How to Really Thrive in Hive

Hello Hiveians!

I was tagged by Jo (@paulajogalix) to join the #thriveonhive challenge and I really love to join. However, recent circumstances made me think twice before jumping into the fun. Don't get me wrong. I loved the challenge the moment I saw someone posted about it. I just have some reservations and it was compounded by what happened lately. So, I decided to have a different approach.

My first reservation was that I should copy the same format of the post. I already shared that I have a personal choice of format and I intend to keep that in all of my posts unless I feel like changing it. For now, I'm comfortable with my format and if I'll just copy someone else's, my OCD self would be triggered. I'm not saying that the chosen format of the challenge was inferior to mine, but as I've said, it's a matter of personal preference. By the way, you can find my personal choice of formatting techniques here:

Another reason is the irony that the #thriveonhive challenge became a death warrant of one fellow Filipino Hiver. As much as we want to impose the idea that ignorance of the common rule excuses no one, we have to show empathy. At first, I was firm on the judgment about what happened, but after @iameden reached out to me, I have some questions that are left unanswered. Since it has been resolved, I'll leave it as is.

So, instead of joining the challenge, I decided to give some tips on how to really thrive in Hive. I hope this can help prevent unpleasant experiences in the future. Here are some tips:

This one is directed to the newbies:

Don't join in challenges if you didn't totally grasp its rules. Read carefully the rules, understand its context, observe what others are doing, and if there are still unclear points, ask questions. Don't ever jump into the bandwagon just because it looks lucrative.

Hive has its own unwritten rules. You might think of it as a wild west where you can do anything you want, but there's a common ground that every sound mind agrees. You can actually do anything you want or post anything you want, but you can't expect everyone to agree with what you are posting. There's always an incentive and the goal is always to incentivize good behaviour and punish the dubious ones.

To the newbies, you might have raked the good rewards from what you are posting, but always reflect on it and the manner of how it was posted. Always ask the question: "Does it bring value to Hive?". After all, you're extracting value through the rewards you get. It's just right that you give value in return through the content you're putting on the chain. As they say in economics, there's no such thing as free lunch.

I'm always open to answer questions. You can reach out to me anytime if you have questions related to Hive. I might not have all the answers, but I can always ask the right people to answer those questions. Although I'm not claiming to be the sole authority to answer questions. You always ask anyone you trust to give you the right answers. Just make sure that whoever you're asking doesn't have a conflicting agenda.

This one is directed to those who invited someone to Hive:

Always keep an eye on your friends, especially the ones you invited. Also, be a model for them. Set a good example. Watch out for their behaviours. Call out those that are not acceptable to the community. That's how your invitees will thrive in Hive: with your help.

I invited @kayceeports2020 here and so far she has been very successful even if she's still very new. She's really good as a blogger and that is the main reason why she's successful, but she doesn't know everything there is to know here. She has to know the culture, common and accepted practices, governance, economics, unacceptable behaviours, etc. We keep a constant line of communication on Twitter. She can ask me questions anytime and I tried my best to answer her questions immediately. Because I was the one who invited her, I'm responsible in making sure that she won't have unpleasant experiences. That's how you retain users.

I have set up a few accounts for my friends recently and I hope they'll make their introduction post soon, but they kept on asking me questions related to Hive. I tried my best to answer them in a way that they won't get scared of what they might see here. I also made sure that their expectations are aligned with the actual happenings here. Setting unrealistic expectations proved to be fatal. A lot of users left because they haven't met their unrealistic expectations and that's partly due to the people who invited them.

This is a social blockchain. Reach out to people. Make friends. It's what makes the experience all worthwhile.

I observed that a lot of newbies are so focused on creating their own content that they forgot to look at other's content. When you're in Hive, you are a content consumer as you are a content creator. Focusing all your energy on the latter won't be worth it. You'll eventually run out of ideas on what to post and then you'll realize you're doing it just for the rewards. That's not healthy. Those who left are those who realized it's not worth it to stay. It's either they encountered a bad experience or they were not able to meet their unrealistic expectations. On top of that, they didn't make enough friends that could convince them to stay.

I already said this, but I'll say this again: Sometimes it's not only about quality, but the network you have can also affect the rewards you get.

Hang out on Discord, leave thoughtful comments to posts you really like, follow those you want to follow, and make some noise on Twitter. You friends might be able to help you someday whenever you'll encounter some bad experiences.

If you're doing something questionable now, no matter how rewarding, please stop it. It's not sustainable. Think of the long term consequences. You might have got away with it for now, but it will eventually catch up on you. You will definitely get caught one day and you might lose everything in the process.

Farming, shitposting, spamming, or any other act that could bring more harm to the chain than good are shunned here. You might have benefitted from it, but think of Tragedy of the Commons. One day, you'll pay for it and you might not like the outcome.

How many times I was tempted to game the system, but I always thought that it's not sustainable. I also believe in the Ripple Effect. I believe that anything I'm doing now will come back to me one day. If not, I want it to be paid forward. That's why I support @iamyohann's #whoaretheyphilippines Project. It's not because I am truly altruistic, but because I believe my good deeds will not go unnoticed.

Stay on course. If all your friends are doing it, it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. It doesn't mean it's acceptable because you were not caught.

I hope this post will serve you best one day. As for me, I'll continue to help those who are still new, so articles like this might pop up from time to time.

Happy hiving!

Kim Ybañez