Earlier today, I had a conversation about hive which prompted me to write this post. The conversation was centred on third-world countries exploiting Hive and the general state of the chain. So this is a detailed response to some of those claims.
Third-world leeches
I am aware that a few people from the first world do not appreciate the contributions of hivians from third-world countries. They see them as leeches who only take and give nothing in return. They want more people to buy and hold hives for speculative reasons and people from third-world countries cannot contribute in this manner. It is kind of sad reading takes like this when you know that most of what we consider to be Western civilisation was built on the backs of brown people and resources of third-world countries, but that's a discussion for some other day.
My question(s) to those who do not value the contributions of Hivians from third-world countries: What do you think will happen when you alienate participants from third-world countries? Will that bring your first-world country friends to Hive? Would that make them buy Hive? Who in the first world wants to spend 6-12 hours a day to earn $5?
Over half of the hive traffic (that are not bots) comes from countries like Venezuela, Nigeria and Ghana. These demographics make up a chunk of your active users. You also have a significant number of Hive curators and community managers from this same demographic because they are the only group willing to do these jobs for peanuts.
Let's not forget that most of the people who have benefited the most from Hive are from first-world countries. I know people who were earning $200-$300 per post back in the day that are nowhere to be found. Some even stayed back on Steem to support a usurper. It has been these third-world communities that have been active here through difficult times, and yes, they aren't doing so for altruistic reasons.
Most hivians from third-world countries like Venezuela, Nigeria and Ghana need their hive earnings to survive. You cannot tell someone who hasn't had a decent meal to plan for the future except you are deliberately being obtuse or wicked. I clearly do not understand why providing people with a means of livelihood would bother anyone.
Now it is also important to state that these content creators (most times) earn upvotes on their posts. They did not coerce any person or group; neither did they beg. Hive says: create good content to earn; engage to earn; support community projects to earn. People do these things and somehow it is bad for Hive?
Now you might not like content from people from certain demographics. Everyone here has the freedom to express how they feel with their vote. If your vision and goals do not align with that of the collective you have the option to power down and move on or at least create something different on hive. What you really cannot do is police what people curate. You can appeal to the minds and conscience of people to see the benefit of holding hive or curating engaging content but you cannot force your opinions on other people (well except you are a whale).
A platform is as good as what it curates
If anyone thinks hive is shitty then the onus is not on the creators but the curators to justify their actions of rewarding subpar content. The basic principle behind capitalism/free market is that people are selfish and will pursue selfish interests and by doing so benefit the collective by creating tools and services. However, when the bar is set low people will engage in low-quality activities as it is the proven way to gain the most out of the system.
Curation on Hive has been a subjective thing. This is why we keep having this debate about quality content which is a false narrative. Quality content isn't engaging content. In our pursuit of quality, we've turned the blockchain into an echo chamber where people write content to earn. If engagement was prioritised maybe people will take out time to research and write about relatable topics that will earn views and comments; maybe people will spend more time promoting/sharing their posts.
Maybe it is not about content
Some Hivian argued that the sole purpose of Hive curation is distribution -- to get the token in as many hands as possible, and I do agree. You can't have a decentralised chain if it's only accessible to those who have money to purchase it. If that were the case you will have venture capitalist chains like Polygon, Solana, etc where most of the activities are simulated by bots.
Hive is doing great in terms of providing a solid infrastructure for the distribution of its token. However, it cannot do everything right. No Base layer can. When was the last time you heard about Ethereum doing something exciting? No one talks about Ethereum anymore, however, most of the developments in the crypto space are EVM-compatible. They are building on top of a crappy chain. The point here is Hive isn't broken or needs fixing. It is doing what it does well. To take the chain to the next level we need more and better layer-two solutions and applications.
Hivians don't appreciate hive enough
As an active airdrop hunter, I can't help but laugh when people complain about Hive. 99.9% of the chains and crypto projects out there are dead. Most of the people using these chains are either crypto traders or airdrop farmers like myself. Hive is one of the few blockchains with actual normies. I don't know if people understand how important this is to the future of this space. They are so pressed about VC money and want people to buy their bags but they miss the big picture.
If there is any chain capable of onboarding the masses it is certainly Hive. Yes, it needs to do a lot more work in marketing but that's a problem layer 2 solutions should solve. Leofinance, 3speak, Ecency, etc should all promote their platform and grow their user base. They can define their platform culture (leofinance is currently doing this) and attract the users they need to grow their community.
Conclusion
I have been on Hive for half a decade. I have experienced what many will consider to be our glory days but those days are long gone and will never come back. Hive has evolved from what it used to be in its early days.
Hive is not your moon coin. If you are betting on the token to 100x then you are going about this the wrong way. What you should consider is its use case; the number of active dapps in our ecosystem and how to keep existing users active and bring in new users. Let's focus on getting and keeping more people here.
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I have gone through this post countless times today and without a doubt I can’t agree less on what you have stated in this awesome post of yours…
It is indeed a fact that majority of the people who spends more than 6-12 hours here on hive are the people from the third world countries, in the last one year that I have indeed spent here, I have not seen anyone more consistent and determined than the third world countries…
The fact that the first world countries sees the third countries as leeches is very painful, I love the questions you asked in this post?, who in the first world countries would spend 6–12 hours on a post just to earn 5$ and where as people from the third world countries spend that amount of hours and more on this platform because it is a means of our survival, most times we are disappointed at the turnout of events but that doesn’t stop us from waking up the next day and doing that same thing again until we get our desired result, this is who the third world countries are…
I can feel all your emotions in this post honestly and the more I read this post is the more I understand where you are coming from…
Why do we take heed to the rules and regulations of the hive blockchain, it is because this is a means of our survival and we can’t afford to loose it…
This platform is meant to be social, we are suppose to be seen as equals especially when we are here together for different reasons…
The fact is just that wherever we have the third world countries feeling in, such places are never boring, it is always full of life and different experiences, our vibe and energy will surely make us stand out wherever we go and that is why they need to start seeing us in a different light and also as equals because we are special and unique and not just leeches who take without giving out…
Thanks for bringing our voice to life and it is high time the third world countries are seen in a different light…
Their rationale is that our time and effort isn't worth we are getting because they do not value our input. I am not even trying to convince this group about anything.. Just showing them how flawed their arguments are and also inspire the hardworking people here to continue. I know there are many ways i can cut corners to earn more but i love this space enough to do the right things and support my community.
Someday soon we will build a strong community that is self-sustaining and can support as many brown and black people as possible. That is my dream.
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comment.
And we will be a part of this dream of yours and ours , a community where everyone is equal and welcomed, i believe we are on the road to making your dream happen… thanks for your time
Hive is supposed to be a social chain, majority of those who do the social part are those from third world countries, if they're left out it would make it much similar to all these other chains that are basically dead. Where we barely have any interaction.
The hive community is the most welcoming crypto community I know of. Most other communities it is a lot harder to actually make geniune connections.
Those who don't see the contributions from third world country users as important need to sit down and have a deep think.
We see these same set of people everywhere we go around the globe. We do the work they refuse to do. When something goes wrong we are usually the first group to be blamed. It is tiring.
Nevertheless, we will never relent. Hive has become a safe space for many of us and it will remain that way.
This is deep and I don't think there is a better way to explain every point you have stated in this post.
I have been on different platforms and somehow, people from the third word gets the same treatment in the end. Honestly, at some point I felt like people from the third world are being used to promote platforms, projects and others,
Knowing that Hive has existed for a long time and still find people from the third world relevant to an extent is a good thing and it would be unfair to make them feel like nothing at this point.
I hope everyone respect others contribution whether big or small as long as they are not violating the rules of the platform in any way.
Thanks.
This is the truth. To be frank I don't mind. Use me but don't dismiss my effort and contributions. We want to make money yes and we are willing to do the work. I honestly do not see any problem with that. I don't see any other group of people putting in as much work, so all these narratives about third world participants being leeches is disgusting to me.
I read this post with much interest, everything you said in this post are true. Even though I am still not yet familiar with most things on Hive, I have both seen and experience a high degree of partiality or should I call it racism from some community owned by those set of people you called westerners. I was abused and called names just for trying to get attention from a community. It's horrible how these people branded Africans as poor and cheaters when the bulks of the Data that powered the Hive network are produced by mostly Africans.
This is one of the reasons I am trying to create a safe haven for Nigerians and Africans on hive. Moving around different communities in search of support can be very insulting but i understand that most people do not have a choice. We need to continue to shine the light and be the best we can possibly be in every given situation because that is how high the bar has been raised for us.
Thank you for this explicit content. There's a recent trend that Nigerians are smart but with a few bad eggs going about it the wrong way.
I am of the opinion that Africans are good, in fact, very good and you will see that even in first world countries where they are located or working.
There has been partiality no doubt and oftentimes than not, contents do not get upvoted as much as the creator would wish yet, we must as Africans (particularly Naijans) work on our string community, making us an epitome worth emulating and appreciable. Many long years ago, we struggled through slavery yet, we are here today, a pride to behold. That victory did not come by mere wish. It came from hard labour. And a few people need just to set the pace to show that things can work just fine, especially where there is a system in place (having limited human influence).
Personally, I believe we should not marginalize our integrity in the name of desperation, appease or appeal. We must gather ourselves, those doing it right and make example of the do-ability of what is right.
Thank you for your wonderful content once again, I've been here since October last year and Hive has been a beautiful and different platform to participate in. See you around sire
This was excellently articulated!.
Most of us are here because we want to contribute. We have amazing and outstanding writers and bloggers here and we all have the one goal of striving to make Hive better.
But with the way things are in these third world countries, no sane citizen will be willing devote their time and efforts into something that will not give some sort of means to their livelihood. It simply will not make sense.
So while we are also here for the rewards, that doesn't take away from the fact that we consistently put in effort day in day out to ensure that Hive moves forward.
I mean can one really happen without the other? They're mutually exclusive.
Thank you for speaking up on this matter. You have brought to light what has been in our minds! 🌹
You couldn't have said it any better. We are willing to support the platfrom. Most of the monies made here go back into it some way. For instance, most of the money I made last month went into getting equipments to help me create better content. So to see one is just taking without giving anything in return, it is triggering.
Thanks for stopping by. I know we have amazing people here putting out decent content. And they will continue to get support as long as I am in this space.
I'm super grateful for selfless people like you too.
You relentlessly put in the work to make sure that Nigerians have a safe and conducive space to express themselves and network with fellow Nigerians.
For all the hard work you do, I'm grateful!
the pleasure you all mine. Thank you.
I want to blame those who have messed up the path in the past by threading on getvrich quick schemes that landed us a bad name but then again why not see people for who they are through their genuine efforts and work which many of us show here and support them accordingly?
Anyway I appreciate everyone putting out genuine effort over here bearing in mind their brands and the growth of the community regardless of what anyone is saying or regardless of the support they’re not getting.
True. Fast and near feeless transactions is also very underrated.
My G I used to think like this but no be am. You have been in this space as long as I have. We know the group that has carried out the biggest scams here and have milked this platform dry. Never has it been attributed to a group. But once it is a black or brown person, it becomes a case of the entire group being bad for hive. We all know where these narratives stem from but that is a discussion for another day
Certainly. I love love everyone doing their best to represent our region well. It is a difficult task but one we all must understate regardless.
Your analysis is well understood and sound. Hive is seem as a source of livelihood to us while we spend so much time and resources for peanut. For instance, data cost is very expensive and we even pay to charge our phone which is costly too but we keep striving hard to support and uplift the essence of the platform like power up exercise etc
And these efforts should not be trivialised. I believe many people from this part of the world are contributing significantly to the chain. They might not have stake but they make up for this with their on-chain activities. This is as important as stake
We staked and love the exercise but we do it according to our financial strength. Though little, but huge in compare with our net worth and meage income.
Wow! Glad I decided to take out time to read and digest this, I wish every Hiver would read this and do same... Hive is a golden opportunity for all of us even though it has a lot to do regarding the marketing aspect.
I wouldn't know much about how the curation, quality contents or engaging contents should be about but I do think a balance will be just right to use on them. It's sad that some people do not like content from people from certain demographics but I guess that is what makes Hive a platform of differences trying to build something together.
We keep building even though we have to spend alongside, the future is important but our present matters... Thanks for this Boss 🙌
Thanks for stopping by Merit. I appreciate your comment.
We all cannot like the same things, but we don't need to talk down on other person's genuine effort especially when they are not acting against the platform/chain by spamming, vote buying, plagiarizing, etc. There is no premium on people's time, and it should be appreciate when people take out time to support a project like this, irrespective of their placement on the map.
It couldn't have been said any better... There's a saying "If you can't help, don't hinder another to help" or something like that lol.
What I am saying is, we all can not show the appreciation every genuine author deserves but the little they get shouldn't be hindered by those who can not show appreciation.
100%
🙌
I just wished a lot of people would pay attention to this. There's a lot we content curators from third world countries, especially Nigeria, forgive me if I'm wrong notice when it comes our contents and the general outlook from curators and the like.
We can't help the fact that our countrymen have been guilty of fraudulence to people a time or the other. But the majority of us here on Hive really just want to create content with all my honesty to survive and feed our passions.
Like you said, it's possible when you have an alternative source of income to think about developments and big projects, but when you're thinking of your survival, it's just not that easy. But, whether people admit it or not, we have contributed in more ways than one to bringing people to Hive and engaging daily. So, I hope this mindset towards us can change.
This cannot be the reason to talk down on a group of people. I have been here for 5 years and i have seen bigger scams committed by certain groups and no one goes around to give them bad labels. There are more hardworking brown and black people here than there are scammers.
And we are still willing to support the chain in any capacity.
Thanks for stopping by I appreciate your comment.
Well said and an IMPORTANT MESSAGE that all of Hive needs to read!
Anyone who thinks that the third-world countries are leeches should ask themselves if most communities in the hive can thrive without the engagement of the third-world countries. They may have the resource but engagement is the life of this platform.
If only they will know that most people surviving through their hive earning badly wishes they can stake it for the future rewards. Take away people ability to survive on their hive earning and watch hive become like a ghost town.
I don't see why will anyone worry about someone surviving on hive someone earn legitimately when the system already take cares of that through curation reward.
In as much as I will never support any bad actors which caught across all countries on the hive by the way, I see anyone who focuses only on the bad actors from third-world countries as not being fair.
Having say all these, we need to work harder as a community to build and be able to support one another. Educate anyone we are introducing to the platform to stick to the rules.
I really commend all what you are doing for all African hivers, may your strength and wisdom continue to grow.
This narrative is rooted in racism. They attribute the action of a few to a group, and this applies to only a a group. When bad actors from other regions do the same it is often the case of the individual being bad and not the group. So I understand this fully well and I expect it to some degree.
I just want to establish here that no one is doing anyone any favour. People want high to grow so their bags can pump. There are people willing to help it grow so they can avoid groceries and basic things. That right there is balance.
This shakes so many tables. There are so many perspectives to look at this from, some of which the comments have talked about.
But one thing I know is that times change and the blockchain space remains as volatile as possible. It's a game of extremes. If Hive would do well in the near future, it would do really well, but if things would turn sour it would turn crazy sour and it would be partly due to a summation of what goes on here.
There's no one way to explain the "bad" things that may have happened. It's a roller coaster. Both good and bad is happening all at the same time from all sides, in both first second and third world countries.
Most of the world was built on slavery. The black race wasn't the first race to be enslaved they were merely the last. But that's a discussion for another day.
I like the post though, haven't given it a full read through yet but I will get around to it tomorrow.
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I promised myself to get out of the Hive thumb in Content creating after the fiasco with some whale who could just throw his weight around. I love talking about Hive but I stopped because what’s the use? I know great content creators looking for opportunities like this but why bring them here only to be stigmatized and labelled?
I have come across chat rooms with the most useless of conversations among these capitalist. Narrow minds and a very tunneled vision to what life truly is. It’s laughable really how people who are actually bringing the bubbles turn out to be bad guys. Of course there are a few bad eggs but that’s just what it is. A few bad eggs.
I love Hive with my entire soul and what these people don’t realize is that Hive changes lives off the chain. I don’t need to hold a 100k HP for my dedication to be real. I am fully dedicated and it shows in my content. Hive has changed my life all round. Paying my school fees, house rent, getting me a better phone… what’s better than having life changing testimonies?
The sad thing is, you can’t change how they see us. It’s standard procedure to ignore a Nigerian (not just third world countries). I have made up my mind to just write because I need it and not for what they think but because it’s therapeutic. Bleh!!!!
As much as some of them hate it they need the third world communities. They do not have the numbers or enthusiasm to push hive outside their circles. For those who hive has made lasting impact in their lives, this is a no brainer. We will continue to push and sing hive praises because our lives aare evidences of the good this platfrom can do.
There is always that odd egg that pops up in my comment section once in a while to act like his or she is better than me or supports hive more because they have more stake, and I can't help but laugh. To each his own. At the end of the day I am here for myself and the people who want to contribute meaningfully to the development of the change and there are several ways to go about it.
Totally my gee !
!ALIVE
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