I thought that this post would come out a few days after my first part of HiveFest9 Reflection thoughts, but I didn't make it... "Better late than never!" Recently, I've been using that saying a lot... 🙂
Firstly, why this title? I have seen people talking about HIVE numerous times as a platform where upvotes are made by some machine, or as some bot giving free money to creators on this network... I know that HIVE can be overwhelming to understand how it works, and all the blockchain terminology isn't easy to grasp... But, certain things aren't that hard to understand... For example, no AI behind HIVE is clicking on the upvote (and downvote) button... Behind those actions, there is a human being!!! And the best proof that usernames are real people is to attend some live event and connect the dots, see it, and feel it on your own skin!
I was lucky enough that I was able to attend multiple (HIVE) live events, and this post will be about those people that I met at least 2 times, and some of them became part of my close friends' circle! Who says that you can't make friends online? 😃 As it is almost a month from the event, I had to re-pass the list of attendees to not miss someone... And I will probably miss someone, but no worries, it wasn't my intention... It's just my brain lacking memory cells... 😃 So here we are...
People that I met before!
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I will start with the first day of presentations, but the rest of this post is all around and about the event... Without any specific order... @elmirabear is one of those Hivians that you have to have a chat with... Even when you don't talk to her, you learn something about her... I met her for the first time at @BuzzParty in Hamburg, when she approached me after my presentation and we had a great talk! A great person whose only desire is to make this world a better place... She isn't an OG on HIVE, but she is learning fast and she is already doing a great job here! Give her a follow and engage with her!
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You probably know this German gang... No, it's not a glitch in the Matrix, those are 2 different persons, @louis88 and @rivalzzz... 🙂 Our HIVE photographers, Hive witnesses, coders, and who knows what more... The mastermind in the back is @detlev, one of the OGs on HIVE who does so many things for the community and helps out everyone! Always there to give a hand, to jump into fire when it's needed... A real pleasure to know you guys!
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photo by @bil.prag
The second row in this photo is quite interesting... I met all three for the second time in Split, @steevc, @alessandrawhite, and @bitterirony... I met Steevc in HiveFest, Amsterdam, two years ago, as he was hanging out with @risingstargame (Jux) and we shared the table at the closing dinner there! This time, we had a bit more time to talk and it was a pleasure to do it!
The "American couple" are such a great folks! I met @alessandrawhite and @bitterirony, at @BuzzParty, Hamburg and we had such a good time there! We were hanging out every day and we were "last man standing" that last night at the "unknown bar"... 😃 It was great to meet you guys again and to have a pleasant chat! I know we will meet again soon, no doubt!
photo by @livinguktaiwan
I like this photo!!! This is probably one of my favorites from the HiveFest! I could name everyone in this paragraph (I will keep some of them for later 😃), but this time, I would like to mention @evelynchacin! I met her for the first time at @HiveBeecon in Krakow last year and I can't forget her happy face when she realized that she can speak with someone in Spanish (more with my wife than myself... lol) in the middle of Poland! At those moments, she was pregnant, but she had so much will to come at that event... The same went this time, she came accompanied by her lovely husband and little Olivia, the youngest Hivian on HiveFest!!!
photo by @louis88
Another living Hive legend is @lizanomadsoul... I met her for the first time in Amsterdam and I remembered very well her HIVE username! I was curious about the digital nomads, and we had a short conversation there, but I was happy that this year, we had a lot more time for talks! As you can see from this photo, we were deeply in some conversation, of who knows about what... lol... There are some other photos where we had some more "fiery" discussions... 😃
photo by @livinguktaiwan
Speaking of fiery discussions, this photo was taken in the middle of one... 😀 When people are passionate about things like @livinguktaiwan and @delishtreats are, you know that they CARE about them! These two girls, OMG, they are real fire! 😃 Doing so many great things on HIVE (and for HIVE), but in the background, unselfishly, and people are not really aware of how important they are! I met both at the @HiveBeecon event where we had a great time! This year, we had a few talks, but you know how it goes... When you enjoy someone's company, you always want MORE... 🙂 See you girls at the next Hive event (or before!)!
photo by @livinguktaiwan
The next two guys are HIVE celebrities, @jarvie (behind me in the photo) and @gandalf (you know who he is 😃)! Jarvie is a mastermind behind Peakd and we had a nice talk in front of the beer bar (no we were not drunk 😜), and also in the restaurant where he came last to the table and got first his order... 😜 I met Gandalf multiple times, and I'm forever grateful to him for organizing @HiveBeeCon last year, as I met a lot of these awesome people there!
photo by @bil.prag
Do you know that I told you at the beginning that Hivians aren't bots or machines? Well, I'm not sure about this guy, @rmach is maybe a machine! 😃 He was everywhere at HiveFest! At every presentation, at every bar, every excursion, and every late-night dancing bar!! I have no idea how he made it everywhere?! Maybe he has a clone as @louis88 has @rivalzzz (and vice-versa)? 😂 I met @rmach in Amsterdam and if you want to meet him, don't forget to attend the next HiveFest, as he will be there!
photo by @louis88
Speaking of people who are always "there", @roelandp is one of them! I wasn't there when the first HiveFest took place, but I suppose it was his idea... Every next HiveFest is better than the previous one as Roeland is taking care of the crucial, organizational things! Thanks, man for everything that you have done (and are doing!)!
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I met @starkerz for the first time in HiveFest, Amsterdam, but as that was my first "Hive event", I was intimidated to talk with him back then... He was a "big name" and I was too shy to begin the conversation... This year, we fixed that and we had so many great talks and a lot of fun during the event! We were even photobombing other Hivians who wanted to create "serious" photos... 😂
photo by @bil.prag
This year, somehow I didn't have enough time to talk with @hallmann and @foggymeadow, people that I met in Krakow last year... When we were in The Kingdom, we had many, long talks about different things, not just about HIVE... It was great to see David talking about The Kingdom on stage and seeing the whole project growing fast, making a big impact on so many people in Poland!
photo by @louis88
Did I mention Hive Legends? @vcelier is definitely one of them! There is a chance that you didn't hear about him, but he is a great guy! It looks so serious, but we had some great laughs in Amsterdam and in Split!
photo by @bil.prag
I didn't meet many people 3 times (or more), but I did meet @zirochka in Amsterdam, Krakow, and now in Split! It's always great to see old friends again... As this year, there were over 100 participants at HiveFest, we didn't have too much time to talk... We will make it up at the next Hive meetup!
I would like to mention one more person here who doesn't want to be in photos... I'm honored that I know what he looks like 😃, @solarwarrior is a guy that I met in Hamburg for the first time, and now again in Split... I like people with a specific humor, and he has that... Thanks for the laughs! 😃
The family
Okay, I said that there is no specific order in this post, but I have to highlight some of my Hive friends that I could freely call my Hive family!
photo by @rivalzzz
One of the family members is @bil.prag! I met him for the first time in Amsterdam, and we met again at the Novi Sad Hive meetup this summer! Meeting him again in Split was a pleasure and we were hanging out a lot during the whole event... Yes, he was "working" (taking a lot of these photos), but I'm glad that he found some free time to chat and have fun too... He is one of those worker bees who are doing a great job but sometimes stay "invisible"...
photo by @bil.prag (his camera, but I suppose someone else took the photo 😃
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I met @ninaeatshere for the first time in Zaragoza last year (I think?) when @palomap3 introduced us (my wife and me) to her... She immediately takes care of us and all our "food needs" taking us to the best restaurants in the city! I remember one late night in Zaragoza when we were standing in the middle of the street, talking and without the will to say goodbye... The same thing happened in @BuzzParty, Hamburg in already mentioned bar... The HiveFest, Split was the 3rd time that we met, and I'm happy that she got much more involved in HIVE than she was before as she is a very valuable part of our social network!
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Speaking of 3rd timers, @cryptospa is another Hivian that I had a chance to meet for the 3rd time! After Amsterdam and Hamburg, it was time to hang out in Croatia! Where will we meet next year, buddy? 🙂
photo by @ninaeatshere
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The same goes for @arcange who I met in Amsterdam for the first time, got to know him better in Hamburg where we had first "serious talks", and finally, meeting him in Split made those bonds even stronger... After his presentation at this year's HiveFest, I thanked him personally for it, as it showed exactly what I want to show in this post... Hive is a living community, where people take care of each other and truly care about the platform... I know that sometimes it doesn't look like that, but believe me, HF was full of passionate Hivians who do care! Arcange is one of them, too!
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photo by @bil.prag
And in the end, not that they mean to me the least, I would like to mention @growandbow and @llunasoul... I met them for the first time in Krakow, but despite that we are living an opposite lifestyle, something just clicked... We spent a lot of time together in Poland, maybe a bit less in Split, but it was a quality time! So much understanding and caring about each other is something that you can't experience too many times nowadays... Well, these guys are living it! So happy that I met them again and that we had time to hang out again... I know we will have more occasions to meet and have fun in the future!
PS. Oh, I almost forgot again to mention some people who didn't make it to the HiveFest this year, but they were still supporting @liotes, @achim03, and me through the YouTube chat while we had our presentation! I saw you guys, @melinda010100, @palomap3, @risingstargame, and @untilwelearn! Thanks for your support!
Screenshot from YouTube.com
So, I have finally done it... Maybe this wasn't the HiveFest reflection post that you expected, but HiveFest is a lot more than just presentations that you can see on the stage over a YouTube stream... HiveFest is much more than just a blockchain convention, or a conference... HiveFest is like a Christmas dinner or a Thanksgiving Day celebration... It is a yearly, family gathering, that you don't want to miss... Some of these beautiful people came to the event just to meet you, so you can't skip the next one! See you at the next Hive meetup!
Thank you for your time,
--ph--
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