Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. I invite you to take part in a thought experiment and then answer a series of questions for yourself. At the end of the material, I will share my humble opinion. You may have a different, opposite, or similar perspective, and that’s great—I invite you to discuss it in the comments. In this article, I intentionally use extremes like "whales" and "the poor" to provide a clearer understanding of the situation and enhance the intensity of the imagery.
So, relax and focus:
Imagine that, at one moment in time, all HIVE from accounts in the ecosystem and all ecosystem tokens disappeared. Then, they are evenly distributed among all accounts. Everyone receives an equal amount of tokens in their balances.
Now, questions for the thought experiment:
- How much time will it take for whales and the poor to reappear in the ecosystem?
- Will the new whales turn out to be the old ones, and will everything return to the previous balances? Why do you think that is?
- What’s the difference? What do whales do that the poor don’t?
- Are the efforts and resource contributions comparable?
- If the native token’s value drops to zero, how much will those with nothing lose compared to the whales?
- Who bears more responsibility?
- Do you personally maintain a balance between giving and taking?
- Who or what is preventing you from becoming a whale?
In a relatively short time (spent specifically browsing Hive), I came across accounts of article authors who, it can be said, have achieved success. By success, I mean building communication networks and, of course, the numbers under their articles. Social connections determine success, just like in real life. These people have structured their hobby in such a way that the income from writing articles is comparable to a salary in many countries (not the wealthiest ones, but still).
What is the secret of such people? — Consistency of effort. Analyze any account of an author you consider successful — it’s months and years of consistent practice in content creation and communication. I’m not considering the accounts of investors who bought HIVE on exchanges and earn dividends from votes or other activities, only those who write articles.
Start today, and in 2–3 years of consistent effort, you will inevitably achieve success and recognition. There’s no scenario where you dedicate 2–3 years to something, investing your time and effort, and don’t achieve success.
The problem is that consistency of effort isn’t something everyone can manage. It’s much easier to adopt a victim mentality: “Whales, fish, shrimp, and everyone else owe me because I’m so good, and they’re all bad.” Fortunately, that’s not how it works.
In addition to consistent effort, it’s important to maintain balance—giving and taking (this is a broad topic and beyond the scope of this article, but those who get it, get it).
In our case, the whales don’t just write articles—they are behind large-scale projects within the ecosystem. In fact, the existence of the ecosystem depends on them, including at the code level and even in managing prices on exchanges (another topic, perhaps for the future). The greater the responsibility, the greater the reward—that’s always how it works.
You want to get something from the project, right? I think most would say yes. But have you considered your contribution to the project? What have you done for the ecosystem? How exactly are you useful?
Hive and its social aspect strongly resemble a society I’m well acquainted with in real life. There are people who work hard and achieve success, and there are envious and toxic individuals who like to complain about how bad everything is and how the world owes them something—all while being embodiments of laziness. These are often drunkards, various types of scammers, or simply people with low social status. The problem with the internet is that such individuals can portray themselves as important while hiding behind a polished avatar. In real life, they are much easier to recognize.
But the difference with Hive—and its advantage—lies in its vast diversity, even at the level of different cultures, since it’s a global project without the borders of a single social system. This is a tremendous advantage and potential. I believe there are more bright, positive, and hardworking people out there—it simply cannot be otherwise.
I don’t like to teach anyone how to act, nor is that my goal. Everyone is free to act as they see fit, as long as it doesn’t harm others. The purpose of this article is to provoke you to ask yourself a series of questions.
The place and state you are in now, the overall level of your life—this is exactly what you have earned through your thoughts and actions. Thought gives birth to intention, and intention gives birth to action—there is no other way. Everyone has exactly what they have, based on what they can say they’ve chosen, earned, or deserve.
Change your mindset today, and your destiny will change dramatically. Work on yourself, strive to become better. Everything is in your hands.
Resetting the accounts is not going to happen, but we can imagine. People gained their HP in various ways. Some were in at the very start and had different opportunities. The rewards distribution was very different back then and we had posts earning $thousands whilst many of mine made nothing. I have bought some, but most has been earned and that is down to being active. I have been to lots of events and meeting people in person makes a difference.
There used to be various ways to buy votes, but that has mostly died out.
Now I can get a nice income just from curation, but I still enjoy posting too. I try to spread rewards where I think they are deserved and I'm not into any 'vote for vote' deals.
Of course some will be desperate, but spamming comments won't get them far.
Hive is not necessarily easy money, but then I don't think it should be. Those who contribute something may do better. It is still very small, so there are lots of opportunities to get noticed.
Yes, you're 101% right—personal social contacts are everything, and not just in Hive.
As for the experiment mentioned in the article, it's for the readers. I believe every mature, rational person can draw certain conclusions. The problem with societies, especially in poorer countries, lies within the society itself, not in the local oligarchs, rulers, or politicians. The same applies here. =)
Here, you can find authors who have achieved success. You mentioned that many opportunities have disappeared, but that's how it always is, everywhere. Some opportunities fade away, but new ones inevitably take their place.
The opportunities are different now, but anyone could earn something on Hive. Some people are natural entrepreneurs or have creative skills. One issue with Hive is that everyone wants to be a content creator, but they won't all find an audience. Being active in communities is also an option. Just being social can earn you something and when you build up some HP you can curate.
A long time ago, I tried to learn how to draw; it was a hobby. The main rule I learned was, "To learn how to draw, you need to draw." This rule is incredibly simple but effective. There is no scenario in which a person diligently works on something for several years and doesn't become a professional in it.
Not everyone finds an audience—no one likes reading texts that are written just for the sake of writing. On the contrary, if the material is interesting and valuable, the number of readers will only grow over time.
I know Telegram communities that buy a lot of advertising, but no one reads them, and I know very few author channels that aren't advertised anywhere but still have a very high-quality audience.
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