Decentralized, pseudonymous, and immutable social media is a scary thing for authoritarian governments.
When Hive becomes the blockchain-based social media of choice with its massive network effect, would sovereign states, with almost limitless fiat, buy up Hive to try to control Hive?
It is probably not going to happen too forcefully if they recall how Hive forked off from Steemit in a sheer display of people power by the community from the ground up. If any funny business start to surface, history could well repeat itself.
But one should not rule out any possibility of such forces attempting to take down or control Hive through other means or in other forms.
In the traditional social media space, it is alleged that battles are fought right there with manipulation of news and planned redirections of opinions, funded by massive machinery.
Can't the same thing happen to Hive? In the form of a massive army of Hivers operating in stealth modes coordinating opinions and charting narratives that are endorsed by the authoritarian governments?
Slowly and secretly, they can gain power. It is all possible.
Well, someday the idea of posting on social media and gaining tokens directly would appeal to the majority of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram users today. By then, it will be necessary to consider employing a team of stealth Hive accounts that could be well-coordinated to sway public opinions by inducing others to post and curate in a certain way. For example, if expressing a certain political view gains more upvotes, it will be a self-reinforcing process.
I think by then one Hive would be worth a lot. Or nothing.
Depending on whether the genuine Hive users with the original ideals could once again make the best out of such situations.
