“Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.” — Charlie Munger
When I joined Hive exactly 30 months ago, I didn't really know what I was getting into. I knew some of my friends were here, posting every now and then, gaining some sort of incentive for their writing and activity on the platform.
I thought it was similar to an online writing gig or something. I didn't know a thing about crypto back then, nor about the type of rewards that were present on the Hive chain. The blockchain and all this tech was a whole different topic for me, and after a while, I realized that I'd been living under a rock. I did know about Bitcoin though, so that's 1 point for me.
Yet, at that time, all I knew was that there was an opportunity to write, and in return earn some incentive, or some kind of "online points". And since I was always fairly decent in English, I thought I'd give it a try.
Now, after close to 3 years, here I am. Hive/PeakD has become an everyday thing for me. Even if I don't post, I'll at least come online and have a look, react, vote, and comment, and have a little conversation with someone. It's the only thing that I have that can be considered as a personal diary. Even though it's not as personal. Because what happens on the chain, stays on the chain, and it's visible to all.
What started as a side hustle to make some money, has turned into a proper hobby. A type of hobby that I once thought I would never like; since I was never much of a fan of writing or reading.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵒᵛᵉʳᵃˡˡ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵉⁿᵗ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐʸ ᵒʷⁿ ᵘⁿˡᵉˢˢ ᶦᵗ'ˢ ᵐᵉⁿᵗᶦᵒⁿᵉᵈ
After experiencing Hive/PeakD, and after getting to know how it all worked, it slowly got to me.
I loved this whole culture of "own your content", and getting rewarded if you're good at it. It's data and content after all, and if people are getting paid for lip-syncing and doing weird dances on TikTok, then why not this?
I even had a little experience writing articles, I did regular reviews on the latest pieces of tech on social media, mobile photography I've always loved, and gaming and I go way back. I was sharing all of this for free on social media, and I didn't own any rights to them; the platform owned it all after anything was uploaded/shared.
So, this new hobby and my love for it came from a cumulation of old and loved hobbies. I shared, presented, and wrote about my life, activities, whereabouts, and hobbies. As time passed by I learned, I found my own style and format, and I'm still learning to this day.
And I can't lie, back when I started the rewards were quite nice; since I joined at the peak of the 2021 bull when Hive was sitting at $2-3 USD. Thus, people were getting better rewards.
All that money, the money is the motive...
That's what suddenly brought the influx of new users to Hive as well. Money and rewards are some really powerful motivators, you know. Alas, that run didn't last long; when Hive went down by 90% or so, not a lot of people were active. When the rewards weren't as "handsome" anymore, a lot of the new folk started to leave.
But, I say it was the best time to build, earn more Hive/HBD, and connect with other members, old and new. Not once did I say to myself that I should take a leave. I was actually having fun here, and that's what kept me going. Most people take this stuff too seriously, as if it's a job, and that's how they ruin the whole experience.
Soon enough I started to focus more on Hive/PeakD and decreased my time on basic social media. And now, after spending over two years on the platform, I can say that I've built quite a rep. I met a bunch of lovely people; here on Hive and in real life.
This whole experience of Hive, WEB3, and crypto, has been a crazy rollercoaster ride of ups and downs; yet, they couldn't shake me out haha.
So, I guess I'm doing something right on this little platform.
