Majority of people online are content consumers. The minority focuses on creating content meant to attract an audience of sorts.

Sit back and watch. There's a proposal in the works now with the goal to attract 10k new users. They will be advertising. Advertisements that target, consumers.

Of that group of 10k, maybe 500 will have enough natural ability to create and hold an audience, but ALL will be encouraged to post and attempt to earn. Of that 500, maybe only 50 will be interesting. Of that 50, maybe only 5 will have enough talent and material to be able to hold an audience for 5 years.

There will be 9995 new accounts, on their way out, because they're not interested in creating content, and all the consumers perks weren't mentioned, encouraged, or even offered or explained in a way that sounds appealing.

Yes, on Hive people are concerned about the reward pool because it always equates to money out the door. Aside from inflation, there's nothing replacing that money. The content is an expense.

Content is a product. Consumers spend billions supporting online content creators and their products. Throwing cash at them in the form of tips and donations nonstop. Using the reward pool as a tool, the consumer can stake tokens and tip their favorite content creators consistently and for as long as they want, all while the consumer's money remains in their wallet, growing over time as they accumulate consumer rewards. It's been proven "consumer rewards" encourage consumers to spend more and this system is the exact opposite of being a ripoff.

So now, rather than content on Hive being an "expense", it's generating millions and potentially billions, annually, directly from the consumer. Consumers purchasing tokens off the market props up the value of the reward pool. Now the money that leaves is being replaced, plus some since consumers outnumber creators by a huge margin. Consumers who are now investing in their entertainment and information of choosing, all while ensuring the stability of the platform it lives on, and strengthening the security of not only their accounts but the accounts of their favorite content creators.

Plenty of other consumer perks. You mentioned leaving comments. Consumers love creating shortform content like comments under videos, tweets, facebook posts, whatever else. Here, a content creator can reward consumers with comment votes if they want. The consumers that decided to become paying/supportive consumers can also reward other consumers. Accounts slowly grow over time and so does the value of community forming around content creator x and their capabilities.

The entire system here, as is, is fascinating. Like a gift coming straight from the god of independent arts, entertainment, and information.

I'm under the impression very few are interested in harnessing its full potential, and that's what stresses me out. Watching "the community" follow the same pattern for seven years. We'll pay to attract 10k more active accounts, most won't stick around, and content will be viewed as an expense or cost to the system. This time around LEO has some sort of "guest account" system in place, which is perfect, especially if the goal was to bring in consumers. Unfortunately if those 10k accounts do arrive, I can almost guarantee not one will know about anything I've just said. They'll hear all about creating content though. Content that'll sit with no audience. New and old content creators alike, here and elsewhere online will remain oblivious to the potential and will not act on their own to harness it. Revenue streams take work create but many would prefer it to simply fall from the sky.

For an independent creator/entertainer to be able to offer consumer rewards, it would take years of grinding that lead to massive success, plenty of overhead and infrastructure most don't understand. Here it just comes standard, straight out of the box, and there's no need to trust anyone. All they have to do is tell their supporters it's available to them.

Blah. I've said too much. lol

P.S. You mentioned the 7 day pay period as being an issue. It's really isn't. For instance, if you really wanted to support old content, simply leave a comment under it and upvote the author's response. Money goes the same place. It doesn't have to sit neatly under the post as a total. Also, modern content creators churn out new stuff nonstop and their supporters are rarely looking at the old stuff. And if all else fails, simply send the money directly from one wallet to the other. Not being able to support a creator after the seven day pay period is a myth. Plenty of creators here and long gone as well. Supporting old content in many cases means your sending funds to a wallet that isn't being used. The owner might not even have access to it. Therefore it's a waste.