I used to love social media. By that, I mean what social media was before people started calling it social media. When Twitter and Facebook were in their infancy and I came across my first true love, Jaiku. That feels like decades ago now!
Then Jaiku got swallowed into the abyss and other things came to life briefly to replace them (identi.ca, google+). But it was never quite the same, and things have gotten steadily worse ever since. I've long hated and stopped using Facebook. That just turned into some weird place where you could see what all your relatives had for breakfast that day. Not for me.
Twitter is a whole other ballgame, but ultimately for the most part equally unappealing, just for different reasons. Nobody actually talks to you on Twitter anymore. At least not with any kind of regularity. Most people (and I'm equally guilty of this at times) just want to shout their grievances with life into the void, where it gets swallowed whole and leaves you with a sense of hollowness. There's really not all that much "social" about it these days. Mastodon is marginally better. Slightly less signal to noise ratio, but it's still in essence a clone of Twitter.
So, mostly I just dip in and out. Sometimes I don't even bother to look for months at a time. Often the latter is better for me (definitely better for my mental health). But I miss... something. Friendship maybe, or at least a sense of camaraderie.
So after hearing @dickturpin talking about Hive on Twitter, I thought I'd come and check it out. Thus far, I literally have no idea what I'm doing or where this is going, but here I am.
Oh, I should mention that before the days of Jaiku and Twitter, I used to be a very frequent blogger. Starting about a month after WordPress was released. Quite a long time ago now, and none of my blogs from back then are still up and running. I used to love blogging, mostly about tech related geekery with a bit of life stuff thrown in. I made friends, they commented on my blog and in turn I commented on theirs. Then Twitter came along and a whole swathe of people stopped posting to their blogs. Twitter killed all but one of my circles blogging lives.
So maybe Hive is a good halfway house? A place to connect to people where you're not given a stupidly small character limit and can actually communicate with more than shallow soundbites?
That'd be quite nice.
It took me a year to figure out what I was doing - I still don't understand a LOT of what goes on here - and to make as much on a post as you have made on this one. You're an engaging writer, and you didn't go on and on (and on), and those make friends fast around these parts.
Welcome
Thanks! I don't know how active I'll be yet, it's been so long since I wrote anything regularly, but I'll aim to post a few times a week if I can. That's a very kind welcome though, thank you!
Welcome to the crowd, I just had my three year anniversary on the block chain. You would think after three years I would know what I am doing or where it is going, still not a clue really. I have found it to be fun to post things, so if you used to run a blog, I am sure you will like it here. Right now not a whole boat load of people, but also not a boat load of crap either.
With blogging experience and enjoying the old style of comments back and forth, you may find this place appealing. Lots of people are willing to help, so if you run across something you don't understand, someone somewhere will know something. I know somethings, and some people that know things I don't have a solid grasp on yet.
But welcome to Hive.
Not knowing what I'm doing or where I'm going is the story of my life. I sort of like it that way, or at least I've just grown used to it!
Congrats on 3 years, and thanks for the kind welcome!
It does make life interesting and fun, not knowing what is around the corner, or around the next bend, or where you will in 2 or 3 years.
Jackie, Hive is perfect for you if you still keep up your photography? If you look under Communities there are some photography ones. A quick look produced this one https://peakd.com/c/hive-142159/created
Sadly I haven't been, but it is something I keep meaning to get back into, so maybe now is the perfect time. Cheers for the link, I'll check it out. Still fumbling my way in the dark around here a bit, but I'll pick it up. 😊
TBH, there's not a great deal to it unless you want to immerse yourself in the whole Cryptocurrency, Game playing, multimedia bonanza. A little bit of either HTML or Markdown knowledge will go a long way to aiding the formatting of your posts. Just have a look through my rubbish to get a feel or if you want to see how it should be done properly look at @steevc's stuff.
Yeah it's mostly the crypto stuff that has me completely bamboozled (I barely even know what blockchain means, I'm like a fish out of water with that stuff), but as I'm not here to make money it's not too important that I wrap my head around that immediately.
Very glad I can use markdown. I mean I can do html, have done for years, but markdown is much nicer for writing posts with.
Gasp! It's horrible. I prefer old school HTML. 😄
East Yorkshire? Not so far away.. the UK HIVE population is growing. On STEEM it was only around 100 last year. Welcome, and I sympathize with your comment.. 'I have no idea what I'm doing'
You should add at least one image to your post though, first tip!
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.
Good to know there's a decent UK population too. Not that I at all mind people from outside the UK of course, but sometimes it's nice to have a more 'local' feel.
hive does have some of that feeling when internet was not cool, and you had to invest some effort to use it. in the beginning for me it had a bit of that old forums feel. if you stay you will for sure find some interesting people. engagement is sometimes low but i find it it has more essence than fb or instagram.
crypto part with keys and stuff can be a bit hard, my recomendation is to check out Hive Keychain extension for your browser and try peakd.com as a front end. also when you get around keys, you could check out dapplr for mobile. it is a brand new app, looks nice, still have some bugs but it is a work in progress.
Also check out communities, maybe you find something you like.
"When internet was not cool". Well, for me, those days were the days of hand coding basic html and websites with disgusting colour schemes everywhere. :D I know what you mean though, and I don't mind a learning curve. Keeps the old grey matter ticking over.
Thanks for the tips! I'm actually already using Hive keychain and peakd.com so I got something right at least. I'll check out dapplr too. Although it's quite nice actually to go back to PC only. Might be handy for notifications though.
i am kinda mostly pc, especially because of the photos and i never got used to write a lot on the phone. but it is nice to have a good option when on the road or waiting somewhere.
Welcome to Hive. Hope you find what your looking for here. There are a lot of communities developing and things are getting better all the time. If you have any questions about the photographic communities here don't hesitate to ask me.
Thank you! I may well do that at some point. I'm very rusty photographically speaking, haven't picked up a camera in a long time. I keep meaning to though, it's good for me and I really enjoy it. I think this place may just be the kick up the arse I've been needing.
When I saw mention of identi.ca and Mastodon I was thinking that @dickturpin would be interested in this post, but then I see he led you here! I was into blogging many years ago, but experimenting with various social sites like identi.ca, Multiply, Google+ and others. Many don't exist any more. I like that Hive can exist as long as someone keep processing the blockchain. I still write blog posts like I used to, but get more responses here than on my old personal blog. That has value to me.
Hive can be more than blogging with games, video and other 'dapps'. You can use it however you like. If people appreciate what you do then you can earn.
Enjoy!
Have a !BEER (that's something else to check out).
Hey, thanks! :)
I do still have a usual blog, but I hardly ever post on it. I think I need more interraction to stay motivated. Not monetarily, but just the odd comment or two is good.
And yeah, I've known @dickturpin for many years now, since the start of identi.ca I think, which is where I was most active after Jaiku bit the dust.
Anyway, from what I see so far, I'm hopeful about this place!
I've known him for years and actually met him once. I'd like to see more people from those other communities come over to Hive, but they tend to be established elsewhere and happy with what they have.
I've not only met him (twice I think?), I've hugged him! 😁
He gave me a hug when I met him! Of course things would be different if we met these days.
Welcome! I'm hoping you enjoy your stay :)
I still use twitter but I agree it isn't what it used to be, also blogged using Wordpress. I've enjoyed scratching by blogging itch here but it hasn't been as interactive as I'd hoped. It's great to be rewarded for posts but fewer than 1% of voters interact. I think it's all very automated.
Thank you!
And well...if I manage to get even a small circle of people that regularly interracts on each others posts, it's a great start. I think that's all I need anyway, personally speaking. I used to have a few thousand followers on google+ where I used to post photography regularly, but I soon learnt that having lots of followers doesn't necessarily mean lots of interraction.
Welcome to Hive!
People use it for many different things, e.g. investing (earning an app. 10% dividend in staking Hive), blogging, sharing ideas, pics or art, networking & finding people with the same interests (communities) or just playing. It is a huge ecosystem.
Yeah, I did a little reading last night, it's interesting. The whole crypto side is still a puzzle to me but slightly clearer. As I've said earlier, I'm not here to make money, nor do I really understand it, but I do find it interesting.
Thanks for the welcome!
View or trade
BEER.Hey @jacpl, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @steevc for you. Enjoy it!Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your
BEER.Hive is an opportunity for anyone for sharing thoughts and interact with others, additionally, it has the advantage to provide you some income in crypto which is amazing.
I hope you enjoy HIVE as much as me.
Well, I think I've already spoken to more people here in an hour than I have in 6 months on Twitter, so it's off to a great start!
Thanks for the reblog and comment.
The amount of freedom you have on here is something I've had to comprehend over time. The potential to include multiple forms of media in a single post is something I hope to truly take advantage of.
The more I discover the deeper the rabbit hole seems to go in terms of this platform.
Yeah, it's definitely a good thing that there is the same flexibility in terms of content types that a blog has. Makes a nice change from the usual short post format.
Not to worry. I’ve been here 3+ years and I’m still more than a bit clueless.
Haha, glad I'm not alone!
Congratulations @jacpl! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You can view your badges on your board And compare to others on the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Do not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:
Welcome to Hive. It's way more than just blogging, hope you find your niche here; there's a lot to discover!
I'm overwhelmed by all the replies I've had! Definitely a promising start. 😊
Let rip and go off.
I'm a big fan of Fakebook and Twatter as well!
https://peakd.com/art/@frot/hivedoesnotreallyneedmoreusers-c472mwewq7