Demystifying HIVE is a series of bite-sized posts targeted to new Hivians and for people outside of the HIVE blockchain.
The purpose is to try and break down the many complexities of the HIVE blockchain, its acronyms, and the current facts and falsehoods associated with it.
I say ‘current’ because within 6 months some of the things I say may well no longer be relevant. It is an evolving experiment, and little remains static.
Its little wonder that the retention rate is abysmal given the huge learning curve a new person needs to endure.
Without some guidance, most give up quite soon deeming it bewildering and over-complicated.
Expectations
Most people are attracted to HIVE for the money. It was the same for me when in early February 2018 I noticed these posts about various topics appearing when I searched using Google.
But the penny had not dropped at this stage and it was just another blog written by someone.
It was not until I noticed STEEM (HIVE was born from STEEM) riding high in the coinmarketcap ranks that I made the connection of writing and earning.
This is all history and you may have found HIVE by word of mouth or some other means.
Some new users have big expectations, see other posts with double-figure earnings, and think they can immediately start ‘earning’ to this level.
They create a first post which can either be short (and crap) or long (and concise). If it's a short one, it will likely be ignored and gain a reward of less than $0.10.
If it's a decent long one with detail, it may catch the eye of someone, or a curation group and be overly-rewarded which causes temporary euphoria.
In the case of the latter example, said writer (who is now excited) constructs a second post which is largely ignored and gains a reward of $0.05.
So why did this happen?
I have seen this so many times and the writer then gives up and leaves.
...'I noticed this post topping trending yesterday. I wish @wannderingsoul all the best but I have my doubts that post #2 will do anywhere near as well'...
First posts from new people can attract attention, a big welcome, so to speak. After that, the hard work begins, and reality sets in.
It is a shame that many don't understand this and it can be a bewildering experience.
At this stage of your HIVE 'career', you have almost no followers and few will even see your work.
If you want to be noticed then you need to go out and socialise! Follow people, comment on their posts, rinse, and repeat.
If you are solely for the money then you may as well leave right now. It won’t come right away, and it needs to be earned.
Following someone will probably not result in reciprocation, especially if they are a large stakeholder. Some people are more likely to follow you than others.
I have had comments before about this, and that it is too much work and you shouldn't need to do any of this for attention.
Yes, it could be looked at as 'work' but this is NOT Facebook and if you want some kind of reward then it doesn't come easy.
What I would say to you is be consistent. Some will disagree with what I am about to say but I will say it anyway.
This philosophy has worked very well for me but is not gospel by any means. Post what you like, including holiday shots of yourself lapping it up on the beach with a single sentence... that's OK and nobody will bother you.
If you want to post single photographs of flowers with the words, 'nice flowers', or even no words at all.. then do it,... that's fine too. Just don't expect much attention on your post.
CURATION APR (above): This is decided on how and when you vote and has been a large bone of contention with me for some time. If you want to know more please read this. To put things more simply, it's how well you use your voting power and the level of return you can gain. I will explain this is another 'Demystifying HIVE' at a later date.
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If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, rehive, engage me or all of these things.