Month #1: QT's Experiment within THE Experiment

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(Edited)

Diary posts.  A good idea?  As at least a historical marker of sorts on QT's odyssey through the fascinating virtual world of the Hive blockchain?

I think so!


Source: QT's post titled "Virtual community. Reality?"

In reflecting on making some decisions about my own participation in it, here is the key to my choosing to write this post, after my first month.

QT's experiment
within the

Here are three key components of this experiment, as touched on in my introduction:

  • Being a very private person, I intend to remain that way.

  • Candor is my preferred method of communicating with others.

  • From my experience base in crypto, I will never enter into a locked smart contracts again. While not technically fully locked, 13 weeks is an eternity, when it comes to investing in crypto.

These would be prioritized by others differently than I might myself, but none of them are fully aligned with advice found in the posts on the @newbies-guide account.

Being a Silver Blogger, I remember when the Scientific Method was a fundamental part of our education.  This post will apply it somewhat as an update on how this experiment is working out.

Checking Boxes

First, at the core of this experiment is the key word, monetize.

    • As I first mentioned here, this Silver Blogger had never heard this word earlier in life.  Is all that it entails, particularly with reference to social media, too lightly glossed over these days?

"Nothing to see here.  Move along.  It's all good!"

Ohhh.  Okay, then.  How did I do on participating and contributing "quality" content?


Source: HiveBuzz

225 comments.  22 posts, with streak ended.  10.2 Comments / Post.  57.06 rep.  Is that interacting enough?  Writing ... "quality content?"  As I stated in my introduction, I will leave that to others.  What I am very clear about is that it does not matter what I think.

________________________

Having said that, of these comments, I have received a Top Comment award eight times:


Source: Top Comment's Weekly Curation, Week #12 report

Which puts me at the bottom of the Alltime list, after my 1st month.  I really appreciate this initiative noticing and affirming that I am putting some effort into creating some helpful comments, when they don't have any idea who I am. 🤝

    • Note:  It is still not clear to me what tripwire I might inadvertently stumble through in mentioning another account.  That said, I'll run the risk and try to draw attention to @friendlymoose and his Top Comment efforts.  Please consider giving him some of your support!

Month #1 of
Experiencing
Hive

Reading content on Hive here and there is one thing.  Contributing to it yourself, both in creating your own posts, as well as commenting on the posts of others, is experiencing Hive.

Highlights

  • The initial appeal of interacting with others all over was definitely reinforced.  This was what motivated me to ever start contributing, in the first place.

  • The hoped for goal of having at least a little bit of thoughtful, genuine, meaningful interaction with others was met.

  • The overall "look and feel" of interacting on the Hive blockchain was impressive.  I had settled on PeakD's UI as my preference and happy to report that decision was reinforced.

Not So Much

  • Following what I understood to be "best practices," it "left a mark" still lingering that my introductory post received zero responses, until days later.  With the oft-stated goal everywhere in the crypto world of "increasing user adoption," I do not know how this could be viewed positively.

    Please note well I said responses NOT upvotes ...

  • Comments like this, from Curangel, were not helpful.  If meant as any sort of "behavior modification" exercise, it had the opposite affect from what presumably was intended.

    Yes, I believe I am crystal clear on the intent.  Since no referenced effort was made to actually look into my account, I was presumed guilty.  That was a mistake.

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Life has its ups and downs.  Experiencing the Hive blockchain firsthand is no different.  Got it.

Decisions.  Finding QT's Hive
niche!

Following along with the general idea of applying the scientific method to conducting an experiment, what are my observations, at the end of this first month?

  • Positive.  Hive is a fascinating virtual world where one can interact with others all over our shrinking planet.

  • Uncertain to Neutral.  How genuine these interactions are, when unavoidably centered around monetizing them, is debatable.

  • Negative.  Directly linked to the idea of monetizing human interactions, that games are being played is indisputable.  What I have experienced of the checks and balances for effectively dealing with them are questionable, at best.


Source: Creator nickpanek620 on Pixabay

What is a key conclusion I have reached, in summing these up?  Of all the rich diversity of human interactions encountered inside the virtual world of the Hive blockchain

the
majority of them

do not appeal to me.

Before publishing, I elected to delete my detailed characterization amplifying on this conclusion.

    • This sentiment is part of my ongoing discussion starting here, which I have been having with @minismallholding about community.  Which includes our memories and reflections on how they are in decline and why that is.

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What are some resulting decisions then?  They are focused on a key word above - majority.  Which fortunately still leaves us with its opposite - minority:

  • There are still good people, with good intentions as far as can be reasonably discerned, actively participating.

    These interactions definitely have value and are worth finding, fostering, and strengthening.

  • With its central profit motive, requiring the investment of both time and money, interactions on Hive are better thought of as business transactions.  Conducted under the guise of generating "quality" content and building communities?

  • The initial decision to not buy and power up more HIVE has been reinforced.  For the foreseeable future, I will grow my account "organically."

  • By making this financial decision, I have made the challenge of overcoming WIIFM more difficult.

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Is there a permanent niche somewhere on the Hive blockchain for QT?  When I decide to next write one of these diary posts, I will give you an update on my answer.  For now, I am grateful for finding some acceptance in the Silver Blogger and Thoughtful Daily Post communities.

And with that ...


Source: QT's post titled "Week 1: "Pilgrim's Progress" of QT on the Hive Blockchain"

QT is steadily climbing up the staircase. Taking it one step at a time.

________________________

From my background, gathering information and making well-informed decisions comes naturally.  While often not easy, it is essential that decisions be made.  As I know from hard experience, failure to make a decision is still ... a decision.

For now and the foreseeable future, one key decision reached is I know the time commitment to do any better is a showstopper.  It is far more likely I will invest less of my time than more of it.

No, I did not say I will not continue to contribute content.  However the hard reality of this decision plays out, though, will have a direct bearing on how much.

I always have and will appreciate whatever thoughtful comments others may want to share.  My commitment to viewing my participation on Hive as a partnership is unwavering and undeterred.

Best wishes, until we meet again,
QT


👋❤️👋


Source: Courtesy of @ mondoshawan

________________________

🤝  Partnership Pledge!  🤝

•  10% of Post Payout to Comments
•  1 HSBI to the Best Comment

________________________

🤝  Pledge Honored!  🤝

•  1 HSBI to the Best Comment
•  Awarded to @tengolotodo



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14 comments
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Hello, @quark.top

I see you're confronting the conundrums we all faced at the beginning of our crypto-social journeys. For some - I speak for myself - they will forever be that. I choose to do - mostly - my own thing. That includes keeping my head down. I'm not a tall poppy....

Anyhow, just a heads-up: the 21 period for my delegation is up and I've just cancelled it. If you see your wallet suddenly deplete, that's why.

I will still pop by when I have a mo!

Happy Hive Day!

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Nice to hear from you, @fionasfavourites.

"I see you're confronting the conundrums ..."

Yes, I suppose that must be unavoidable. How we each deal with them will vary. As stated in this one once again, I prefer candor, so those who choose to read anything I write will hopefully not be too put off by it. At the end of every day, I think we need to at least make an effort to be true to ourselves.

Our peace of mind is at stake.


Thank you kindly for the delegation. And I appreciate you giving me this heads up. I'm still learning about that part of experiencing Hive, but I have already made some delegations. Insignificant though they may be, I am going with the old saying,

"It's the thought that counts."

Thank you for stopping by! 🫡🤝

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You're very welcome. One can only start small. And yes, it's the thought that counts. As well as every little helping!

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Funny to read that you already knew Hive and just started blogging a month ago.
I already noticed you are not like most beginning authors on Hive by the way you create your posts and set advanced configurations like commentrewarder and reward.app

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Yes, @friendlymoose, I am a very deliberate sort, as I spent a lot of time just reading through various content when I first learned about Hive. To your point, as mentioned in my introduction, I found content on the Newbies Guide account to be very helpful.

Along the way, I gathered various tips and ideas. From my background, working with HTML is not a problem. I imagine we all have our own ideas about what looks good, etc. And what our various skillsets support, etc.

Putting it altogether, once I decided I might give it a try for awhile, is what my readers see.


Thank you kindly for stopping by and sharing your perspective. You have been an encouragement to me and I'm sure many others. Those efforts are what I refer to in this post, as part of what will keep me going.

May you experience many happy returns! 🤝

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May you experience many happy returns! 🤝

Thanks! Same to you!

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Finding one's niche always takes time, and requires constant fine tuning and adjustment.

I know I started my own experiment — as a "splinter" of the original @curatorcat* cat blog — as a venue to go more "free flow" with content. I thought I would be far more active, but the end result has become more a case of dabbling than dedicated effort.

Lately, I pivoted again, giving it a little more time but focusing more on the pursuit of various sources of passive income than necessarily publishing more.

That said, I have always been a fan of personal anecdotes and people sharing their experiences through a process; a journey. I can find dry discourse on how to do something anywhere on the web; I have no need for a Hive-like setting/community to get instructions on how to change the fuel filter on my car.

For me, this is the Internet of PEOPLE, where conversations can actually happen.

The "niche finding" challenge lies in finding those who approach Hive with the intent of creative contribution (for a reward, to be sure) rather than just seeing a crypto cash dispenser to be "harvested."

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This is an interesting perspective, @curatorcat.pal:

"The "niche finding" challenge lies in finding those who approach Hive with the intent of creative contribution (for a reward, to be sure) rather than just seeing a crypto cash dispenser to be "harvested."

As I write about a bit, I think it will be best for me to keep the idea of truly and genuinely interacting with others all over our shrinking planet completely separate from the idea of getting paid.

Based on this:

"These interactions definitely have value and are worth finding, fostering, and strengthening."

Hopefully that will help me keep as far away as possible from the word, "harvested."


Thanks again, for sharing your perspective! 🤝

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The "niche finding" challenge lies in finding those who approach Hive with the intent of creative contribution (for a reward, to be sure) rather than just seeing a crypto cash dispenser to be "harvested."

You nailed it with that last comment... We all love rewards, but we all should be keeping some skin in the game or there will come a point when what is to be harvested from the crypto cash dispenser is nigh on worthless.

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Hive is a funny old place. As long as I have fun then I shall spend time here.
The rewards are the elephant in the room. We all love it when we get blessed with some big upvotes, but focusing solely on that does not do anyone any good.

Sometimes you spend ages thinking you have crafted the perfect post and then nothing. yet othertimes you throw things together you get a vote from a whale or two!

As with many things trying to find a niche I personally think over complicates things. I post about what I like where I like. I engage with what I like and with whom I like.

I am a tiny account here in monetary terms and have no say how things get done on Hive. But in saying that I can recommend posts to be curated on behalf of OCD as we are an OCD incubated community. Self voting is frowned upon as is the liquidising of rewards by some people. So I am guessing that is what that comment from Curangel was about.

I remember when I first joined Hive. It was with a few friends from another blogging platform on BCH. In the first few months I tried to give up three times, but was persuaded back by a good friend each time.

Hive is what we make of it, and as long as I keep having fun, then on Hive I shall remain :)

I look forward to seeing your second month's findings!

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This is good feedback, from a seasoned veteran Silver Blogger. It is very clear and perfectly understandable we are all going to have our own view of how best to make our way through our experiences with this social experiment.

While I have not been contributing content long, I am already pretty sure the more I can keep the notion of being paid separate from whatever enjoyment I can derive from this type of human interaction the better.


On this:

" Self voting is frowned upon as is the liquidising of rewards by some people. So I am guessing that is what that comment from Curangel was about."

Yes, not self voting was repeatedly covered in the @newbies-guide content I have referred to more than once. And the logic makes perfect sense, so that will not be found on my content.

"Liquidising of rewards" was also covered. As I understood it, due to the complaint about taking money out of the Hive blockchain. If they had taken the time to look, that has not happened. I have explained my logic for anyone to read. I highly doubt the effort was made to read it. I can certainly say there was no attempt made to comment, from that basis.

My response to that has now been written for anyone to read. And do with that what they will.


Thanks for stopping by and sharing with me, from your experience and perspective. I appreciate it! 🤝

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