With the start of 2024 we must close off 2023 and a major portion of that is accounting. The year was the first full year for Value Plan and it was a very busy one for the project managers and for the teams. A lot was accomplished to promote Hive and its cutting-edge technology and decentralized ecosystem all over the world.
The year end Value Plan qualitative report will follow the year end Hive post as there is much overlap. The year end Hive post will be released from the main @hiveio account.
This report is intended to present the full range of transactions either having occurred or is attributed to 2023. It was put together by ourselves in good faith and to the best of our ability.
Dynamic Goalposts
At the end of each year the activities and scope of Value Plan are re-evaluated.
Regional Shifts
Over 2023 we have started the expansion to surrounding countries from our initial points of deployment in 2022. This year we will see a further diffusion of activity at regional levels, with a lessened attention to the original established area and a dynamic spread outwards.
What does this mean? If we use LATAM as an example, we will see far fewer conferences and events in Venezuela and more in its neighboring Colombia and Brazil. Peru will likewise see a steady engagement. We are re-evaluating Argentina and Mexico after our initial attempts there. A successful engagement in the later two countries is highly-dependent on the completion of exchange listings.
Scope Shift
Value Plan was never meant to be an onboarding initiative. It's purpose is to present the entire Hive blockchain and market it to those who would use it for a wide range of purposes. It is not for onboarding content creators as blogging is just one of the myriad functions the blockchain is capable of. Having said that, this year we will place an additional emphasis on onboarding content creators. This will be done during existing events and as niche projects.
Due to the fact that different events allow for onboarding via different platforms, we will not be accounting for each onboarded individual unless those individuals are onboarded via the conference account creation mechanism. We instead expect all dapps to keep records and account for those onboarded as a result of Value Plan-related activities to the best of their ability.
Any mention of "making money online blogging" remains strictly banned and the ban is enforced with zero tolerance. Any improper mention of content monetization is immediately investigated and results in corrective action. Due to the clear communication with all persons representing Hive at events or activities, we had not had any significant incident in this domain in 2023 or earlier.
Spreadsheet
Please review the spreadsheet at your convenience before reading ahead.
This year we would like to thank @spiritsurge for stepping up as an external party and going over the spreadsheet.
Legend
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Return | Refunded amount in HBD. |
| R Cur | HBD label. |
| R HIVE | Refunded amount in HIVE. |
| R Cur H | HIVE label. |
| Issued | Issued amount in HBD. |
| I Cur | HBD label. |
| I HIVE | Issued amount in HIVE. |
| I Cur H | HIVE label. |
| To | Receiving wallet.* |
| Event | Main label of the event or activity. |
| Type | General categorization of the event and activity types. |
| Country | Country in which the event was held. |
| Continent | Continent in which the country the event was held in is located in. Added due to confusion with geography. |
| Month | Month in which issued. This is not the month in which the activity took place. |
| Memo | The transaction memo. |
* The receiving wallet is simply the wallet belonging to the person who is in charge of processing the funds. Some people have been interpreting it as "money given to this person", which is incorrect. The person's job is to act as the receiving wallet, convert the funds to a local currency or a currency suitable for payment of the deliverable, and then issue the payment. Often, cold wallets are used. The receiving wallet is not suitable for scrutiny in terms of evaluating activity of the team or the person as one, it is not their main account and two, the money is issued for a purpose, not for the person's use.
Financial Overview
This year we will focus on making the Hive brand more recognizable and widely-known.
We are aiming for more invite conferences as opposed to sponsorship conferences. Invite conferences are ones where we are invited to participate and present at it either by our expression of interest or by organizer invitation.
We have had a lot of success from the WRC rallies and have gained televised coverage. This will remain as our flagship activity.
Allocations
Categories were renamed and expanded on in 2023.
| 2022 Category | Cost | 2022 Percentage | 2023 Category | Cost | 2023 Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conferences | 104657.000 | 30% | Major | 411010.187 | 45% |
| Minor | 53698.95 | ||||
| Tech Event | 35986.36 | ||||
| Social Impact | 45188.040 | 13% | Social Impact | 93397.5 | 11% |
| Education | 28395.38 | ||||
| HIVE and HBD Adoption | 13778.865 | 4% | Business | 116162 | 11% |
| Ecosystem Marketing | 13795.000 | 4% | Digital Event | 8046 | 1% |
| Niche Promotion | 140867.540 | 41% | Prof Sport | 198240.625 | 31% |
| Am Sport | 142873.3 | ||||
| Professional Services | 26038.000 | 8% | Services | 6875.95 | 1% |
| Contests | 1760.499 | 1% | Community Event | 10402.58 | 1% |
| Grand Total | 346084.944 | 100% | 1105088.832 | 100% |
As you can see, Digital Marketing (formerly Ecosystem Marketing) needs improvement. We should aim for 10% in this category in 2024.
Major conferences are the most costly as expected. We have had much success in this area but also some disappointment. Not all conferences were as professionally set up in terms of both speakers and attendees as others. While some conferences such as the Blockchain Expo in Amsterdam had many distinguished speakers and guests, others struggled to meet their goals. This is primarily due to the crypto market and the general economic and geopolitical situation in the world. Unfortunately, due to the general timeline for conference engagement, it is challenging to evaluate whether conference organizers can deliver on their aspirations.
A quick look at the 2023 Activity by Type chart:
Let's pivot over to the regionals for now and take a look at what parts of the world our activities were held.
We do not have this detail of records for 2022 unfortunately but due to a far lesser engagement there is nothing of great significance to compare.
As far as locations go, due to three key activities, including a major conference, taking place in Venezuela it took the lead in the past year. This coming year we will see a shift towards its neighboring Colombia and Brazil. The shift is largely due to the lack of desirable results following conference engagements despite the hard work of everyone involved. These results are closely related to the drastic economic shifts in Venezuela beyond our control.
UAE and Germany are both looking the most favorable for 2024 after getting a start in 2023. UAE has not yet seen a sponsored conference but has met with much success due to the efforts of @hiro-hive in representing Hive at two conferences.
Germany is a very exciting prospect and has welcomed Hive following the initial Web3 Berlin conference. There has been a lot of attention and follow-up which continues. We hope to be able to announce the continuation of events around Germany soon.
| Location | Amount 2023 | Amount 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 93104.65 | 23536.5 |
| Ghana | 93104.65 | 23536.5 |
| Asia | 25320.35 | |
| India | 4330 | |
| Indonesia | 46.9 | |
| Philippines | 16875 | |
| Thailand | 3290 | |
| UAE | 778.45 | |
| Europe | 272530.905 | 129346.14 |
| Croatia | 19132.549 | 73509.14 |
| Europe (general) | 4805.68 | |
| Germany | 94954.639 | |
| Greece | 57114.87 | |
| Italy | 21405.12 | |
| Monaco | 4500 | |
| Netherlands | 33538 | 55837 |
| Portugal | 35805.487 | |
| Spain | 546.56 | |
| UK | 728 | |
| Global | 4340.094 | 42723.998 |
| North America | 200209.47 | 8631 |
| Cuba | 3642 | 906 |
| Mexico | 56158.43 | |
| USA | 140409.04 | 7725 |
| South America | 509612.457 | 143607.805 |
| Argentina | 36958 | |
| Colombia | 42693.22 | |
| LATAM | 1600 | |
| Peru | 22267.36 | |
| Venezuela | 406093.877 | 143607.805 |
| Grand Total | 1105117.926 | 347845.443 |
The majority of expenses incurred by initiatives and events are either Hive merchandise or other vendor deliverables. Conferences are dependent on sponsorship costs, which include printed material. All printed materials are printed in high quality. Home printing, iron-on, or other types of unprofessional printing is strictly prohibited. This did not change year to year and it is highly unlikely it will. The expenses are static for all marketing initiatives of this type for everyone.
- Shirts and hats
- Banners and large display elements
- Small giveaways such as keychains and stickers
- Notebooks and pens
The following is an example of receipts lined up from Hive Sucre.
All events and projects have invoices and receipts saved by their respective teams. Major conferences see invoices sent directly to the Value Plan project managers due to the size of payments required.
The activity totals may seem high but they need to be evaluated based on how many events there were, not their total. Their total is a combination of all activities and endeavors, which differ event to event and sometimes transcend into other domains, such as conferences and B2B out of sports.
Performance Goals
Conferences for the majority do produce reports, compiled by the conference organizers. These are confidential and include the personal information of attendees. They are not suitable for publication and we will omit documenting them as such publicly.
Publicity
Each major activity is expected to produce:
- Radio interviews
- TV coverage
- News or magazine coverage
- Online news (non-Hive blogs included)
- Research papers (written, submitted and accepted)
- Documentaries
| Activity | Radio | TV | Newspaper | Online News | Research* | Documentaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenga | 1 | 2 | ||||
| SWC | x | m | x | |||
| Community Wells | 5 | 10 | 6 | 60-80 (m) | ||
| Rally Car | m | m | m | 1 | ||
| Hive Goes to School | 1 | 2 |
x = at least one
m = many
* = the creation of research papers, submission and acceptance
Research and Documentaries are a new goal. Most projects in general will only see this milestone become attainable in 2024.
Efficiency
Unfortunately only one activity is suitable for this metric at this time. This is because SWC was designed with flexibility in mind and while it is still heavily dependent on vendors and requirements outside of our control for event costs, being able to purchase an array of assets and form partnerships with locations makes a drastic impact. Averages are per event.
| Activity | 2023 Total | Number | 2023 Average | 2022 Average | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWC | 131533.3 HBD | 24 | 5481 HBD | 7484 HBD | 27% |
The projected 2024 schedule and plans for SWC have already been submitted by the team and are under review.
Business Utility
Hive currently has one premiere business-focused initiative, Hive Sucre. All business onboarding is very tightly controlled for quality and is conducted with the utmost degree of professionalism. Quality is not negotiable when it comes to business onboarding.
In total, 59 unique businesses including a shopping area and department grocery store have been onboarded. With the addition of high-profile partners like RE/MAX, it is now possible to use HBD for real-estate deals. Some of the businesses have more than one location, totaling at 64 businesses.
The majority of the businesses can be seen on https://stores.hive-keychain.com at your convenience.
Concluding Remarks
Overall it has been a tremendously remarkable year for the Value Plan initiatives and the Hive community. We have seen a surge of engagements and are looking forward to bringing them to fruition in the coming year. We have listened and modified our focus in line with the goals of the Hive ecosystem. As always, the goal of Value Plan is to support Hive and its vibrant community of dapps and creators.
Please stay tuned for the Hive end of year overview and the qualitative Value Plan report due to come out. Our first quarter proposal is likewise coming out momentarily.
With respect for your consideration,
~ The Value Plan Team
If you want to reach out to me about getting people in the Caribbean to promote Hive, I have worked it out and spoken about it with some folks who are now more interested than before. In particular, Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad, Curacao and possibly East coast USA.
Where is the best place to find you?
Discord, we spoke there towards the end of last summer about this but weren't ready. Now events are happening, people are going and some of them are understanding and posting on Hive.