The second Town Hall event happened a few nights back. It was probably the first time that most founders of the different DApps on Hive came together and discussed everything about the blockchain and even marketing (user acquisition or onboarding and retaining users).
It was humbling to listen to them all, sharing their thoughts about various things. Founders updated us about what they are doing behind the scenes - the efforts they are making to onboard users through their own initiatives, and other specific things they are on to. Here are just a few of those I remember from what I heard from the show:
DBUZZ founders for instance shared that they are focused on real-life events by reaching out to schools, onboarding to in-house education where they teach about Hive (content creation among other things), and encouraging them. They are even setting up and providing free internet access to a college campus which they can use to interact with Hive DApps.
Actifit (Mcfarhad) reaching out and collaborating with colleges.
Ecoinstant shared he's collaborating with Spanish onboarding and also developing a platform (Dreamer) that allows group posting by using a single Hive account. People can log in with Web 2 socials and submit a post and (you) the key holder may edit it and post it to Hive.
Liketu founder Elmer Lin also mentioned that they support smaller communities (Venezuelan) from the ground up.
Waivio allows users to have their social shops without having to keep inventories and they will be bringing in influencers to start their social shops.
There were more things shared like referral rewards to those who onboard people and such.
Then the contentious idea of having the Hive rewards pool removed was brought out by Rondon. Some founders agreed to it - including Khal who said there are other ways for frontends to reward their users and made the Leo Ads and Evergreen smart contracts as an example.
This I believe won't just happen anytime soon though. It will take time and of course, the consensus amongst witnesses and Hive stakeholders. So let's not sweat about it, or should we?
That is because there are things to consider. My limited and non-technical mind thinks the governance will have to be considered, how are users going to be incentivized or rewarded for their activities so they will stick around, how are the stakeholders going to earn, how's HIVE going to be distributed, and so on.
Nothing to get stressed about, yeah?
Honestly speaking, I agree with Jessica, Bil.prag, Nonso, and others - that the distribution of HIVE through the rewards pool is what makes it unique. It's what makes Hive, Hive. Removing it altogether is like getting rid of Hive's very own identity, if I may term it that way. But of course, I'm not going to be closed-minded and would definitely listen to further discussions about it.
Rondon asked the others what their runways were or the timeframe if this pushed through. He obviously knows that there are certain complications and things that need to be considered so it will not just happen anytime soon.
Jarvie (Peakd) shared his thoughts of shifting the mindset from the rewards to viewership and engagement or building a brand.
SkateHive voiced their concern that if the rewards pool is removed, their community will die.
Nathan also feels that the removal of the rewards pool will negatively impact the economics and governance of Hive and suggested another open discussion about it.
Personal Thoughts
The Town Hall is a good channel to learn things, especially about the Hive ecosystem. It was initiated by Eric, TM, Jongo, and Nifty with the specific purpose of bridging communities. Here's a brief intro about it:
Town-Hall is an initiative designed to bring advancement, provide guidance, inform the community, debate scenarios, argue about the blockchain, and more, all on behalf and with the participation of the Hive community: Witnesses, stakeholders, community leaders, and community members.
It starts with an account, a witness node, and discussions.
Source
The Town Hall space happens each month and the second one occurred recently and it was where the idea of completely removing the Hive rewards pool was proposed brought about by downvotes and the advent of AI. It is a floating idea and it might be discussed in detail sometime in the future.
I believe there will be more noise to come if this idea gets pushed around. Although it is too early to get worked up about, it is a topic that needs to be discussed amongst the community and an open conversation may happen in December. We shall be on the lookout and it will be interesting to listen to what more people will have to say.
