Today marks eight years since I joined this blockchain back when it was called something else. My first post was a couple of days later and you can see it made a mighty 2c! A lot of my early posts made nothing. The algorithm was different then and votes from whales could get a post to many $000s, but at the other end it could be hard to make much. I will admit that I self-voted back then even though it made no real difference. I gave that up since I do okay anyway and I want to give my votes to others. Actually 
In eight years I have done over 70k posts and comments. That is part of how I built a following. I also attended a load of events in the UK and abroad. Those are good ways to meet people and I have met a lot of the big names here. Not that I would take votes from them for granted.
I have seen plenty of changes. We have been through market ups and downs with the price anywhere between 6c and $8. I have cashed out to pay for some of those events as well as a nice guitar, but have just powered up recently to get to over 120k HP. I am not against people cashing out if it improves their lives and Hive is doing lots of good in places where they cannot earn much elsewhere. There have also been various 'downvote wars' as personalities clash.
Obviously the price is not so great now. We have issues both with recruiting users and with getting them to stick around. We can all contribute to improving both of those. Part of my contribution is doing these #FollowFriday posts to get more attention to cool Hivers.
@bencwarmer to do one for Italy with more details of location.
@meno at SF in Krakow. I love his posts about the guitars he builds.
@sircork joined up a year after me, but he was absent for a couple of years until recently. He has posted about what he is doing in Costa Rica.
@sidekickmatt is another long-timer who has been putting out comics on here for years. That is the sort of content we desperately need and it should get far more support. To be taken seriously Hive needs professional quality content. That is one thing that will get it noticed as people can earn without needing ads.These fine people get a share of the post rewards. We should make more use of the Beneficiaries button.
This section is dedicated to all the grifters, fraudsters, trolls and spammers who have tried to wreck Hive. Their lack of success is down to the hard work of the few who will take action against them. I have been part of some anti-abuse efforts and had plenty of retaliation. That has not put me off. Hive is worth defending. I will look out for others to feature.
I will be doing a fresh #BritList tomorrow, so I hope a few more Brits will be active. If you know anyone who shows as inactive then please give them a prod. The corporate social platforms are getting worse as them bombard you with stuff you do not want and exploit your data. Hive offers a great alternative, so socialise here instead.
I may also do more lists for other countries when I find time. I am up for requests, but my intention is to get others to take on that work for their local communities.
Hive five!
| The man behind: |  @tenkminnows: Helping good Hivers level up
#BritList: A monthly list of Hivers in the UK |
@proofofbrian