A Milestone Reached
Yesterday evening when I looked in my Hive wallet I saw it already, one more night of sleep and it would finally happen. After years of being active on Hive, I finally did it. An important milestone was reached: 10K HivePower. This morning I looked in my wallet, and I was still a little more than 1 Hive short, in my Hive engine I sold some tokens to get the missing Hive and after a small power-up, it was finally time! I can proudly write a blog about this milestone. And believe me, this is a moment that I have been looking forward to for a long time, which I often thought I would never reach because of my circumstances, which means that I have to get some hard-earned Hive out of it at some point. But that makes the satisfaction even greater. So I want to share this milestone with pride. I HAVE 10K HIVEPOWER!
And although it sounds great, I can tell you that it certainly hasn't been easy to get here. Many factors have come together to achieve this. One of the most important factors is keeping up the motivation, which certainly hasn't always been easy. There have certainly been more frustrations and setbacks on this long road to 10K HivePower, but despite all that, I have remained loyal to Hive.
Finding interesting topics
One of the biggest challenges for me, and maybe I'm not the only one who struggles with this, is finding topics to blog about. When I started blogging on Hive, I had a whole collection of photos to draw from, and that collection was still being expanded very regularly. However, circumstances made that increasingly difficult. I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere, don't have a car at my disposal during the day, and even on the weekends when I can use that car, it's only to do some shopping for the week. Due to the financial circumstances, pleasure trips are not an option. As much as I would like to, it is not possible. And taking pictures of the same environment every day to show and writing a blog about the same thing ... No thank you! I still do not feel like that. Where I thought my photo collection was endless, it turned out not to be so endless after all. And yes, of course, I still have enough photos that I have not used in a blog, but that also has its reason. Not every photo is suitable for use, and my list of topics to blog about has not turned out to be endless either. It is not the case that every topic has the potential to be blogged about. Sometimes because it is interesting enough, but I do not know enough about it to blog about it. And other times because it would simply be a topic that no one would be inspired by. So yes, the search for what an interesting, captivating blog could be became increasingly difficult for me over time.
Content
Then you come to the "content" part. Where I used to read a lot of blogs that I found interesting, and where I learned a lot of new things, in the last few years it seems more like I come across a large collection of online diaries. And the blog that doesn't look like an online diary looks a lot like a rewritten info article that the blogger has read somewhere else and, due to lack of inspiration, has 'borrowed' to collect his daily share of the reward pool. In short, the in-depth content that used to be regularly available is increasingly lacking. And yes, I am also guilty of this! I too have started writing less information-oriented and much more personally. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for personal stories on Hive. This keeps the community human and accessible. But it is a double-edged sword because it also ensures that people are less likely to be tempted to respond to what you have written, and it also ensures that people are less challenged to create content that goes deeper than the surface.
Engagment
From creating content we automatically come to engagement. When I started, there seemed to be a lively interaction between writers and readers. Comments, feedback, and discussions were part of what made Hive so appealing. But these days, it feels more and more like a one-way street. You post, and you hope for comments and upvotes, but it often remains silent. That makes it hard to stay motivated.
Hive has always wanted to build a community where quality, interaction, and creativity are valued. But when that interaction is lacking, it can sometimes feel like you’re talking to a brick wall. And let’s face it, what’s the point of writing an in-depth informative blog if you know that hardly anyone is reading it? Sometimes it feels or you might as well just post a blog with the "Lorum Ipsum" in it. Add some photos to make it look appealing, and make sure your first photo stands out. It takes almost no time at all and you still get your share of the reward pool through auto votes, and people clicking on your photo and voting without reading it. If you're lucky, you might even get a comment directed at your photo. Few people would notice that the text is about nothing. It's this lack of engagement that has made Hive feel less alive than it once did. And that's a shame because the idea of Hive has so much potential. The technology behind the platform is impressive and the possibilities are endless, but without an active and engaged community, it remains a shadow of what it could be.
The Value of Hive
The final disappointment is the value of Hive itself. When I started six years ago, I had high expectations. Okay, back then it wasn't Hive of course, but after the infamous fork and the launch of Hive, I had the idea that Hive would push the boundaries of what a blockchain-based platform could do. I believed in the vision and idea of a decentralized platform where creativity, innovation, and rewards went hand in hand.
In recent years that hope has pretty much been dashed. Because let's be honest Hive is lagging far behind the hopes and expectations that many of us had. A value of currently fluctuating around 19 / 20 cents is not exactly something to be proud of. Yes of course I know that the crypto market is volatile, and yes of course I know that countless factors influence the price. But if you just use 'common sense' then you can say that there is simply not enough demand for Hive and a lot of selling pressure. I had hopes when Hive was launched that it would be able to maintain its value and grow, but so far the value has not been maintained and certainly not grown.
Yes, of course, I understand that Hive’s value lies in more than just its price. The community, the technology, and the philosophy behind it are still unique and valuable. But it’s hard not to be disappointed when you see the price stuck around 19 cents, especially when you remember the earlier hopeful times when Hive was above $3, and we all had hope that Hive could grow into something great.
Staying despite the challenges
This may not sound all that positive, but it’s not meant to be negative. It’s just a bit of realism! And it’s equally realistic to say that despite the setbacks, I can’t imagine leaving Hive behind completely. Because no matter how you put it, Hive has also given me a lot, where I don’t just think in terms of HivePower and HBD (and thus a bit of income), but also terms of experiences, connections, and creative growth. It’s become a place where I can share my thoughts, express my creativity, and sometimes even meet new people.
Although it is sometimes difficult to stay motivated, I keep coming back. There is something about Hive that attracts me, something that does not let me go (yet). Achieving 10K HivePower is in any case a personal milestone that I am proud of. The road to this point has not always been easy. It was a mix of enthusiasm, frustration, hope, and sometimes disappointment.