I said that I will give a full opinion after I test all there is on Ecency, so here goes a mini structured review based on key things I found so far. Evaluation is based on mz personal impressions in first two weeks on a webpage.
The website is modern and clean, though at times not very fast depending on the blockchain's load. Compared to traditional monetization platforms like Medium or Substack, it is really hard to fake how much an individual blog actually earns, so I highly appreciate this level of transparency.
The editor is easy to use, and the formatting tools are great. I have no complaints here. It also offers post scheduling, tags, and community posting options. My experience has been consistent between the browser site and the Ecency mobile app. In fact, I installed the mobile app first before figuring out how to sign up on the browser.
Account creation was simple and fast, with no need for complex verification. I decided to purchase my account to get the additional posting credits included. Key management (Posting, Active, and Owner keys) is not confusing once you understand that these are essentially passwords for specific functions on Hive. Resource credits (RC) were kind to me, especially since I received a boost from a senior Hive member, for which I am very grateful. Thank you!
Organic interaction is out there. It was relatively easy to get genuine comments, but upvotes and reads on my own content were scarce.
What to do: post with an inviting hook or change topic, maybe they notice it.
The community does not feel welcoming, responsive, or open to constructive feedback. Out of the few interactions I had, two were extremely negative, consisting of basic trolling completely unrelated to me or my post. The majority did not respond, and the rest were dismissive. Only one person showed genuine interest.
What to do: make more comments and see how it goes. If they don't reply, ghost them.
Niche communities are easy to find and join, but I noticed a lot of people getting blocked by admins or using generative AI art for their posters. Multiple accounts shared the exact same or very similar generative art styles, which in my book means they are run by the same person.
What to do: avoid like fire, block. If they come asking why, pretend to be a bot.
I completely understand why people hate it. It took me three days to make my profile picture, and I still think it looks bad. First and foremost, I am terribly unartistic with no talent whatsoever, and I have no clue how to draw. That crocodile snout took ten iterations. Instead of a succulent, I initially drew a cactus, and it ended up looking like a hairy ball.
I am not sure if I even want or need to include images in my posts unless I am sharing actual photography.
What to do: take a photo of a tree, a sunset or an underwear. One should work.
I think an image is waste of time and will attract the wrong audience. I want to reach people who actually prefer to read.
The reward distribution, Ecency points, and seven-day waiting period are clear to me, but they might be a bit of a hurdle for someone who wants or expects something different.
I earned absolutely nothing from my first post, and I have under one euro in my wallet.
I plan to invest in my voting power because my vote is currently worth nothing. The only way to buy it is through an external exchange, which is cumbersome, and I do not like jumping through so many hoops.
What to do: Slather yourself in money and THEN ask directions.
At first glance, newcomers might consider the platform weird, but also see it as easy money, and I think many would attempt to abuse the system right away.
The sheer display of AI tools available on the website is enough for me to conclude that there is more behind the scene, it has solid measures in place, and very little escapes surveillance.
There is no formal customer support, so I am still reading through the Town Hall channel in the Ecency chat to see if that is an appropriate place to ask for guidance.
The blocking and muting functions work well so far, and I think I will likely be using them more frequently in the future.
In all honesty, I would not use my referal invite link for Ecency to invite an average blogger.
If anything goes wrong, I do not want my name attached to someone who abuses the platform.
The blockchain is permanent, and while a publicly available ledger makes things transparent, it can also be a source of risk. If people want to join, they should do so out of their own genuine interest.
I know from personal experience that when things go wrong, malicious individuals will almost certainly drag down a well-meaning person who enabled them, even if that person had no direct role in what happened.
