On my timeline yesterday someone mentioned how airdrop hunting was a complete waste of time and he couldn't be any further from the truth. Firstly, airdrop hunting is more profitable in the long run than creating content on web 3 hence why most people gravitate towards it despite how difficult and uncertain hunting for air drops can be most of the time.
On a deeper level, his sentiments reflect the narrative Hivers push in this space that has impeded its growth and exposure growth. The Blockchain and its stakeholders are perfectly fine living in their bubble and they turn a blind eye to opportunities for traction like most Blockchain that are not up to Hive over the last decade.
It took the Hive stakeholders many years of debating and drama to even consider a proper marketing proposal that would benefit the entire ecosystem because those at the top (and even at the bottom) did not see the need for it. Everything seems unnecessary until it becomes too late. Now we are hosting spaces and campaigns; now we see the need to let people know about the awesome things we are doing on our chain.
Solana is the most sought after Blockchain in the world. Phantom wallet just surpassed metamask in number of downloads on the app store. Hive is better than Solana but who cares?! They have the hype, they are attracting a new and young user base, investors, developers, etc . This is what I call a healthy mix of hype and utility.
Hive cannot be oblivious to trends if it wants to thrive and not just survive as it has for half a decade. It is quite perplexing to me when we act as though hype doesn't matter when in fact this chain benefited immensely from the hype of its early days. Hive was once a top 10 Blockchain in the world with thousands of active users. It was worse of a Blockchain than it is now by every standard. So you cannot take away the importance of hype from the success of a project.
As important as fundamental principles are to the longevity of a project, trends create excitement around a project and open it to new users who might end up becoming long-term players in the case.
Hive needs to embrace crypto trends. That includes meme-coiners, NFT Marxis, airdrop hunters, crypto influencers. It doesn't diminish the blockchain’s value proposition to cater to the demands of a wider range of web 3 user base. By adding more people (and not just content) we increase the net value of the ecosystem whilst creating hype and circular economies.
Hype and trends eventually die. However, there is so much that can happen within a short period of euphoria, that can determine how people play in the long run. This burst of excitement can be a unique opportunity for the ecosystem to rebuild its community, onboard new users and developers.
If we as a community open our hearts and minds to new things, maybe there can be new lessons to learn. For instance, I learn a lot while airdrop hunting. In fact today I launched a smart contract on Taiko Blockchain. That's not something I am accustomed to as a content creator. Who knows where this knowledge will come in handy in the future. So it is important that we open our doors to new types of users. It will not dimish Hive’s value proposition in any way.
