Today — January 29th, 2021 — marks my 4th anniversary of deciding to poke around on Steem Hive.

As an interesting example of the "symmetry" life often brings us, back in 2017 my choice to "hang my shingle" here was largely motivated by the strident tone of political discourse on Farcebook... and here we are, four years later, presenting ourselves (or trying to!) as a haven for those who fear censorship/banning by major social media venues who have showed their "true colors" by shutting down the accounts of a sitting President of this country.

This, however, is not a political post.

However, it does sadden me that we live in a world where people's primary approach seems to be to silence dissent, rather than hear, understand and try to work with dissent while promoting your own cause. And I don't care which side of dissent you're on...

Come For the Crypto

I never came here for the crypto, or for the rewards. I also didn't stay for the crypto, or the rewards.

2021 will be my 23rd year of blogging, and practical experience has shown me a few things along the way. For one, "Rewards" exist on a meaningful scale only for a tiny elite of hyper-ambitious go-getters and "ground-level adoptees" who were among the first few hundred to become part of a community. Any community.

For two, that same experience taught me to have zero expectations of a venue promising to pay contributors, as those go bankrupt with 100% reliability, inevitably at the hands of those trying to game/defraud the system.

Jury remains out on point one; I was definitely wrong on the second one.

I started here because I am a Social Content Creator and I remain here for that very same reason. As to the "remain" part, I also remain here because I have come to know and become friends with many wonderful people across this community! And I can't put a monetary value on that. I also remain because I am still hopeful that Hive will gradually evolves into something lasting that helps change the way we approach and use social content.

That said, The Pareto Principle remains alive and well, no matter where you turn. Business, Investing, Social Media, Government, Religion, Stock Markets...

If Wishes Were Fishes...

Of course I think it's awesome that we get rewarded for our content!

Of course I wish Hive would become a major niche player in the social content market!

Of course I wish our Hive token would become worth $20 per each!

Of course I wish Splinterlands would grow into the "virtual equivalent" of MTG!

Of course I wish 20 more of our communities would follow in the footsteps of LeoFinance's success!

Of course I wish my wee stake here would grow into substantial long-term investment!

Of course I wish for all of the above to have happened, by the time I write my TENTH anniversary post here in 2027!

Yes, I do think that far ahead!

But these are wishes, in a very fickle world where most of what we have and believe in can be erased in an instant, with the flick of a switch; the stroke of a pen; the ambitions of a greedy entrepreneur; the maliciousness of a well-funded hacker with a grudge; the political power of a particular philosophy.

Sure, the blockchain may be "resistant" to all sorts of angles of attack from various vectors... that's not in question. My question is for how long will people still have the energy and drive to start over from a pile a rubble, potentially even worse than the one JS created with Steem?

But enough playing "Devil's Advocate!"

Long Live the Blog!

So, it has been 1,412 posts and 15,334 comments in about 1,460 days.

I have no set strategy other that be consistent and perseverant. As typically has been my case with my blogs, I'm neither hugely successful nor completely obscure, but I am very persistent.

Because I do believe in this concept, platform and community, I'd love to be able to commit to powering up 100% of my rewards, 100% of the time... but we're financially on far too swampy bottom to do so, especially in the face of the ongoing Covid "thing."

I've powered down exactly twice in four years; once to buy a set of tires for our truck; once as part of liquidating everything we possibly could to pay our property taxes and prevent a so-called "Tax foreclosure" on our home.

So yes, I am emphatically better off" as a result of being part of the Hive community. Thanks for that!

Goals, Hopes, Predictions and All That Rot!

As I mentioned up above, I'm largely still here because I believe in this concept and this community. But building something solid (Rather than a "flash in the pan) takes time and patience... consider that even Farcebook, Amazon, eBay and others took more than a decade to become a 600lb gorilla.

I'd like to think that Hive and its many side/2nd leyer projects will just enjoy stable growth over the next year... and that perhaps the Hive token might even creep back up towards the 50-cent level by 2021 year end, as more and more Hive-based projects keep themselves in the news and gain traction in their respective efforts to onboard users, separate from an emphasis on the core Hive.

One of my own interests lies in focusing a bit on the @naturalmedicine community and brand, which is in alignment with much of my other content around the web. I think it is a valid approach to promote targeted niche communities (with their own branded front ends) you have ties to while leaving "Hive" as the secondary goal. If everyone does that — and communities flourish — I can't help but think that Hive will be pulled along for the ride.

As for myself, I just hope to (a) be able to write a 5th anniversary post and (b) reach 10,000HP before then. Which are probably pretty modest goals... but the world is an uncertain place!

Last but not least, a quick shoutout to fellow "Anniversarian(?)" @tarazkp, who's excellent proof that a LOT of consistency and perseverance brings a LOT of success!

Thanks for reading and following my random rambles for the past four years — I really do appreciate your support and friendship!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

Comments, feedback and other interaction is always invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about engaging, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!

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Created at 20210129 10:26 PST
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