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So I have been on Hive now for around seven weeks and in that time I have been blogging about a whole host of things. From music to crypto, from politics to porn and everything in between. As I said early on in my Hive journey self-expression is the number one priority.
But of course this is a monetised platform and money is important to everyone, and it seems to most users on Hive. This is understandable. But speaking about the money has been a difficult task. There are all sorts of customs and conventions to observe when starting out on Hive and there is no way you can know even half of them before you get going. You have to learn a lot of them as you go along.
It seems that one of the unspoken conventions on Hive is to be careful when talking about the money, even though most people on Hive want to make money and money is an integral feature of Hive and the Hive ecosystem. The fact that Hive is a monetised platform is a fantastic thing, for the most part.
One of the latest issues I have been trying to get some understanding about is the issue of delegations, which is a big feature of Hive. Lots of people delegate, lots don't. Some have strong opinions about delegations others are more neutral, some really don't care. These are all valid positions to take and I respect them.
However, some people do have those strong opinions. Some people frown upon delegations it seems as a way of growing your stake, even if you have bought 80% of your stake directly from the market. Some people think a little bit of delegation is fine, others don't believe it's okay at all. As for me I really don't know what to think at this stage.
What are your thoughts? If you do approve of delegations how much of your stake is acceptable to delegate? 25%? 50%? 100%? If you want to share your thoughts that would be appreciated.
Peace!
Greetings @peaceandmoney ,
Lovely discussion subject...as it has so many angles. ^__^
It does depend on the individual's goal for his account....or circumstances really.
For Bleujay....the matter of reading, commenting, socialising with other Hive peeps is the main reason for being here. Making the choice of what is curated by Bleujay is also important....as well as the opportunity to make the most of whatever investment I have in Hive.
What I see from those who have delegated their funds/on trails is that they are very limited in their interaction with others outside their community as a result...seemingly cut off from the rest of Hive and if they had established interactive acquaintances prior to delegation those are no longer viable.
That being said....each have their reasons and I applaud the Freedom to do what they wish to do.
Kind Regards,
Bleujay
Hello my friend @bleujay and thank you so much for your considered comment, it's very helpful to get as much feedback on this issue as possible.
The fact that Hive offers me a platform for self-expression is by far the most important thing for me, as I have said from the outset. Through that self-expression I am making connections with others. This is part of the social aspect of Hive, which is very important.
I'm pleased to see you get great value out of your interactions with others on this great platform and is the main reason you are here. That might not be the same for everyone, as I have discovered.
Delegating to others should no inhibit your ability to form bonds with others and other communities, and it should not prevent you form supporting them. It certainly doesn't for me.
Delegations are funny things but if used in the right way they can ultimately help bring a greater value to others who you want to support as well as advancing your own personal goals on Hive.
As my stake and corresponding vote value is so low I am delegating and I'm doing that with the specific purpose of growing my stake. Everything I earn from blogging is powered up. In fact I think I have decided to now switch to 100% HP when it comes to post payouts going forward.
I have also ensured that I now use @commentrewarder for each post I publish as you know, because this is my way of ensuring people who comment on my post get some reward. Depending on the post value in many cases the comment reward will be higher than what I could offer them with a vote from me with my small stake.
Additionally I am also considering increasing the @commentrewarder beneficiary payout from 7%, as it is now, to 10% in a bid to give more back to commenters on my posts.
Even after all these years I feel uncertain about delegation.
I find it effective if I onboard someone, I’ll often delegate an amount to help their start. And back in steem days I delegated to curie and dtube. A few other things too, as I wanted to show support for things that I supported or that I used.
I feel a bit more of an island now, that keeping my hive power is my most effective way to support others.
I could be swayed though.
If hive stays near .20 cents, I’m gonna keep accumulating as I feel confident at some point it will be back at .50 cents or better
Don’t ask me what makes me confident if that though😜
Yes, someone delegated to me a little HP when I started so I could blog and interact more, it's a really helpful thing for new users to the platform. I can see that once you have built up a stake it's good to lend some of your HP via a delegation to a worthwhile cause.
Your own individual approach does make sense though and I do also keep hearing this argument that it's best to keep control of your own stake. But like you say you are also open to persuasion, as am I. In fact because I'm still learning the ropes I might be too susceptible to persuasion!
There are just so many angles to the whole subject of stake control and how you use your stake. I guess in many ways it's a learning curve.
Thanks for your comment @buttcoins and your support.
💪🏼 we just keep truck’n I guess. I feel as noob as ever. Maybe that’s why I like it here, always a click away from a new discovery
Absolutely, well said.
The first thing I've learned about delegating - read in a "starting Hive for newbies" kinda post - is to start delegating only when you have at least 2-3k HP and the main reason to do that is indeed to support a new user who you believe is going to bring value into the platform.
But now I'm starting to understand a bit how delegating to some curators could increase my stake. And I have your own need @peaceandmoney , because my first goal is actually to break through that 2 cents threshold.
I'm not thirsty for money, I don't think I'll ever become rich thanks to Hive. My only thought is to help genuinely grow the community.
But now I'm confused 😅
It can all be very confusing for sure, as I have discovered. There are many sides to the delegation debate. The 2-3k HP threshold makes sense in some ways but we all have to make our own decisions and build our own road on Hive.
It's definitely good to support others when you get to a certain stake threshold but you also have to grow your own stake to get to that position. You also have to increase your stake not just for the money but for governance reasons too, it all interacts with each other.
I think delegations can be used to legitimately help build your own stake, there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion.
I prefer to do my own curation, maybe I am a control freak in that regards. But on the other side in case I would take a break from Hive or went on a long vacation without access to my account, delegation is a great option, so 100% should cover it.
I've actually heard a lot of people stating the same thing - that whatever you do it's always best to keep control of your stake. I think there is a lot of logic to this approach but when you're new and trying to build stake you really don't have that much to keep control of! So you find yourself looking for any way to build a stake so you can get to a position where you are able to use it in a more mutually beneficial way - for both yourself and others.
Yes, I hadn't considered the scenario of taking time away from the platform to go on holiday or for some other reason. It would be silly to leave your stake sat there doing nothing for anyone, so absolutely you should delegate it out.
@peaceandmoney, I paid out 0.145 HIVE and 0.027 HBD to reward 3 comments in this discussion thread.