC34Mxko6qEeL96C.jpg) ## *Social Blogging Was a BIG Deal!* I know there are those in this community who periodically entertain the idea that Hive shouldn't be a content/social blogging site, *at all.* We should just work towards becoming Ethereum 2.0. One of the bits of information I always like passing along is that *before MySpace and Facebook* the entire *"social web"* was pretty much what we have here, today... in many ways. In essence, it was the *Internet of PEOPLE* rather than the Internet of *INFORMATION.* Many don't like to think so, but it's *very* easy to reach maximum saturation on *"How to use a Galaxy A12,"* but *human stories* are endlessly variable and often fascinating. One of the things that originally drew me to the *"social blogging"* scene around 1999-2000 was the *freedom* of expression it offered, as well as the *interactivity.* Although Facebook is undeniably *huge,* they pretty much missed the boat in terms of catering to those capable of holding a thought longer than a meme or smiley. ![1083-Damselfly.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23wgPhRvrd2RWvmRZNHNZsQkCV12eJGJ9WARj8bjWw81psUQHHxLiBKKDw81xUf2nQ9hj.jpg) ## *Relevance to Hive Marketing* Now, you might think what we were doing in 2000-2008 would be *"small potatoes,"* but actually my favorite site of that time — Xanga — peaked at near *30 MILLION* users before being usurped by the MySpace and Facebook social *"format"*... which ultimately amounted to *dumbing down social.* ![0285-XangaStats.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/EoH5Dxznfcdp7BDQ7Rz1XVu1HEq23YEdjaVgLDfVjWtoJE3cQAacBZ8odPxAD4B4nLY.JPG) *Screen shot of Google search showing a result from a Mashable article from August 2006. Accounts on Xanga actually peaked in late 2007.* My first reason for bringing this up is that a very *significant* number of those users still *miss* and still *talk about* those days when social media was all about *the content.* My *Second* reason for bringing this up is that is a *MUCH larger* niche than *"Anarchists"* and *"dApp developers"* and possibly even *"Crypto enthusiasts"* and *"people running from censorship"* and a few other niches we tend to punt around when we talk about marketing Hive. ![1082-Grasses.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/EoGysFDfTETw66g8WeZxTPik1ouVQSNT9u64ZYn6mA687rwJTKyb1RbLa7au2jLVFmt.jpg) ## *Let's Be Real!* Let be real: We'd be having a non-stop party if Hive and its extended ecosystem of communities had *27 million* users! That would be a *mondo success!* Let's also be real about *this:* We're not ever going to *"be Facebook"* and I don't think we *want* to be the meaningless and mindless soup that is Facebook... and, besides, *Facebook* is *much* better at *being Facebook* than we can ever hope to be, *and* they have a ~~13~~ 10 year head start! And let's be real about the fact that Hive isn't really *about* being everything to everybody... so why not focus on being *really amazing* to a pretty large niche? But why *that* particular niche? Because social bloggers tend to be great networkers, meaning they are *used to* sharing links to their content all over creation, just in order to get eyeballs on their words! Meaning they actually have the potential to drive people to Hive without even *being asked.* ![1093-Clouds.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/EpvgtBNwxujEdGbyU4H4tmkv9T8kHvyJmDyCFzT8gtubHNRhUxkenZ31KxHwWU2DTBz.jpg) ## *Reasons to "Show Up"* So, I'll end this by going back to the original question: *"What is it we really WANT?"* For me, the answer is *"a good reason to show up."* For *me* — and I'm willing to bet a lot of those other 27 million social bloggers — those reasons are roughly as follows: 1. A secure place to publish content in a more respectful and intelligent environment than Facebook. 2. A sense that the venue is *stable* and won't suddenly pull the rug on my work. 3. A varied and engaging community, creating interesting and engageworthy content of *their own.* 4. A bit of compensation for my efforts; enough to reasonably spend some time here, rather than using that time to list for things for sale on eBay. The really BIG draw is being rewarded in *crypto,* meaning there's an *"off the books"* element to it. And yes, I have *"the money"* ranked 4th because compensation for *most* content is essentially a *bonus,* rather than an *expectation.* Anyway, going to wrap this up now, because it gets *too* long... mostly wrote this because the conversation about Hive's future and marketing seems quite active these days, and I wanted to share the perspective of someone who's primarily a *blogger and content creator.* Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week! ***How about YOU? What do YOU really want from your Hive participation? What does this venue MEAN to you? Gaming? Social? Creativity? Art? Vlog/Blog? Community? Censorship resistance? Money? If your answer is "money," there are MILLIONS of ways to make money... so why THIS and not something ELSE? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!*** ![HivePanda.gif](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/nnhCakFg-Hive-Panda.gif)

*Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and* ***[learn about Hive and make an account!](https://peakd.com/register?ref=denmarkguy)***

Proud member of the Lifestyle Lounge Community on Hive! PHC Logo

*(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT cross posted anywhere else!) Created at 20211202 14:17 PDT* ***0424/1668***