Over the last few days, engagement has been taken up a fair bit of my Hive thinking space and it has yielded some interesting results. In my opinion (and likely a few others), engagement is vital for retention and it is far more than just the number of comments one makes, receives or votes upon. Engagement has to be engaging, meaning that it has to have the effect that attracts people and encourages them to come back, time and time again.

Metrics and the beast

The other day I wrote a post that mentioned some of the most active users and grinders I know on the platform in regards to engagement and then @abh12345 backed this up with some numbers of engagement by class, which interestingly put all five of those people in the top 5 of the highest commentators in the orca range.

Look at the numbers and it is pretty shocking that 5 old dudes are grinding (not together) in comments more than most other users on the platform. The drop away is telling when going into the lower Hive Power accounts as there are many, many more dolphins than orcas and, minnows than dolphins.

Is there just not enough value?

Of course, most people are here for rewards in some way (either immediate or future payoff), but there is always going to be some level of lag between energy put in and return. Three of the 5 in that list are from 2016, the "newest" account is my brother @galenkp, from mid-2017. As far as I know, all of the 5 are a little bit longer in the tooth with @meesterboom perhaps so old, his teeth are now false. What I wonder is and have raised before several times, do young people just don't know how to grind?

Disposable potential

One aspect of this is of course that the elderly are probably more likely to have a bit of disposable income so they don't need to use what they earn, but I don't think that is the case in this group per se. However, age is likely to affect many people's ability and willingness to invest into the future, where perhaps older people have a better understanding that life without money sucks ass and the feeling of pending retirement and death as most of life is no longer in front. So, they look a little further into the economic future, one that is uncertain and one where ownership is likely to still matter.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency is about ownership, not earning potential, although it is easy to see how those things can become conflated. @nonameslefttouse has harped on for years about ownership of his artistic journey here and has visualized many aspects surrounding this area. I am no stranger to talking about ownership myself and perhaps focus more on the benefits of having financial mobility.

In my Ask the Hive post on what would make Hive better, there were a couple of core themes, number one being, more users. That is great, but how, what attracts them and keeps them here if even the people who are looking for more users aren't engaging themselves, aren't pushing their own boundaries as early adopters into a new economic model and an immature industry that has the potential to change the world at the level that affects all of us, the economy?

Building user value

I would predict that the value of whatever Hive you have in your wallet right now would be significantly higher if there were 10 million active users here than the 10,000 there are now. My reasoning for this isn't just demand for the token on exchanges, it is that with 10 million users, the developers have something to work with, an audience and a market. Once one application is able to attract a million or two, new users arrive and new applications.

It is no different to the explosive growth of the mobile application industry that didn't exist 20-odd years ago at all and was supercharged by the introduction of smartphones, infrastructure to carry the applications. The infrastructure that blockchain and crypto currency needs for user adoption is already available, what is missing is the mindset.

The application industry is an industry of end users, not owners. As a result, the vast majority of value that is driven through the systems gets funneled back to corporations and shareholders - with the corporations and financial services themselves being the largest investor class. It is a constant loop that draws value from the bottom to extract value at the top of the loop and then comes back down to the massive and growing base to see what else they can grab along the way. This is the stockmarket in general - and most people don't own stocks at all, let alone enough to be a significant income in relation to those who do own significantly.

Learn to own

The way out of this crushing loop is not to punish stockholders by taking away their wealth, it is by becoming stockholders. Unfortunately though, the current "traditional" system is so fundamentally broken and imbalanced, that it is too late. What needs to happen is a replacement of the system and one that encourages (demands?) ownership at all layers of it.

Hive offers this ownership and while imperfect and highly risky, it is a place where ordinary people are able to "get in" on the ground floor and not only have a chance of future return, but actually have some influence on the direction it travels and the outcomes of that future - making it a healthier place for those to come. While "stake is your voice" - you also have a fucking voice you can use - so use it. Be part of the conversations, be part of the engaging group of users who are looking long both on the value of the stake they hold as well as the value of the community that drives that value.

The markets are purely speculative and at this stage, not affected by the reality of projects at all. However, the community is quite a different animal and one that is driven by interaction, just like any community. Nothing is stopping Hive having Twitter, Reddit or any of the many ridiculous applications that churn money through them, but ownership of experience means that everyone's future is somewhat tied to the success of the average. One app booms and people win, one app fails and people lose - a little.

Decentralized ownership allows for an economy to flourish without building the absolutely enormous differences in values, even though there will always be a range of outcomes. While ownership is more than just having economic stake, skin in the game tends to drive a more "serious" approach to interaction, meaning that it is more engaging, not that it is all about serious topics.

Improve and replace

From my perspective, it isn't our goal to compete with the current system, it is to replace it with something that is more valuable to all participants, a system that doesn't just drive value to the top, but distributes it. It is never going to work if it is on goodwill only, it has to be through the paradigm shift where participants take the plunge and say, "It is risky, but I am going to invest into my own future."

Money. Invest money.

Exchange something that you don't own, for something that you do. Take some small amount that is possible to lose without too much pain and buy some crypto. Something, anything. This transfer might be the most important step in changing your mind that you ever make in your life as it could be the start of your real investment life, one where you take true ownership of something for the first time ever. Perhaps once you own it, you will look for ways to increase its value.

Be responsible for yourself

I get asked relatively often to be someone's mentor, but I see this as a useless endeavor as what the hell would I tell anyone that I haven't already put on the blockchain or will put on the blockchain in the future? No one is forced to read, vote, comment or follow anything I say at all, but it doesn't mean that no one won't either. It is about personal responsibility and even without stake on Hive, we all own our experience here. If you aren't willing to attract and retain users through your interactions, who do you expect to do it?

This is a decentralized platform and economy and we all have the potential to do something to make it better, even though the return might never come. Perhaps this is the problem when it comes to many people on Hive and in crypto in general, they aren't entrepreneurs with a risk seeking mindset who are willing to put in and face the consequences - it is filled with people who want to buy a better life in a broken system - always looking for an exit from crypto.

Perhaps it is too late and there is no exit.

Maybe this is the future and what you are squandering now is a position as an influencer in that future - a position as a community node that generates value for many at a local level. Maybe you have struck oil or found diamonds, but don't know what they will be worth once in the hands of many.

Maybe the risk isn't in getting into crypto, it is staying out of it.

I find it surprising that so few people are firstly on Hive and then, how few who are already here actually take advantage of the potential of it. Maybe it isn't only the industry that is immature.

Age is nothing but a number, but it does hint at experience. Actions are a better indicator.

Taraz [ Gen1: Hive ]