What Does HIVE Mean To You?

State of the world today...

I feel as though there are some things I repeat a lot here, for example, I often tell people how I have been on Steemit, and now HIVE, for over four years, even though this account is new. I repeat those things as a sort of validation of my credentials, if you will, and also as a way to let people know certain things. For instance, the reason this account is new is that I was "phished" a while back, and I want to make sure people understand that mistakes can cost you in the "crypto-space." I am also very clear that I am not a "finance guy" at all. I simply watch trends and events and pay attention to what is going on in the world, hence, why I am involved with crypto at all. I am not the guy that "has to be into" everything new, I just see that globally, everything is moving to the blockchain, and I realize the implications in that...

Something else trending...

One of the main things that I love about HIVE is my ability to write about whatever I want to without the possibility of others telling me that I cannot. In case you have not noticed, there is a very real discussion going on in the United States, at least, about "controlling" information on social platforms now. Again, I can see the implications involved in any kind of proposition like this. When I first began blogging, I wrote about my recovery journey back from Heroin and addiction in general. I found support here and developed, I don't know if I would call them friendships as of yet, but relationships with people at least. I can honestly say that it is very possible that I may not be the person I am today without them, and I am a pretty decent guy today I like to think. I am truly hoping this post will inspire some thinking in those people, should they read this.

Missing!

One thing I have noticed about blogging on the blockchain, in general, is that even though in Discord, there is an underlying acknowledgment that the state of the world is not great and there could be a "dark side" to blockchain technology, it is not something that is really written about much, and when it is, it does not get very much engagement. I present this post in the "Ask the HIVE" community for the specific question of asking every one of you that reads this, what does HIVE REALLY mean to you? Is it a way to simply earn income? A way to express yourself? Or like me, a way to communicate your thoughts and ideas to others in an open and honest way?

Web 3.0 fully developed...

Someone I really think has the best interest of #HIVE in mind is

@nathanmars. The effort he puts into making sure that HIVE gets the recognition it deserves is amazing. I find it difficult to keep up on daily posting at times, especially now that my wife,

@queenbee1977 broke her fibula on a job, but Nathan puts in a superman effort shilling HIVE to the public. He truly appreciates that HIVE really is a fully developed Web 3.0 ecosystem, really one of the only ones there is. It is a true #HiddenGem that not many are aware of yet...

But...

One thing I think is very important to keep in mind, however, is what happened to Steemit when Justin Sun got involved. Again, I do not know enough to know if there are protections written in somehow to prevent someone from "taking over the HIVE" like what happened to Steemit, but, when it comes to HIVE, is money worth anyone giving up the ability to say what they want without "Big-Tech oversight?" To me, no amount of money is worth losing my free speech. True story, when I was in fourth grade, my teacher told the class that the freedom of speech was the only one they could not take from you, because you could scream even if they tortured you. I know, creepy for a fourth-grade teacher, but I will never forget what he said. What is HIVE to you?