Reflection: Hive... and the Many Shades of What People Consider "A Scam"

Being part of Hive has been an interesting experience, in certain ways.

One of unexpcted experiences is the fact that it’s the first time in my life as a writer/blogger where I have told people about what I was doing, and have gotten the reply ”Be careful with that! It’s a scam!”

I’m not really interested in a blow-by-blow debate as to the veracity of that (or not), but it makes me interested in having a closer look at how people look at things and decide to declare them a scam… because most of the time such a declaration actually says more about the person speaking the words than about the project they are criticizing!

I Don't Like it... So it MUST Be a Scam!

Some people just seem to believe that everything new and untested is ”a scam.” To them, even the Internet itself was a scam when it first came out. Shopping online is ”a scam.” Dating apps online are ”a scam.” Pretty much… unless it exists in the physical space in front of them, it’s ”a scam.”

It would be easy to think we’re just talking about ”ignorant people” here, but we’re not. Consider how massively successful investor Warren Buffett thinks Bitcoin is ”a scam.” These folks operate exclusively in the realm of concrete reality” and anything involving ”imagination” and possibility is basically hocus-pocus, in their world.

Then there are those who pretty much declare anything they don’t approve of to be ”a scam.” For example, I’ve met my share of people who think psychotherapy is ”a scam” for no reason other than they are terrified of looking at their own dysfunctions. They might declare Hive ”a scam” for no reason other than their belief that it’s ”inappropriate” that people should get paid for blogging, since they use Facebook and don’t get paid. It’s weird logic, but it’s their logic.

Finding ALL The Faults...

Then there are the eternal criticizers and fault-finders.

”My friend tried this, and it didn’t work, so it must be A SCAM.”

These are basically life’s pessimists who tend to dismiss anything that isn’t an iron-clad guarantee as ”sketchy” or an outright ”scam.”

Of course, in the process of promoting Hive (and its predecessor) the most common ”scam declarations” I would run into were what I would classify as ”unrealistic/badly managed expectations.” These are the folks who are actually interested in something and might even try it but then blackball it when they don’t immediately have stellar results.

”Yeah, Hive is a scam because I joined it after seeing some people earning $50-100 per blog post and after a week none of my posts had even made $1!”

Faulty Logic...?

Which would basically be the same line of reasoning as getting on YouTube and complaining that you’re not as successful as Mr. Beast after a month of posting mediocre videos, or going to work for Microsoft because Bill Gates is a billionaire… and then quitting in disgust because you are not making billions after a few months there.

And following up by declaring YouTube/Microsoft "scams."

In the end, most ”scam declarations” actually hang on the fact that just because a person wants something to be ”the reality” doesn’t mean it actually IS the reality!

So, What Really IS “A Scam?”

Well, clearly some of the ads I periodically see online that show pictures of a product I have previously seen at Home Depot for $300 but now being advertised as a ”closeout special, just $29.95 and free shipping” from a company that started up ten days ago... are scams.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it would cost more than $29.95 just to ship a raised planter bed kit that weighs 75 lbs!

Likewise, those ”Amazing Business Opportunities” that offer you "the secret to making $100,000 a month online" for just $29.95 are — at the very least — a little sketchy, as are investments that lead with the claim that you’ll earn a 6,000% APY when you send them $1,000 worth of Bitcoin.

The ”common thread” in this last group of actual scams is ”the deliberate intent to deceive.” Notice how all the preceding groups were centered around an outside observer’s opinion, rather than the actual endeavor?

In the end, I'm left mainly with the question of whether anyone really is to blame here, for calling legitimate endeavors "scams?" Do we just have overly suspicious and judgmental natures?

Maybe it’s partly just a sign of the times… and the fact that we seem to — at least from some people’s perspectives — be living in ”The Age of Easy Money.” People have come to expect riches coming their way much more easily than reality dictates.

And when that doesn't happen... it gets saddled with the "Scam" label.

Regardless, I think the best thing we can do for ourselves is to follow the old advice: "Do your own research!"

Thanks for reading, and have a great Sunday!

Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!

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Created at 2023-05-21 00:26 PST
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