It almost feels like the attack on Steem coming from Justin Sun was like yesterday and although at that time my reaction towards the announcement regarding Justing buying the Steemit Inc stake was one of total disappointment and frustration, the whole situation somehow "gave birth to what we now call Hive".
The blockchain is already three years old and its resilience is undeniable. I don't remember the last time it went down and the development that occurred over the past three years is decent, to say the least.
Some are still failing to understand what Hive really is and what it isn't. A couple of hours ago I stumbled upon a tweet of the official @leofinance Twitter account containing a message of frustration coming from a Hive user regarding #threads and how this new Leofinance feature could harm the "fair distribution" of Hive rewards.
The man clearly does not understand how #threads works, as you can see in the screenshot below...
He's probably not the only one who is still looking at hive through the old Steem lens. Hence I thought I should do a post on how I see Hive and what this blockchain is to me as 5+ years old user. Yes, it is still a "toddler", but this kid knows how to play and it is damn good at playing certain games.
First and foremost, to me, Hive is "the blockchain for everything". This thing is no longer just a "blockchain-based social media platform" as Steem used to be. It is the foundation on top of which certain blogging communities and interfaces have developed, but it is not reduced solely to such a purpose.
Hive is about long-form content, as the one I've been creating for over five years, but it is also the home of "decentralized vlogging", games like Splinterlands, and much more than that. Hive is more about functionality than existence. Steem simply existed, Hive is a fully functioning system.
I often times call it a society because that's how I see it. It has an economy of its own, different types of users(citizens), the law of the code that works flawlessly, and an ever-expanding potential.
It is WEB3, you know. Cuz in order to be able to interact with the blockchain through the plethora of apps that are operating on it you have to have a "blockchain account". You can't signup or sign-in on it as you do with Facebook for example. Your keys, your account. Lose em and you lost your Hive legacy...
What else is Hive?
It is clearly the epitome of free speech. No one can censor you from expressing yourself freely here. Even if your posts are downvoted to zero your content is still saved on the blockchain for as long as the blockchain will run properly.
For some of us, this thing has also been life-saving. The development of the second borehole at the Asamang by hive is ongoing at the site in Ghana. As you can read for yourselves in the linked post, some folks in Ghana are having access to unlimited fresh water thanks to funds coming from Hive.
No, the blockchain does not "donate money" or somehow direct tokens to such a project, but it made it possible for the fundraising that paid for the borehole.
Then there are the "full-time bloggers" like myself who made a living thanks to this blockchain, but Hive is not just about that, although Hive is about that too. Hive is the soil in which anyone can plant almost anything. However, there are still plenty of users taking it for a WEB2 project and treating it as such.
One day they will probably be able to see it with different eyes, but not today... What about you, what is Hive for you?
Thanks for your attention,
Adrian