Freewrite: Writing About Writing

The state of writing on Hive?

I really get the sense that the HIVE audience really enjoys reading and writing about HIVE. If I write some treatise on the wonders of HIVE, I am more likely to be highly rewarded. I guess that's okay, since I care about hive, and if you're here now, you probably do too. The buzz is fresh, I get it. But aside from a post explaining to people on the OUTSIDE why they should care about HIVE too, nobody really cares who isn't already on HIVE. It really creates an incestuous type of environment in the short term, which is not sustainable long term. Steem also had an over-representation of virtue-signalling posts regarding how great Steem was, and 'what I am doing for Steem' posts. It still happens there too, the dumpster fire that it is. I am no less guilty of that myself, even now, look at what I'm writing about. That being said, I am an amateur writer as the vast majority here are. Can we ever grow out of that state?

Should we forget about writing?

There are even those who would like to reclassify these blockchains to be more generic, and thus ignoring the blogging DNA they were built around. Some of these individuals could care less about author rewards and curation rewards, and would prefer to see the base layer become pure proof-of-stake, and any reward for DApp activity would be rewarded with SMTs or another second layer solution. Others place more value on interaction. It could be a literal shitpost atop trending. I'm talking about a photo of turds in a toilet, and a lively discussion underneath it arguing about how many corn kernels it has. But it's only the comments and engagement that are valuable right?

What is the desired end state?

This leads me to further evaluate Hive as a blogging platform or Reddit alternative. Much to the chagrin of the people around here keeping the lights on, the continued emphasis on THEIR existence on this platform isn't going to keep the lights on ten years from now. The people writing the code, and running the servers will need to fade into the background, and they should be thrilled at the prospect of doing so. If they are eventually drowned out by Hive agnostic content created by high profile people outside of Hive, that should be a good thing right? I then have to ask myself, when that time comes, will they let themselves be drowned out? If several high profile individuals set up shop on hive, will the attention seekers here be willing to take a back seat, or will they prop each other up in an attempt to compete?

Do you write about what you think people will like, or do you write about what you feel like writing about?

For me, I could probably put a lot more effort in researching the type of posts that pay more, and tailoring my writing to what pays more. I'm not an X writer or a Y writer though. If I'm not writing about something that interests me at that given time, I'm not going to bother. This isn't my day job, it's a hobby at best. I go through various phases. I had an almost 2-year phase where I focused on posting photos from my travels. I had another phase where I was posting about computer networking. Right now, I'm in the conceptual Hive trap. Please help me escape!

Should you care if people like or reward your work?

This question really depends. If your writing is simply a cathartic release, who cares who reads it? If your writing is a way of reliving past experiences, or used as a way of solidifying your own opinions, what does it matter how much you get paid? Most people get paid dick for writing long posts on Facebook, but they still do it. Why? If I am being realistic, a well-known writer with a clearly defined purpose, and a well-established audience, should overpower the musings of a random dude like me. This is as it should be, and makes sense if that writer is actually trying to make a living through his writing. Those types are unicorns at this point, so instead you have a

@joshman freewrite to complain about.