Certainly some food for thought. I was in this content creation challenge for last month and a great things I learnt about it is that many people forget the social part of this network. They post and then get mad if they don't get rewards but you do not see then going into other people's posts in the communities they are showcasing their stuff. They did an effort to comment in the posts of the others in the challenge but that's a very closed interaction.
Something I love about Hive is that you can find tons of great content and make someone's day buy going reading or watching and sharing your thoughts about what they did. It is an amazing thing.
Though this is also a lesson. I never really made a point to become an active member in some communities. But since I'm still learning, I try fix that buy going into those communities and having a look at the posts I like. I also go to the profiles of those who comment on my post and comment on their latest or very nice posts that they have done recently.
However, I don't know if I'd get any support if I ever needed something like a surgery. Not even now that I need a laptop. Not because I don't think people wouldn't collaborate, but I don't think I have earned that right yet.
The comparison you made might look like overstretching the topic, but I think going through the extremes of ideas tend to fill in the middle ground of the work. Hive is an amazing place if you build the connections, but it can look like mainstream media of you don't. As you have said before, nothing is guaranteed.