In a post last night, I was talking about Hive being an MMPORG, a game in a world that is open to interact with and build upon in many ways. It is of course more than Minecraft however, as the effects it can have on our real-life is far more profound, other than just being a time sink that sucks down our opportunity to do other things.
While a lot of people don't look at entertainment in this way, I think there always has to be an ROI of some kind on what we do, a reward that motivates us to want to keep doing it. Now, this reward doesn't have to be monetary at all, it could be the reward of relaxation or the reward of tighter muscles after a workout, or looser muscles after a massage. It could also be the reward of opportunity, such as developing skills that support a career or building connections for a stronger relationship.
When it comes to entertainment, I get the sense that a lot of people sit down and go through the motions of what they have at least previously enjoyed, yet haven't paid attention to the reduction in ROI. Unlike a normal investment where the more in, the higher the return, time and effort into a lot of entertainment activity suffers heavily from the law of diminishing returns. Watch enough TV, they all start to be the same. Play enough games, they become boring faster. Even having a lot of sex gets boring, I know, I have tried.
So what happens is that in order to keep it entertaining, it has to keep evolving to include new "value streams" even if those streams are dangerous, harmful or leading in a direction where a person doesn't actually want to go. It is the desire for a higher high that keeps driving the ramp up, with the irony being that with each new high, it takes more investment to increase it again, meaning that the ROI keeps decreasing.
I think that it is part of the reason that many people are not able to invest themselves into something long term, as while there is the initial excitement return of the buy-in, the commitment to keep it in is difficult, especially when there is always the potential for another investment to give a higher ROI. The FOMO in itself is a type of return, a reaction to the conditions of the game, as it brings to the fore a decision, do I hold, do I sell, do I buy, do I exit completely?
What I like about Hive is that while there are plenty of the same features that arise like this, there are also other elements that can be focused on without having to ever "get out" of the game. For example, while the markets are pumping, a player can spend time and effort considering the financials and when the bear arrives, a player can spend more time building connections through social interaction. The thing with this is that because it is an ecosystem, one affects the other in various ways too, making for a complex array of pathways and potential outcomes.
On top of this, the entire ecosystem is in a constant state of flux, where the conditions are always changing, the field of play expanding in one direction and contracting in another, people are coming and going, a new large player buys-in and shifts the flow of the pool, another sells-out and shifts it again.
But, much like an MMPORG, we each have a character, or multiple characters to play with and we can spend our time building one up to boost its stats, or attempt to have many ongoing simultaneously. In my opinion, the path of the highest ROI is about building a single character that interacts with the world well, but of course this comes with risk too, as the character has to also evolve with the changing landscape in a way that is suitable for the ecosystem.
Adaption is a skill and is probably more about having a bundle of skills or the potential to learn more skills, that being a standalone skill itself. This means that adaption with a changing environment requires broad experience, as well as the sensitivity to identify the need for change and the direction in which to change. From a character perspective, this can be a challenge as while there is the benefits of consistency, pigeonholing is a risk.
But, Hive also has a potential safety measure to aid the evolution of a character through ownership of stake. Stake gives wiggle room, as pivoting doesn't mean starting from zero. There is also the social network effect benefits of having a single character that can aid in the shifting of direction also, as if a character has been able to build up significant social capital, change in direction is easier. It is much like having a professional social network in real life for a career change, as they can aid in connecting to new networks and possibilities.
But, there is risks for the character too, as even if the person behind it is anonymous, the character isn't, so that changes in direction that go too heavily against the developed norms of the social circle, can be met with a lot of negativity. For example, when a person who has built a character around their content and then gets caught plagiarizing - it is hard to come back from and no matter what is done, it might be unrecoverable, as it breaks the social trust built and empties the social capital account.
At the start of the game, people tend to choose their character on Hive based on how they found the place or, who they met in their early days. Once heading along that path, it can be difficult to shift from it, as momentum and habit combine to normalize it and create an identity from it. Change is possible of course, but it is far harder to move from negative to positive, than from positive to negative through behavior. The positive takes time to build, the negative can be an instantaneous reaction.
For example, when people who have built their character and gotten support from their content start posting short-form nonsense constantly, support can drop away very fast. It is not that there is anything particularly wrong with the short-form content, but when it goes against the nature of the trusted character, other players lose trust in it, as the thing that attracted them will appear degraded. Once lost, it is almost impossible to get that support back, because people have made a conscious decision to remove it and putting it back means that they were "wrong" - and no one likes to be that.
Character development is important in my opinion and not just on Hive. In the real world of opportunity, it is the same thing, where strong characters get attention, skilled characters get work, good characters get social capital. Just like the attributes of an RPG character, we are each a makeup of different skills and traits that are on a spectrum of suitability for conditions. While we might be perfect for this, we are terrible for that and depending on the environment we find ourselves, determines the impact it has on our experience.
The beautiful thing about the Hive game is that if we are able to identify our strengths, we can probably find a place where we can happily play the game, even if it isn't a perfect fit. With the expansion of the ecosystem, suitability increases and niche skills and interests are able to be leveraged to greater effect. We can see that over time, general blogging has shifted to a more focused style, as well as people who weren't interested in general blogging themselves have been able to move to other areas of the ecosystem, like gaming or a niche topic like finance.
This move decentralizes the ecosystem socially, not just economically or technologically, adding more layers of complexity to the environment, which allows for a greater range of diversity, as there are more "gaps" created in the space to build into. Eventually, the gaps get narrower and more specialized, but they will be filled by highly interested and skilled players in that field, making the ecosystem robust and highly valuable, as well as stable.
As I have said before, the potential of Hive is to become like the internet itself, where the infrastructure supports all kinds of activities and experiences, all kinds of characters. However, the difference is that each player is an invested owner of some kind in the system, with direct influence over their role, as well as the freedom to choose their direction, without it necessarily being tied to who they have been told they are.
The game of Hive is the creation of a new world where we get to build our characters and affect the direction of the evolution of everything that is to come - depending on where we turn our attention, spend our time and invest our resources. The ROI is up to us.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
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Nicely put. Great reading.
Hive certainly feels like the internet where multiple projects are running. It is mouthful to remain engaged in one or two communities and involved in one or two games. I started out with sports and energy posts with less traction from the community. With likeminded people and community members, I shifted to crypto and finance as I wanted to learn more and get additional ROI :) Now, it is quite tough to pivot and start something new even though I am not even a year old.
I am still waiting for that three words fluff you mentioned. Once done, you may officially adapt to a shorter post format platform Leofinance is working on. TBH, as you said, i cannot imagine you not writing a long post. I would rather read your long article.
It is funny, people used to complain about all the crypto posts - until they themselves can earn on them :) This is the power of niche communities.
Pivoting isn't too difficult, but it is one of those things that requires time to shift, a gradual process of change. What I don't like is seeing people do 180s because of earnings alone. A lot of the people writing financial and crypto posts were those complaining about them before.
Perhaps I will wait til HIVE is sitting at 10 dollars before releasing the stream of cat pictures.
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Well, we need to flow with the flow :P
For me, it is fun coz I can write about things that I read while learning about the new financial concepts and crypto. Fun times.
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Have you found any interesting projects directly from the posts here?
One example- I was looking for something similar to Uniswap for my low cost experiment. I found a post on leofinance that discussed Binance Smart Chain and available dapps. I did some more research based on that post and investment a couple hundred on Pancakeswap.
So, you will find relevant info here but you may need to dig more.
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.Trust is not easily gained or given by people, When I lose trust in a person it is a very very deep hole the person has to climb out of. On HIVE that loss can be forever in no support will be given no matter the situation. If a person is willing to steal, (plagiarism), is the number one reason for loss of complete and absolute trust on Hive Block Chain.
In real life/walking life the petty thefts can be forgiven based on circumstances, on Hive I can think of no reason at all other than greed being the reason for theft. Yes there will be real world life comparisons people will make like I did it for my family, or I needed to buy food. There is no comparison at all to real life/walking life. In RL/WL it is immediate action, not premeditated, it is out of real now hunger pains or issues, not hunger pains or issues seven days down the road.
Forgiveness on Hive Block Chain is not easy to get from people.
It is not one of those things where you can say "oops, I thought it was mine" - it is completely intentional. No wiggle room.
This is a profound view. I agree. If I (or especially my family) were in need of food, I would have no major qualms stealing from a chain grocery store - but it would be a last resort with other avenues exhausted first. I back myself never having to do that. When it come to this "premeditated" kind of theft, very little coming back from it.
The blockchain doesn't forget - yet it seems people do. There will be the returned here on the price rises - many will get support again. I find it strange.
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I think people know right from wrong, it is easy to forgive in life, we know the difference between right and wrong. While it might be wrong to steal, when it comes to feeding of a child theft is forgiven because it is more wrong to allow a child to starve.
Scams and theft and bullies do follow the up trends, it is a shame that happens.
!ENGAGE 25
I assume there is a hierarchy of right and wrong, which is not necessarily universal, but there are probably overlaps. I think with all that has been happening in the world (and is currently), the discussions on morality and ethics are going to become far more frequent.
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Morality and ethics are pretty touchy subjects, the discussion though does need to take place and people need to I think re-learn what morals and ethics are. I hope that people can discuss it, but lately it seems that discussion means "you sit there and listen to what I have to say". If society can survive this upheaval I hope we learn from it.
I think it is going to be driven largely by political positioning, where things like the events in the US are raising questions in people about what is right and what is the right thing to do. I think a lot of people have lost touch with reality that they do not understand what real violence feels like, so they are happy to incite it.
I think we are very close to becoming the Northern Hemispheres Venezuela here in America. People think that because they have shown some violence on TV over the last 10 years that Americans have become used to if not immune to acts of violence from various and sundry groups of peoples with grievances. I think the government and the vast majority of people in America are about to have some very wide eye openings as to what it is like to live in many middle eastern, African, and S. American countries.
I feel fortunate I live in one of the last States that will experience the violence but I can still see it encroaching even in Alaska.
ENGAGEtokens.A few years ago I liked to play Football Manager but after a while I started to get bored and nothing in the game had changed.
What was happening was that I was running out of goals that would challenge me so that the interest in the game would continue.
It was then that I started to decide goals for each of the seasons that I played and that made me return to enjoy and return to the game.
Ultimately all people are driven by goals.
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Yes you are right - we are goal-driven and the ones we chase are the ones with incentives offering what we value. Of course, financial value is one of these things, but it isn't the only thing. It comes down to what we are willing to work for, with "work" being our activity, whatever that happens to mean.
!ENGAGE 20
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ENGAGEtokens.For me laughing always gives me the best ROI
I think that is the a pretty good reward for social activity. Better than outrage :)
For me Hive has been the way to connect with people and improve my understanding of blockchains and other aspects
Do you feel that you have advanced and has there been anything unexpected you have found by being here?
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I got to learn about crypto and blogging
I have found especially in the Summer when my wife and I are travelling and camping my activity on Hive has given me more reason to stop and take pictures of the small things that I might otherwise overlook. I now see the world with a different set of eyes thinking "this could be a post" or "that could be a post, I better get some pictures".
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lol, you aren't the only one. I feel that I "listen" to the world differently now, every conversation is littered with potential posts, every journey a source of ideas. It forces me to think about things more deeply than I might otherwise, in areas I might otherwise avoid :)
Lots of value in the "Game of Thoughts" :)
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I'm new around here ... It brought me what we call Freedom of expression, it sounded to me like those television advertisements where they promise to lose weight in a few days.
I said to myself: This will be true, if I express myself without censorship they will not attack me or shut up those above.
So I thought, I should go and get to know him on my own to see if that world without CENSORSHIP exists. And here I am trying to figure this out and see how to develop my character in this open world of Hive.
I don't know if I succeed and my character levels up or I can defeat some villains and collect some coins as a reward for my adventure.
But it will be interesting to roam the halls of Hive for a while and save some princesses in the process and take off some dragons.
Who knows, we'll see what happens.
There is no censorship here, you can speak your mind. But as I said on your post just a moment ago, there is a cost to every movement, so taking responsibility for what one says is also necessary. A lot of people seem to think that freedom of speech means there are no responses to what is said, this is not the case.
I think that perhaps we are always free to speak, if we acknowledge the consequences of what we say. In some cases, that might be total destruction, however, history has shown that while rare, some people are willing to pay that cost.
When it comes to the centralized platforms however, there is no "free" there, because they are getting paid - which means that if you threaten their bottomline, they will censor - it is all they can do, they are businesses with the focus on profit.
I have always approached this place from the perspective of an MMPORG. It's great, it turns everything into a challenge that can be tackled instead of taking everything personally!
I think this is why you are able to be involved with, but not get caught up in the dramas on the platform. I think it is part of maturing to not get triggered by everything.
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