A great conversation took place today on Hive's Discord server. Of course, the usual gripes were expressed, but this time I think we actually got somewhere new. Somewhere needed.
It's no secret that Hive's content discovery isn't great. There are a thousand reasons, and certainly a thousand excuses I could cite from memory, but those hardly matter anymore. Yes, we've talked about shifting the culture. I certainly have. But I think it's time we stop lying to ourselves.
We need algorithms.
Yes, I'm talking about giving up a little bit of privacy, but I think it's warranted. I think it's reasonable, and I certainly think most users don't worry about privacy nearly as much as we sometimes convince ourselves they do. Otherwise, why are they on Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram? Those apps rummage through your contacts, your behavior, your interests, and yet I hardly hear anyone complain.
At any rate, I don't think anyone is proposing that level of privacy loss. Or at least, I hope not.
What I'm talking about is a revolution in how we display posts, how feeds are built, and what content actually makes it in front of people.
Actually, now that I think about it, this might also be part of eventually eliminating "Trending" altogether, but that's a conversation for another day.
Imagine a simple scenario.
A controversial figure publishes a post. Maybe they're disliked by a few large stakeholders. Maybe the post says something important. Maybe it speaks truth to power. Maybe it exposes someone influential. Whatever the case, it's exactly the kind of post a Web2 platform would recognize as having viral potential. It's driving engagement after all.
Well, here on Hive, that post's rocket fuel gets swapped out with dirty water almost instantly.
No, it isn't censored, at least not in the traditional sense, but it certainly won't get many eyes. How could it? Most people look at the big payouts. The payout becomes the recommendation engine.
Sure, we could blame the people. We could blame the culture.
I simply don't want to do that anymore.
Yelling at clouds doesn't make the rain stop, or begin for that matter. People will do what people do, and I think we should stop trying to fight human nature. We should lean into it instead.
The fascinating thing is that none of this requires a hard fork or anything particularly dramatic.
A custom feed could be built today.
A list of posts and Snaps picking up genuine traction could be compiled and injected into customized feeds alongside the legacy API calls that sort content by payout, by following, or by hotness.
By the way...
What exactly is "hotness?" I still don't know.
The point is this.
We need a rethink. We need a revamp. And we probably need to let go of the idea that Proof of Brain alone is enough to surface the best content.
The best content does not automatically rise to the top.
Not only has that proven to be false, it's also one of the reasons we've ended up where we are.
Like I said today during the hangout, and I'll keep saying until the cows come home to roost...
Now is the time to experiment.
MenO
