A couple days ago I was handed a no-brainer proposal to vote on, one that I missed when it was launched about a week ago. The proposal is to "Make HiveSQL free again" and you might be forgiven for having no idea what that means - but you can read the proposal here, but in short HiveSQL is a database that does magic stuff - in other words, I don't really know... but still, a no-brainer to support and I am really glad that it got funded and now rather than building a wall, some walls can come down.
The only real reason I know about it at all is because it is what 
But now that it is free...
Have at it!
I have been hoping for a lot more of a gamified experience on Hive and a big part of the journey for many users is being able to have access to both their stats and the stats of others. Like it or not, most of us are influenced to feed our egos and, most of us will compare our experience against that of others. Getting the numerical data feedback is a huge part of why multiplayer gaming is so popular, as there is the potential to build an array of rankings and comparisons. It is also why other social media platforms offer a range of analytics for individual accounts, both accessible by the account only as well as public.
The "private" analytics can be used to improve approach and for the branders, it can give insights into what is and isn't working, as well as what kinds of content their audience engages with the most. But the public stats might be more important for the average user as it becomes about bragging rights.
There are some stats inherent in the interfaces and easily discoverable already, such as upvotes, comments and of course, how much HIVE Power an account has. There are also an assortment of tools that can be used to discover other things, like voting patterns and delegations in and out. But, what I am hoping for is that interfaces and applications will be able to leverage the now free HiveSQL database to add some interesting numbers that people can play around with and use to enhance their user experience and help them get a little more connected to the platform.
Honestly, I have no idea what is actually possible to glean from the database and it might be necessary for
One thing I am hoping for is that a user like myself would be able to somewhat customize the view of my blog for my audience and from a number perspective, add interesting little counters here and there where a follower can get a view of my activity. This transparency brings in a different layer of interest that isn't necessarily focused on the financial side, but can bring in more of the engagement kinds of numbers too. It also gives some kind of "open competition" without having to formalize it too much.
I was thinking about the "bragging rights" the other day and I am wondering if there will come a time where people will hold onto HIVE to feed their ego. I know there are a few large egos around in the Hive world now, but will there come a time where people are buying into Hive just to make sure they have a presence here and holding some HIVE to make sure that their presence is known. "Stake is your voice"
Stake is your ego?
While this might seem far-fetched at this moment, if decentralized platforms, crypto and blockchain start to mainstream, they will soon be targeted by promotion teams that will be looking to expand the reach of those they promote, to amplify the signal. A decentralized environment might be quite an interesting concept for them, as they should be able to have more control over their promotions by, playing the game.
On Instagram and Twitter, they are at the mercy of the platform and they will increasingly find themselves being disenfranchised a piece at a time, while the platforms steal their user base and direct them to "cheaper" creators and make new celebrities. Taking some ownership through a bit of stake gives them some options that they may not have elsewhere. This sets up a new level of competition for attention as celebrities will be able to compete directly for market without having the middleman of the platform decide. It will be an interesting game to watch.
It would also bring in new business models including decentralized funding of something like a movie, with part of the profits being distributed back to the investors. Would you invest into the new Brad Pitt movie for a percentage of the ticket sales? The new Star Wars for a little bit of the merchandising return? By opening up mainstream vehicles to decentralized investment gives a win-win, as the funding can be easier to come by and the funding would also essentially guarantee an audience at launch - as who wouldn't go see a movie that they partly own?
Well, I have obviously gotten a little of track from the starting point but, the ability to improve the sense of game in Hive and the applications is a very important part of taking the niche and making it popular. If we look at LEO as an example, part of their appeal is of course to make some profits, but the ways in which those profits could be made opens up gamified decision paths. The end goal might be profits, but the enjoyment comes from the journey to get them. I think we should be looking to improve the journey experience of Hive, rather than just looking for the next high and, this can be done through improving the feedback along the path to that next high.
Right, I think I will leave it there and hope that in the not too distant future, there will be some clever uses of data to improve our experience while playing the game.
Night all!
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]