The Non-Mainstream Future of Hive

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Soon but hopefully not too soon - I'm not a fan of mainstream stuff ;<)

@vincentnijman

This was a tongue-in-cheek comment of wanting Hive to become mainstream popular, but not too soon, because once it does, it loses some of its charm. Which is quite interesting, because it is true and untrue simultaneously, because it depends on which part of Hive you are looking at, at the time.

When you imagine what "Hive is", what do you see?

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Is it the blogging layer where you are reading this, or perhaps you see it through the lens of Splinterlands as a gamer, or maybe you are even using it to speculate on tokens through Hive-Engine?

What is Hive to you?

Well, those above are Layer Two applications that reside on the Hive blockchain, but are not Hive itself. Hive is the Layer One below, the code of the blockchain, the thing that gets hardforked that affects the interaction between the layers and enables the applications to do what they do.

However, visualizing what Hive is becomes very difficult for those unable to see the "matrix" of all the code, as most people are just not built that way, with the exception of some of the devs. So, we all hold some visual representation of what Hive is to us, where for example, I probably see it through the lenses above of blogging and Splinterlands, because that is where I spend the majority of my time. Having said that though, I also have a "pretty good" (not overly technical) understanding of how Hive as a platform ecosystem functions, both through experience on Hive over the last five years and through my IRL work, which is "similar" in many respects, albeit coming from a different perspective.

But, what Vincent was saying is very interesting, because it is how many people feel. Once something gets popular it can lose its fringe appeal. But in regards to Hive, it is kind of like an early internet user saying,

Now there are 1 million people on the internet, it has become too mainstream and I will stop using it.

At its core, the internet itself is very much like the Hive first layer, where it is just a lot of strings of code stuck together to form a set of rules, that enables the second layer to work with. But, without the second layer, what is the point of it? Even the very first transmission of the failed message that resulted in only the first two letters going through of "LO" to login to the remote computer - required an interface of some kind to visualize both ends, otherwise it all becomes a useless blackbox. Now, while a lot goes on in the background we never see, the only reason for the internet is to be able to transmit information of known kind at one end and rebuild it into something useful at the other end. It is just communication, and without having an intelligible output, it becomes useless.

This also depends on the intelligence of the receiver.

But, the infrastructure is vital in ensuring that all of the communication above can be "intelligent" in the sense that it is useful to us, regardless of what we are doing. For most people, all we do now is live our entire daily lives online, where everything we do has been facilitated in some way by the internet, whether it be our banking, the way we met and interacted with our partner, or the many designs that were passed through email servers and document repositories in order to get our phone made in the first place. Almost everything we touch in our daily life has been parsed through the internet in some way, at some point to make it possible.

But, what does this mean for Hive?

As I see it, what Hive actually is as a platform, is an enabler for creativity and has the ability to replace the way we "look" at the internet. As rather than seeing it as we do as a transmitter of information to satisfy our needs alone, it also becomes a place for average people to build directly onto the infrastructure itself, which I think is interesting. What I mean by this is that if you write on Facebook, what is actually happening is that your information is stored in their servers around the world. However, when you write on Hive it is stored on the blockchain (yes, still on servers) forever. This is the immutability aspect, but what it also means is that we all become a part of Hive at the base layer, at least through transactions.

However, no one need actually worry much about this, because of the interfaces are the way we visualize it and this is also why it doesn't matter if Hive explodes into the mainstream, because what does that actually mean? If for example Hive Blogging explodes and 100M people join up, it completely changes the experience of bloggers, but has near zero effect on how Splinterlands players interact with Hive, other than making RCs more important and creating accounts a challenge!

This means that no matter how popular "Hive" gets, it doesn't mean that all of the Hive interfaces that look at and interact with the blockchain will become popular. However, it is likely that if one interface had a huge amount of success, there would be a splash effect, so many of the current interfaces would benefit, as new users start to explore different aspects of Hive, changing the way they visualize Hive.

And this attention on the platform will start to attract developers who will also find things like the Hive Development Fund (HDF) interesting to use to offset the costs of their foray into Hive. This means that they will start to build new interfaces on the Layer One code to serve an audience in the hope to generate demand, just like on the internet. And, these new businesses will start to bring what is already available on Web2 onto Web3, as well as utilize the new capabilities to empower them further.

All of this results in an expanding ecosystem on Hive that will increasingly connect with other Web3 interfaces across the internet, to become a creator and consumer paradise. With all the new interjections of crypto and blockchain capabilities, it is a potential renaissance of the early days of the internet, as it opens up more blank canvas on which to paint in all directions, meaning that there is a lot of fringe for anyone interested.

And, it couldn't come to soon, as the "traditional" internet has been commandeered over the last decade to become owned by a handful of companies globally, who use it to manipulate us into making more money for them. It has become a place that crushes the creator, not empowers them, as monetization models are in the hands of the centralized administrators and corporations, not the audience that consumes them.

And this is why the distributed ownership model of crypto and the infrastructure is so important, because it enables us as the creators and the consumers to build a more direct relationship with each other, rather than relying on the handful of corporations to deliver the experience to us.

But, Vincent need not worry, because it is unlikely that Hive is ever going to be as mainstream as Facebook or Instagram, because that is not what the industry of decentralization is about. What it can do is capture 100 million users through its various interfaces and empower them to take part in the decentralization of internet ownership globally, so there can no longer be a monopolization of information distribution again.

And with that at stake, who can possibly get bored?

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]

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39 comments
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What is Hive to you?

To me, Hive is a platform where I can turn my time, effort and content into a value.

I hope Hive will not be like Steemit and lose its charm in the future.

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Steem's charm was lost with the centralized takeover and then how a few users raped it afterward. It could have been a hero story - instead, it chose the path of the villain.

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I wondered and checked it few days ago, as far as I have seen, it has been transformed to facebook, instagram alike.

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I think that’s lot of people’s fear….. I really hope it doesn’t loose it’s Value.

Hive to me is a platform to connect with people, learn about other areas not just the microscopic lens I use to view the world and also explore my creative side too. The reward system honestly is second to none. I get value for me time on Hive.

“…..it is unlikely that Hive is ever going to be as mainstream as Facebook or Instagram, because that is not what the industry of decentralization is about….” I pray you’re right @tarazkp

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The value of Hive can't be lost - The price can definitely go down a lot! :D

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I totally get what you are saying here. It is like that indy band that you and maybe a handful of other people know about. Then they go mainstream and you are like yeah, but I knew them when they were playing in that run down bar across town...

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Reminds me of a night I had with a couple friends where we watched a local band play at a bar, ended up chatting to the lead singer and parting with them for the night. Did the usual Facebook thing (at the time) and became friends. A year later, she was the runner up in one of those singing shows and went on to perform at Eurovision and the like :D

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Yep that is exactly what I am talking about. Awesome sorry. We have a local band named Greta van fleet that got catapulted into the limelight. Now you can't even get tickets to see them!

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Hive to me comes from the distributed ledger technology and what that opens.

Hive offers a decentralized database that is more than just transactions information like a bank. Instead, it is more akin to Medium or other social media database.

This is very powerful and all Layer 2 can be built on that.

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And all of those transactions add up to build what could eventually be a strong web of trust system, but open source :)

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The value for me is the censorship resistance. Although I don't plan on posting anything offensive, just the idea that somebody can decide that I should remove a post is appalling. I don't see Hive losing this feature. Thus, I don't think it will lose its appeal.

On the other hand, the more users the blockchain has, and the more traffic, the more bloated the chain becomes. I do worry that at some point only big corporations will be able to afford the machines that serve as witnesses.

Popularity could mean that people use Hive primarily as a wallet with little interest in the dapps.

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Censorship resistance will always be with Hive, as it is built into the immutability and I suspect that no group of witnesses will ever change it - if they do, Hive has been lost.

On the other hand, the more users the blockchain has, and the more traffic, the more bloated the chain becomes.

This is true, but I suspect there will be more improvements made to this and, more advancements in intertwining chains together so not all information is held on the one.

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Hive has its own special place. God help us if it were ever like Facebook. FB is way too grade school like. Besides who in their right mind give it away? It is nice to get rewarded in crypto and write truly creative quality content.

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There could be a Facebook app similar, but it needn't impact what actually has value here :)

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I am new here, even i knew about the Hive long time, I just generally deny, don't use any kind of social media. Maybe in this way it can work, and become mainstream, change the online soc media way, what about my opinion is simple: it is just sick. People don't relize what it is, what negative effects it can have on their lives, highly connected to my only opinion: the mainstream soc media is just a surveillance network, exist, all were created by that purpose.

However, it is mainly the people's, user's fault. They don't know where it should be in their lives, what purposes it should be used for.

Just an interesting fact, if you mentioned the Fakebook, first time in their history they had less active users in Q4 2021 compare to previous quater. (And there are other user statistics, what shows they've stopped growing further...) Good sign!!!

https://www.statista.com/statistics/346167/facebook-global-dau/

Hive could be the way, and people finally could put the soc media to the right place in the importance, order list in their lives, share on it based on that, use it for the beneficiary purposes, not mostly providing free data to everybody/anybody about themselves (what plenty 3D known people don't know about them...), and obviously earlier or later what will be used against them by some people or orgs.

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However, it is mainly the people's, user's fault. They don't know where it should be in their lives, what purposes it should be used for.

It is conditioning to be renters, not owners. The idea of Hive is to distribute our ownership of the infrastructure digitally, so that what happens on the likes of Facebook, no longer has power over us.

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It is a pleasant surprise to come across a new user with valuable insights to share among comments. You have a new follower now :-)

Best of Luck on HIVE!
!PIZZA
!LUV

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thx, that's how social media should work, function, you meet with unknown people, start some conversation and if you find some common ground you take a bit attention. Not like how it works nowadays, provide everything about your life immediately, basically to everybody, putting behind all the norms, how human connections work in real life...

I just wanna try out first the basics here, later on you will definitely find some interesting posts what about not even the "conspiracy nuts" talk, and meantime it effects almost everybody... like the next gen surveillance technology... that's just insane - and i am sure i don't even know half of that -, and everybody still speak about the "spying" phones, illegal personal data collections etc. when it's proven a decade ago, and of course, nothing happened to stop or at least reduce it.

Anyway, thanks for that pizza thing, honestly have no idea about it, looks like it needs discord, what i consider part of big tech, long years ago, when i've tried to sign up, the first thing was: provide all my personal infos, phone number etc. if it is still like that, i am not going to use it... I don't even have a phone... :)

all the best!

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Hive to me is more than a blogging platform because we have so many initiative that surrounds it depending on where the user really want to specialize but at the end the goal is to achieve success in the blockchain.

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And, there really are community engagements where a wide selection of people get involved :)

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I see Hive like a big maul. Dapps are the stores where users can go into and play (Splinterlands or Risingstar) or consume something (3Speak for videos). Then customers are also able to set up their own little stands to share their content and interact with others as long as they own at least a small share in the maul.
It's our little corner on the internet where we want to build, consume and own assets with transparent financials about who owns what.

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This is a good way to look at it and one of the perspectives I have given in the past on a post. It was on Steem, so it was a while ago - but it is to be found here too! :D

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What I find interesting about the prospect of Hive gaining Uber popularity is that it WOULD be monopolised by those with enough Hive in their wallets to change the narrative and people's voting, and engaging, habits. I don't think it's as immune to corruption as we would like.

I miss the old days of the internet where you could read, say, independent reviews and journalism without having to wade through the corporate and figure out who is unaffiliated with the profiteering mega companies. I miss the days where there wasn't a pop up or an affiliate link or twenty on everything you read or subscriptions for everything.

Hive isn't THAT, which is what I immensely appreciate about it. Fringe is good - a little less fringe still would be great for all of us.

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that it WOULD be monopolised by those with enough Hive in their wallets to change the narrative and people's voting, and engaging, habits.

But, only at the base layer. REmember that it is indeed possible to remove Hive as rewards on content at some point also, which means HIVE becomes a governance token and investment for security, not as an earn to sell token too. Splinterlands is a good example f how this works, since they don't rely on HIVE much at all anymore, but do rely on the blockchain. They also have to stake to use it and create accounts, which means they are involved in the governance (as witnesses too).

I wonder if those old days will ever retuen - but I doubt it, at least in the mainstream view. Still today, the largest money making business on the internet is the advertising revenue and associated data collection and selling.

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As long as capitalism exists, the old days of the internet are truly gone.

That is true - the earn to sell model keeps many of us here, but it would be interesting to see what would happen without it.

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But, Vincent need not worry, because it is unlikely that Hive is ever going to be as mainstream as Facebook or Instagram

But a dApp that uses Hive accounts could very well be!

It's not going to be 'Hive' that's famous, but a cleverly branded dApp that takes advantage of the decentralised Hive network.

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Exactly, and all the other users will benefit, but not be directly affected by the popular dapp. People can still be fringe and reside in the same world as the hyper popular.

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I don't think Hive can handle the traffic if everyone in the world started to use it but I do love the fast and free transactions. It comes with the cost of powering up some Hive for RCs, but I think it's a good enough system to appeal to a large number of people.

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Hive for me is both a digital country and a compounding machine that offers a vision of financial freedom.

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Hive to me is the authentic go to platform when I want to have a feel of the cryptosphere . Asides earning , this platform tends to shape, mould and widen my horizons when it comes to blockchain technology and all what it entails.

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Hive is a chaotic rolling mass of individualism moving in an almost infinite number of directions. Out of all that morass comes innovation most of which will stay here on Hive while some will either branch out or jump onto other chains.

Look at some of the innovation already available at https://hiveprojects.io/

While realizing that is an incomplete listing of Hive projects after all our very own (early days unless more folks use it) Amazon site is available at https://hivelist.store/

Of course it is those projects in development that combine on chain with off chain that I am most looking forward to such as Super Hive Hive's wordpress option.

The future must be nodes in space, yep satellite nodes. Maybe even some way to expand to extra planetary nodes. After all the best bee hives continue to expand delivering more of that delicious honey we all love.

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However, it is likely that if one interface had a huge amount of success, there would be a splash effect.

True, the layer 2 platforms advertise Hive without Hive itself necessarily advertising them. Hive will grow if more people join a certain dApp on it because the dApp is on Hive.

Once something gets popular it can lose its fringe appeal.

Too much popularity will hurt value. This flows with the “scarcity increases value”concept. This is my own little philosophy:) It only works for things that have been established to be of some sort of value though.

Me, I don’t see a future where Hive loses it’s value or becomes mainstream. Hive is not like anything out there. I don’t mean that literally: sure Hive and Steemit shares similar interface and a few other stuff but the two are very different if you look at it. Hive is more focused on community and quality than Steemit is. There’s also the issue os Steemit’s claimed decentralization against true decentralization on Hive. And let’s not get into dApps. These are all factors that will keep increases Hive’s value and status.

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Hive is a Defi app, and Social Media combined to me. Hive has a long way to go before it becomes a mainstream thing. What differentiate have from other social media is learning.

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