One of the key that does not get a lot of attention is the diminishing value of information. For a blockchain like Hive, this is crucial that we understand.
As stated many times, when look at Hive, it is a decentralized database. This is its value at it most basic level. This means what we place in said database is crucial. Here is a simple way we can enhance the value of the ecosystem.
The challenge is that we tend not to focus upon things that have growing value. Instead, we operate like a car buyer, posting stuff that tends to decline immediate after it is posted.
What do I mean by this? To get a full understanding, let's delve into it.
Time Sensitivity
The basis of this article has nothing to do with quality or anything subjective like that. On the contrary, we are dealing with something that is rather objective in nature.
We can start by looking at this from the standpoint of time.
News is probably the least value information as time passes. It matters none the type of news, it becomes worthless rather quickly.
To start, once you read a news item, are you going to return? Obviously not. If you read an article about the latest crypto move, rereading it is not on your agenda. The same is true for the write up about the latest baseball or football game.
Another issue is that, after a day or so, this is pretty much worhlless. The value of the information rapidly diminishes. Other in the context of large datasets, like the won-loss record of a team, that data is pretty useless.
That said, news is very important. It is something Hive should focus upon since it is vital in the moment. However, to be successful new information is required daily. This is how news organizations operate. Even when look at a site like Coingecko, they have additional articles linked each day on their site. A 5 day old story does not have much value.
Relevance
Along these same lines is relevance. As things change, the material can become fairly worthless.
For example, a little more than a decade ago, there were a ton of videos on YouTube about overpopulation. There were many discussing the pitfalls of this and how the world was in trouble.
So what happened to make this information irrelevant?
Fertility rates dropped around the world to the point where many demographers are concluding that underpopulation might be the future problem. A couple of generations could find themselves in the situation where there are not enough people.
The information provided at that time is no longer relevant.
We see the same thing with technology. Articles written about the first smartphones do not have much relevance today other than from a historical perspective. The information carries little value.
A Database That Grows In Value
It is imperative that Hive, as a text database, continue to grow in value. This means that we supply it with information that is not time sensitive nor lose relevance.
So what will fall under this category?
Here is where we can look around the Internet to get our answers. It simply starts with something that people will be willing to read a decade from now.
What are some of the things that could fit into this category?
- a recipe for apple pie
- an article about the start of World War 2
- 3 keys to motivating yourself to accomplish a goal
- definitions
- jokes
- biographical information
- statistical data
- a review of the film Gone with the Wind
One of the keys is to have information that, as more is entered, grows in value at a greater rate than the information added.
Here is where we see the exponentiality of the situation.
A single piece of data has little value. If a datapoint is added, this fits into the same category. Linking the second to the first, however, makes both pieces worth more than they are individually, or even as a sum.
This is not the case with information that diminishes over time. Two news articles from 3 years ago linked together have no more value collectively as compared to individually. Both are outdated and of little interest.
Tied To Services
One of the drawbacks to Hive (actually Web3 in general) is the lack of services offered. When we are dealing with the Internet, this all starts with data. Look at any of the platforms and we see how they are enormous data centers. Whether it is Amazon, Apple, Twitter, Facebook, or Google, these companies have huge server farms storing all that data they amassed.
Naturally, this entities have different approaches tied to it. However, we know the data is consistently being used, adding more value to these companies.
Any online service is tied to data somehow. There is a database behind it, bringing the information forth. On Hive, we do a terrific job, like most blockchains, of capturing the transactions and making that available. After that, we hit a wall.
This can change by simply putting in information that makes the database more valuable as information is added. It stems from the fact that services can be offered, tapping into the Hive database as its back end.
By this we avoid the information that has diminishing value.
Unfortunately, Hive has a database that extends back 7 years which is filled with information that has constantly degraded over time (most almost instantly). Here is where I believe we have to adjust out path.
The challenge with financial information, which is amassed when one runs a ledger, is most of it is not relevant. After all, do you care about your Visa purchases from 18 years ago? It is not likely yet the company is still holding that data.
Consider all we discuss over the years. Some of it is very important in the moment so it falls into the "news" category. This is information that is time sensitive yet crucial to have. Hence it is required.
That said, much like news organization's databases, it quickly diminishes in value. This is the position we find ourselves in.
If we are going to build ever improving services, we need to provide a database the builders can tap into. For this we have to focus upon the information that can enhance the value of those applications over time.
Eventually, you end up with a database that is mixed with both. YouTube is a prime example. There are a ton of videos posted detailing "right now" events that are pretty useless in a few days. At the same time, we see videos with millions of views that are as relevant today as when it was posted.
This is what Hive should focus upon. Build a more valuable database and it will allow front end developers to access it and provide features that are used on a daily basis.
At that point, growth might also go exponential.
Two Paths to Take
I am a big believer it all starts with the data. From what I can conclude, there are two paths to take.
The first is to amass a huge volume. This is the Twitter situation. While each Tweet has little value, over time, it collectively is worth a fortune. It is aided by machine learning technology but the fact 500 million tweets are added daily, sheer volume means there is growing value.
Without that, we are back to focusing on value that remains relevant and is not time sensitive. That means growing our database with this type of content, then connecting it together.
Basically, it comes down to asking ourselves will anyone care about this in 5 years.
Does that mean we stop writing about the other stuff? Absolutely not. News organization all over the world exist because that information is desired. It is, however, an endless process. They keep showing up each day, adding more to get viewers in the moment. The information in their database, going back even a few weeks, is of little use.
Hive and some of the applications have done well with this information. Where it has failed is with the type that has "stickiness".
Here is where we see a grand opportunity presented. How many decentralized databases are being built with this type of mindset in place?
Since we don't have the sheer volume of information being added, we can opt for the second approach. This actually might end up increasing the amount of information that is provided to the database.