While things seem familiar, they also feel new and there is an undeniable sense of freedom in the air. It is likely I will co-exist on both Steem and Hive--exposure is exposure--and I wanted to talk about that for a moment.
I'm not certain the reaction some will have to those to live in both worlds, but I'd like to explain my reasoning from my own unique perspective--the perspective of someone who is more writer and mad scientist than a crypto expert. As a software engineer, I understand the precepts and basic function of various blockchain technologies and I have the appropriate glee when I look at it all working, but Steem was something even more to me than a nifty gadget or novel idea.
Steem for me represented an opportunity to give real value to expression, a place to author ideas unhindered, and a place to watch a community of creators from all over come together to support one another without sacrificing economy or content. Then came the Sun...
The sheer emotional reaction to Justin Sun's actions over the course of his acquisition of STI raised a massive red flag to me. I saw anger, I saw outrage, I saw spite, I saw resentment--from everyone who knew even the slightest bit about what was going on. The people I saw reacting that had the most impact on me were generally even-keeled. Don't take me wrong, I didn't just hear the first rabble-rouser and say, "hey, this guy Sun must just be a dick."
I watched the most passive peoples' voices change to aggressive and sometimes hostile tones. I read the words of people who normally posted things akin to Jim Henson, LeVar Burton, or Fred Rogers. They were suddenly Janis Joplin, Thelonious Monk, or Winston Churchill. There was a passionate rejection of an authority that had declared itself with no due course or even substantial reason beyond simply having more wealth.
Suddenly, the insignificant many became a force pushing against the anointed few--like a Marxist proletariate rising to upset the bourgeoisie and reject the aristocracy. Did it work? Well, when has the proletariate ever won? Of course it didn't work, so they improvised. They said, "fuck you, we'll find our own promised land--with blackjack and hookers." And thus, Hive was born. Letting Sun and the Deadites have their desolate forest of withering content and bleak, formless loyalty.
All very dramatic, right? So, why would I stay on Steem? Well, quite simply put--and perhaps with some naivety--as long as I see the numbers tick up on the vote count--and Steem holds even the slightest value--it's more or less free exposure and a little coin here and there. The heart isn't there that once was, but I don't mind continuing that dream on Hive and collecting a little extra in the old country while it still has a semblance of economy left.
There are other good reasons to stay on Steem I could probably list--like yet another medium on which your content will literally never die--but frankly, at this point, I think the second most important thing about Steem is that it's still exposure for writers and creators. The first most important thing is that it led to Hive.