Yeah dude. A solid product attracting consumers steadily is all it takes. Can be treated like a fresh start. Make a splash and turn it into a tsunami.
8 years of experience studying this and I can tell you one of the biggest mistakes people make when building here is building it for the "Hive Community."
It's too small. The world outside is bigger. Hive is just a set of tools.
That one stung a little, because you know I've been positioning and even NAMING my product for the Hive community, but, I certainly intend to treat HiveStreams.Live as an entry point to and not a wall around the Hive community.
It's just not there yet, as a product, not ready for primetime. It's good for a cable channel level audience but its not ready for the limelight of the masses. Working on that every single day. But I am a one man team doing all the programming on it. I can't really afford anybody else, or I'd certainly get them,
I spent 35+ years building software and building software teams at places ranging from tiny startups to NASA. I build really good teams and with their expertise on tap can architect really complex systems, and my career was made from that skill.
This one though, I have this particular vision and zero budget so for now, I am a one-man-band on it. I do have business input from my trusted witness partner, Mr. Witty, who is far more a financial wizard than I am when it comes to making things make money. I just make things actually work. Well, I might add, when given the time, resources and space to do so in.
For me, starting "Hive Community" targeted gives me that time and space. Not so much the money because I haven't asked for any directly, or planned to do anything other than build a solid business model in, so I don't end up being "that guy who failed and needs socialism to prop up his company now via the DHF proposals".
I have said repeatedly if I went to the DHF, I'd be beholden to the very same Hive community I am fed by in that context. NO BUENO. The Hive Community whom I love as individuals, has not collectively demonstrated much more than being able to remain afloat for seven years. But you can literally float forever. If you choose to all SWIM however, exert a little effort, you will get somewhere. To a destination. Or at least go on a journey. If you just float, you stay in one place and drift and slowly wither away. Which is kind of what it seems like is mostly the case with my unique deep insight, then gap with only glimpses into it over 2 years, then a return to deep into it. We drifted, into shallow water and it's withering away.
The goal Witty and I set for our witness was to try and rejuvenate some enthusiasm. Get that buzz going in the Hive again. That heady, world is our oyster 2018-2019 buzz. When things were happening...
When the outside saw us swimming and thought the water looked inviting too.
My project aside, my real meta is trying to figure out how to get this place of life support and back into being excited to be alive.
People like to watch excited people, and they want to be a part of the excitement.
Pontiac had a slogan back in like the 90s, "We Build Excitement!" - It worked. They sold cars. Cars some people still see as exciting even though the brand itself is dead. For the younger crowd, think Mr. Beast. He builds excitement in very visceral ways too.
We need to build excitement.
THEN "they" will come.