Hello Hive community! I’m IGiveFreeCompliments (aka IGFC or @freecompliments). You may have seen me floating around dropping compliments here and there, as well as some posts about medicine. This is an introductory post to give you some background about me and my goal here.
Contents:
- My goal on Hive
- My background as IGFC
- Reddit gives me problems
- My background as a person
- What will I be doing here?
- Why the heck did I post this on LeoFinance? Am I lost? Do I need a map?
- Conclusion
My goal on Hive:
I'm here to spread some joy and make people smile for no reason other than happiness. The reason that I chose this platform is because it appears censorship-resistant, which is very important to me as a value.
My background as IGFC:
Back in February of 2013, I created an account on the social media website Reddit.com called “IGiveFreeCompliments.” Its purpose was identical to the purpose that I proposed above. I saw that many people on the internet were unhappy and could use a boost – and there I was, capable of giving a simple compliment to help someone out. My compliments started out simple, superficial, and direct. I learned over time how to customize and add a bit of meaning to the compliments, because a good compliment is specific to the individual.
I created a community on the aforementioned website called r/FreeCompliments. Initially, it was used as a hub for me to give compliments directly to people without disrupting discussion. Over time, it grew as a place where people would request compliments and give them to each other. It grew by the thousands and became one of the most positive places on the internet.
I later expanded to posting resources to help people undergoing mental health conditions, particularly depression. Mental health became a strong focus of what I attempted to tackle. I also focused more on promoting the community strictly within the confines of the parent website (i.e. I promoted the sub-Reddit FreeCompliments within Reddit).
Reddit gives me problems:
Throughout my time on the website, I encountered some people who were thoroughly against my efforts, claiming that they were superficial, disingenuous, or that I actually earned money from my compliments (lol). I ate up the accusations, but at one point everything came to a boiling point.
Due to my efforts at promotion, and the efforts of a few users who did not like my mission, I was banned from the website due to over-promotion, labeled as spam. This was despite the fact that I always attempted to integrate the community as a relevant remark to the discussion at hand, and actually contributed to discussions.
I attempted to come back to the website solely to moderate the community, but was banned again. It was clear that my presence was not valued by the Reddit administrators. At this time, the community numbered approximately 35,000 members.
Over time, I saw that the Reddit administrators decided that this community was giving them a better reputation, and they implanted power-moderators (i.e. those who held significant influence within the website and would impose their views, bans upon people, and censor whatever they did not like whenever they felt like it) to run the community. After this implementation, the community grew to over 250,000 members due to the website’s promotion algorithms (isn’t that ironic?). It also lost much of the heart that it had when I was around. Censorship intensified, and discussion was stifled. My baby, which I had worked upon for 4 ½ years, had transformed into something I could not recognize.
And the cherry on top of the cake… in 2021, my username was removed from the founder’s list. They had managed to remove most traces of my account’s existence and take credit for the work I’d done. It was my final straw with the aforementioned website.
Now I’ve found a platform which is censorship-resistant, and it seems that everyone here is receptive to the kindness I offer. It feels like I may have finally found a home.
My background as a person:
As some of you may have seen from my blog posts, I’m a resident physician in a big city in the Northeast US. Additionally, I have some educational background in economics. I’m also a lover of art, fitness, old movies, and healthy eating. Hopefully I can sometimes provide useful input on those topics.
What will I be doing here?
I’ve just established the new iteration of the original community: FreeCompliments. My plan is for everyone who is having a tough day or just wants to hear some kind words… to come here and ask for them. At least on my behalf, there is no expectation of monetary tips or gratitude – it is intended to be a selfless deed. If others choose to have a financial incentive for kindness, then that is absolutely OK; our time is valuable, and in the end, the ultimate goal is to have a positive impact on people's lives. I hope for there to be an emphasis on comments in this community, as the comments may be the saviors for those who need help.
Additionally, I will encourage all forms of content in this community. Have some art to share? We’ll find the greatness in it. Have an experience to share? We’ll compliment your newfound wisdom. Have some advice or pearls to help others? We’ll welcome your suggestions with open arms.
Finally, I would like for this to be a censorship-resistant community. Everything goes. Everyone gets a second chance. Forgiveness is paramount, as we are all imperfect beings. Open-mindedness, learning, empathy, and an attempt to understand vastly different perspectives will be strongly encouraged.
Why the heck did I post this on LeoFinance? Am I lost? Do I need a map?
Fortunately, this time I am not lost (although a map never hurts!). From my observations, LeoFinance has been a hub of innovation for ease-of-onboarding, ease-of-use, engagement, and methods of breaking through to outsiders. As such, I’d like to build upon the importance of rewarding comments, using the wisdom of the knowledgeable users on LeoFinance.
Aside from my promotional efforts, the reason that FreeCompliments succeeded wildly on Reddit is that there was a very substantial emphasis on engagement through comments. Although on that platform, the incentives were largely altruistic, I believe this effect can be replicated here – possibly to an even greater extent – if there are sufficient incentives to comment.
Engagement by encouraging comments will drive more people to use Hive. It’s an easier form of interacting with the blockchain, and if sufficiently rewarded, will result in user retention and even further provocation of short-form commentary. Additionally, because users are staying, this will help bolster long-form content so that Hive does not lose its quality. This can hasten the network effect so that Hive can grow steadily.
I’d greatly appreciate further discussion about how to increase comment rewards so that we can achieve the aforementioned growth. The input of Hive and LeoFinance experts will be invaluable, and I believe we’ll be able to grow engagement if this is properly implemented.
Conclusion
Based on my limited time here, I’ve come to appreciate a lot about Hive and will continue to learn its ins and outs. I hope that I can bring a great deal of value and positivity to Hive, its users, and build upon a platform wherein users can engage in a way that brings joy to everyone. Welcome to FreeCompliments, and a big big thanks to everyone for having me here!