Some thoughts on Hive and its future

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Some Thoughts on Hive and Its Future

Sorry i post this during #Hivefest but maybe even the correct timing - not tagging the ones I should to avoid tag spam - hope this will be read by anyone - only tagging @detlev and @sorin.cristescu that might be aware of my thinking behind and are both on the ground in Malaysia.

This post written fast is based on the inspiration by @selfhelp4trolls who did a great post on his thinking about Hivefest - I just took this up and added my geenral thoughts :-).

And even if no one cares about my opinion — I’ll share it anyway.

After the fork from Steemit, things had to move fast. There wasn’t much time to think about branding or positioning, which is understandable. But years later, that lack of direction still haunts us.

We often blame the “red market” for Hive’s decline, but that’s only part of the story. Our token price has dropped more than many others. This isn’t about downvote drama or internal politics — it’s about visibility and credibility. We don’t attract real investors.

We call ourselves “community-driven,” yet we have no clear face or voice to the outside world. Yes, we have good projects and some inspiring initiatives — like the wells in Africa — but the truth is: without a proper PR engine, no one notices. Others do similar things, and they make headlines.

When the Justin Sun story broke, Hive had a golden moment. Even Ethereum’s founder publicly supported us. That was our time to get loud — to land interviews, hit the media, make noise. Instead, we made a movie. Nice idea, but by the time it comes out, the world has moved on. News is about timing, not nostalgia.

That’s where we failed as a community — not blaming anyone, just stating the fact. We were too slow.

So what now?

SWIFT is building on Ethereum. Good for blockchain in general, bad for Hive visibility. Why Ethereum, not us? Because no one knows Hive exists. Awareness shapes opportunity — not the other way around.

We can’t sit around waiting for people to “discover” Hive. Why would they? From the outside, we look like another niche social platform. And most people don’t care about small social platforms, especially when they already have massive reach elsewhere.

It’s time to rethink our positioning. Hive’s strength isn’t just “social media on Web3.” That message limits us. Let’s push use cases that actually matter — the kind that can stand on their own in the real world.

What we need:

• Real-world use cases relevant to a broader audience.
  (Example: running political elections on-chain — I’ve done that before with Waves.)
• Recognizable investors and advocates who talk about Hive because they see value, not because they’re paid to.
• Stop paying influencers. They take the money, make a few posts, then vanish. No impact, no loyalty.
• Smaller, capable leadership group. Community input is vital, but not every decision can be made by consensus. We need people who understand markets, can identify priorities, and execute.

If we don’t fix this, Hive risks fading into a comfortable but irrelevant bubble — where we tell ourselves how great we are while the world moves on.

I’d rather not end up like Blurt.