In a world where we tend to ask if you're a Windows user or an (Apple) Macintosh user, there is room for Unix (or any of its variations).
In a world where we tend to ask if you're mobile phone runs iOS or some form of Android, there is room for non-Android Nokia.
In a world where we tend to ask if you will pay cash or charge, it's still possible to pay with travelers' checks.
It's OK if Hive doesn't achieve the popularity of other social networks as long as it remains available as an option. If Hive hadn't come to existence as it had, it may not even be Hive as we know it today.
Even if some companies receive venture capital funding, that doesn't guarantee their success; it just means that if they win, they win BIG.
Then there is the matter of how certain companies end up being chosen the winners. It's one thing for FB and Twitter (among others) to be leaders in social media, but how did they become so popular to the point where we're forced to use their plugins to display their content? Why isn't a screen capture enough, or just simply copying and pasting text or links into our posts? I don't remember this being the case with MySpace. Legacy media is involved in popularizing these platforms, and it looks as if they were ready from Day One. How did that happen? Beats me.
Back to Hive....
Whatever success Hive is having, it has it while doing it the hard way. Its very existence took place the hard way. The spread of the word came about the hard way. It's value was acquired the hard way. Given that on any day it is considered a Top 1% token in terms of market cap, it's amazing how far Hive has come along while doing it all the hard way. It would be nice for Hive to get some favors and advantages, but that's out of character for Hive.
When people are ready for Hive, Hive will be there for them. Just as with Unix.