Hive community spotlight #39: Interview with @arcange

Welcome dear friends to the 39th edition of our Hive Community Spotlight series. In this edition we’re thrilled to present an interview with @arcange, a visionary developer whose contributions to the Hive ecosystem have had a lasting impact. Known for creating valuable tools like HiveSQL, HiveBuzz, and HiveAuth, Arcange is passionate about enhancing user engagement, security, and accessibility on Hive. Through this interview, we gain insights into his journey, the motivations behind his projects, and his thoughts on the community’s importance.

Who is @arcange

Arcange is a prominent developer and key contributor on Hive, known for creating and maintaining tools that improve the Hive user experience. With a background in development, his passion for blockchain technology led him to explore Hive after initially discovering Steem in 2016. Since then, he has continuously contributed to Hive’s growth through projects that address user needs, encourage engagement, and reinforce security on the platform.

Summary of the Interview with Arcange

Question	Key Points
How did you first get involved with Hive?	Began with curiosity in blockchain tech and joined in 2016. Motivated to contribute to community growth and make Hive accessible and engaging.
Inspiration behind HiveSQL, HiveBuzz, Engage, HiveAuth	HiveSQL for data access, HiveBuzz for gamification, Engage for streamlined interactions, and HiveAuth for secure authentication.
Managing time across projects	Uses project management tools, automation, and clear communication to handle tasks. Focuses on balance and avoids burnout.
Benefits of HiveBuzz	Gamification helps retain users by making engagement fun. Badges, rewards, and leaderboards foster a sense of community and encourage participation.
HiveSQL’s role on Hive	Eases access to blockchain data with SQL, benefiting developers and reducing infrastructure costs for users.
Advice for aspiring Hive developers	Understand Hive’s technical and social ecosystem, engage with the community, and focus on solving real problems.
Challenges faced in early days	Initial hurdles with blockchain technology and building a reputation. Found support in the community, which fueled his growth.
Thoughts on security for Hive users	Prioritizes safe storage of keys, understanding key functions, and using secure tools like HiveAuth and Keychain.
Most enjoyable part of being on Hive	Community interaction, facing challenges constructively, and memorable experiences at HiveFest, where he felt truly connected.

Interview with @arcange

How did you first get involved with Hive, and what motivated you to build so many tools for the community?

My journey with Hive began out of curiosity and an interest in blockchain technology.

After the hack of "The Dao" in June 2016, a DAO project built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, I have been looking for a similar project and heard about Steem and its potential for creating decentralized communities.

I created my account in July 2016 and immediately fell in love with the project and its community spirit. I saw the immense potential for growth and the need for projects that could support that growth, which motivated me to start building tools for the community. My goal was to contribute to making Hive more accessible, engaging, and valuable for both existing members and newcomers.

You run several key projects on Hive such as Engage, HiveBuzz, and HiveSQL. What was your inspiration for starting each of these projects?

HiveSQL was my very first project on Hive. As I wanted to understand how the blockchain worked and what was under the hood, I built a tool that allowed me to easily access and analyze all of its data. It seemed natural to me to share this tool with the community to help developers and analysts by providing them easy access to Hive blockchain data.

I then created HiveBuzz to add a layer of fun and motivation through gamification, making the Hive experience more rewarding. This is one of the projects that is closest to my heart because it allows me to be in contact with a wide variety of Hive users. The very positive feedback we receive daily through this project is a true motivator to continue my work on Hive.

Regarding Engage, I needed a tool to improve my interactions with users. It's sometimes easy to get lost in the flood of conversations and posts that people you follow are making. Engage makes it easy to not miss a thing and manage it all. Engage is a huge time saver for me, the HiveBuzz team, and other community managers.

My latest project, the Hive Authentications Services or HiveAuth, was designed to address the critical area of security. The goal behind HiveAuth is to provide an easy and secure authentication method and to remove potential security risks from traditional password-based systems. HiveAuth leverages blockchain technology to offer a more secure authentication system, unlike conventional systems that rely heavily on passwords (which can be phished or stolen).

With so many ongoing projects like AutoClaim, HiveAuth, and Account Recovery, how do you manage your time and maintain focus across them all?

I use a mix of project management tools and techniques to keep track of progress and deadlines.
Automation also plays a crucial role in repetitive tasks. By automating certain aspects of project maintenance, such as code deployments and testing, I can free up significant amounts of time to focus on more critical tasks. Effective collaboration and clear communication are also important.

It's sometimes hard to find the right balance with personal life. I try to set boundaries, take regular breaks, and schedule downtime to avoid burnout and keep my mind fresh over time.

HiveBuzz has become a fun and motivational tool for users including me. How do you think gamifying aspects of Hive helps to encourage user engagement and retention?

Personal achievement and progression are powerful factors in user retention.

Gamification elements such as badges, rewards, and leaderboards tap into the natural human desire for competition. By setting clear, attainable goals and recognizing accomplishments, HiveBuzz motivates users to participate more actively. This can be in the form of creating content, engaging with others, or contributing to the community in other meaningful ways.

By adding an element of fun and excitement to the otherwise routine activities of posting, voting, and commenting, users find their experience more rewarding. The feedback provided by HiveBuzz through badges, or progression on leaderboards, serves as a powerful motivational tool. Users can see the impact of their actions in real-time, which encourages ongoing participation. This continuous loop of action, feedback, and reward keeps users engaged and invested in their journey on Hive.

HiveBuzz not only encourages user engagement but also fosters a sense of community and loyalty, which are crucial for retention.

For those unfamiliar with HiveSQL, could you explain the benefits of using it and how it’s helping developers and community members interact with the blockchain?

HiveSQL is a powerful tool within the Hive ecosystem, designed to ease the way developers and users interact with the blockchain data. One of its key benefits is how it lowers the barrier to entry for developers interested in building on the Hive blockchain.

HiveSQL stores Hive blockchain data in a SQL database, which is a familiar environment for many developers. This drastically reduces the complexity of accessing and querying blockchain data. Instead of navigating the blockchain's native data structures and API calls, users can use SQL queries. This allows them to perform complex analyses that would be challenging or less efficient with direct blockchain queries.

The fact that HiveSQL is public and free to use also saves users and developers from having to deploy, maintain, and pay for their own infrastructure. Everything is available immediately and without limits, but with top-quality performances and service behind it.

What advice would you give to developers who want to create tools or applications for Hive?

Before diving into development, it's crucial to understand how the Hive ecosystem operates. This includes familiarizing yourself with its technical documentation, the consensus mechanism, the structure of block data, and how transactions are executed and recorded. Understanding the social and economic interactions within the Hive community can also provide valuable insights into what kinds of tools or applications would be most beneficial and successful.

Spend time engaging with the community to identify gaps or areas of improvement. This could be a user interface issue, a specific functionality that is lacking, or a service that could significantly enhance how people interact with Hive or each other. Solving a real problem is the first step towards creating a valuable application.

Don’t hesitate to engage with the community for feedback and collaboration opportunities. The Hive ecosystem is vibrant and supportive, and there’s plenty of room for innovation.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced while developing your tools, and how did you overcome them?

The underlying technology of Hive and its decentralized nature can be complex, especially for developers new to blockchain technology. This complexity is a real challenge to understand how things work on Hive, how transactions are processed, how data is stored, etc.

I spent a lot of time learning the fundamentals of blockchain technology and the specific characteristics of Hive. I joined developer forums and participated in community discussions. Collaborating with other developers in the community has been invaluable in overcoming challenges.

With Account Recovery and HiveAuth, security is your focus. What advice do you have for users regarding account security on Hive?

Security should be a top priority for every user.

Store a copy of your keys offline in multiple secure locations (such as encrypted drives or paper copies stored safely), especially the owner key, as this is your last line of defense for account recovery.
Take the time to understand the purpose of each key type and use them appropriately.
Do not enter any key on apps or websites! Use tools like HiveAuth or Keychain to interact with the blockchain... if you trust them.
Set a trusted account recovery partner or use a service like @hive.recovery.

Do your own research, trust but verify, and last but not least, NEVER share any key before you fully understand what you are doing

You're such a big name on Hive and people love you, did you ever face any challenges in your early days on Hive?

Yes, like many others who step into uncharted territories of blockchain, my initial days were marked by a steep learning curve and the need to find my footing in a buzzing community.

One of the first challenges I faced was the intricacies of blockchain technology itself. Despite having a solid background in development, blockchain technology represented something new to me with its decentralized nature and consensus mechanisms, as I was more accustomed to the centralized world of businesses.

Another early hurdle was building a reputation within the Hive community. In a decentralized world, trust and reputation are worth gold, and as a newcomer, you start with virtually none. It was crucial to demonstrate not only my technical capabilities but also my commitment to the community's values and my willingness to contribute positively. This meant engaging genuinely with others, sharing knowledge, and being open to learning from those already established on the platform.

In the early days, it's easy to feel like a small fish in a big pond. There were moments of self-doubt, wondering if my contributions would make a difference or if they would be lost in the sea of content and projects. Fortunately, I was blessed with encouragement. The Hive community is remarkably supportive, and even as a newcomer, I found people willing to lend a hand, offer advice and share ideas. This sense of community became a driving force.

Overcoming these early obstacles was a gradual process. It involved a lot of learning, both from successes and failures. I focused on projects and contributions that I was passionate about. Slowly, my reputation began to grow, and with it, the impact of my work.

Reflecting on those early days, the journey has been incredibly rewarding.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the Hive community? Is there any moment or experience that stands out to you?

What I appreciate most about Hive is what its people can bring to me, both positive and negative. I am enriched by the positive, and the negative invites me to question myself, to improve my work or my personality, or to learn to face adversity more serenely.

A key moment was my participation in the very first HiveFest in Amsterdam.

Before that, I had participated in so many conferences or events where I felt anonymous and wondered why the fuck I attended, where the "big guys" look down on you and seem inaccessible, where the only souvenir you bring back are branded pens or stickers that will lie around in a corner before ending up in the trash.

HiveFest was quite the opposite. I immediately felt welcomed, by people whose status or wealth I did not know, eager to engage with me. I made new friends, real friends, even if we only see each other once a year. I left with a sense of community found nowhere else and memories that are forever anchored in me.

As I explained during my speech at the latest HiveFest in Split, it is by remembering all the good things I experienced, the wonderful people from our community I met, and the support they gave to me, that I find the will to continue investing in Hive.

Projects/Community Highlights

HiveSQL: A database solution for accessing Hive blockchain data in SQL format, making data analysis easier for developers.

HiveBuzz: A gamification project that rewards Hive users with badges and leaderboards to motivate community engagement.

Engage: A tool to help users manage interactions and stay updated with posts and conversations.

HiveAuth: An authentication service designed to improve Hive’s security and eliminate password risks.
Account Recovery: A solution for recovering Hive accounts, adding an extra layer of security for users.

We extend our deepest appreciation to @arcange for his unwavering dedication to the Hive ecosystem. His work has not only made Hive a more accessible and engaging space but has also inspired many others to contribute and create. Thank you for your vision, hard work, and the incredible projects that enhance our daily experience on Hive.

Conclusion

Arcange’s journey on Hive is a testament to the impact of dedication and community spirit. Through his innovative tools and commitment to Hive, he’s left an indelible mark, inspiring countless users and developers. His story encourages us to look at Hive not just as a platform but as a growing community where every contribution, large or small, makes a difference.

Thank you all for your time here!

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