It is similar to bitcoin mining, the fewer curators out there the more they make and vice versa. Some people would curate even if the rewards were 50/50 between the two. The reason is, curation is powerful, you can build communities, businesses all kinds of cool stuff around curation that you can't just sitting back collecting passive interest.
I do believe this will wipe out all the shitty curators who feel forced to keep up with the Joneses, thus make the content discovery much better as you have passionate curators out there grinding, without those pesky autovoters ruining everything.
Hopefully something beneficial for all will come out of this. When I arrived back from vacation I wasn't warming up to the idea of making changes again. The EIP never reached its full potential, but it also added a few kinks that need to be worked out.
Some people really do want out of curation and feel basic staking rewards are the answer. That pisses me right off though because in some ways the ideas are sold as only a way to protect their bottom line, and the rest of us are viewed as leeches. I come to that conclusion when reading between the lines.
I see far more potential in curation and the fact a consumer of arts/entertainment/information gets compensated for their time and a potential return on the money spent. Some curators act like promoters or agents. Freelance promoters, pushing work up into the light of day so the consumers can see. They got fat wallets and earn a nice cut. That is so normal in entertainment. Other curators with the small votes are the butts in the seats. This is where I see Hive being innovative. Creating content and getting paid happens everywhere; it's nothing new. Basic tipping models don't work with crypto if the plan is to create demand for the token. That's just new money in that'll be heading straight out the door. Consumers here under this model can drive the value up steadily even during crypto market crash time, since it's not the blockchain they're investing in, it's the entertainment, which isn't attached to any market trends. That gives millions of consumers thousands of reasons to invest, making the target easier to hit. Like a shotgun. There's no need to depend solely on speculators when there's a product being offered that has nothing to do with investing.
It's important to get this right. And yeah adding in a few perks on the side is always wise. Emulating other styles/projects in existence won't make the crypto crowd suddenly pay attention to Hive though. If they can already earn staking rewards with 100 other tokens, the 101st won't be where everyone comes running. We need to keep doing what we do, but do it better, and continue to be innovative.
I use this platform daily, have for years. I use it in pretty much every way imaginable. I create content, both written and video. I collab with various people to do group content. I've been protected by this platform when web 2 banned me. I'm also one of the largest investors, putting over 7 figures of my money into this place, through buying the token, creating projects ontop of Hive, doing contests, etc.
So when I suggest changes to this platform, it isn't for "anyone else" it is for me. Yes, I can be a greedy bastard sometimes. But when I use this platform as much as I do, I notice the pain points in a unique way others may not see. I can cover both the content side and investor side because I am 100% fully both. So when I suggest these changes this is what I want, would make my life better and make me enjoy the platform, as a whole being, creator/investor, you can't have one without the other, even you are an investor friend as you hold Hive. Investor can be a nasty word but I don't see investors or content creators, I just see people on Hive doing their thing. Of course, I can't force these changes down people's throats, I'm not the owner of this chain, I can simply gauge interest and see if my ideas are even remotely popular.
I only know what's best for me as well. Like when I said I want to see easy access to all Hive apps to be included along with the social setting/content distribution area - an all in one solution - that comes from being a lazy consumer. Didn't come here to hunt easter eggs LOL! Then I just assume developers and investors would benefit if these features were used more simply because using them doesn't become a battle to find them. I don't know that for sure, it just makes sense to me, and I don't expect to see a disorganized mess streamlined overnight either, just because I said it. Knowing I won't see instant results won't stop me from offering my ideas though. And I'll often repeat myself like I did here in the comments. You know where I stand on some things, others don't, so it's worth mentioning time and time again any chance I get until it clicks.