Today is my 4th Anniversary on the Hive Blockchain. That is difficult to believe. Like many things I look at in my life, it seems like the past 4 years on Hive has been both an eternity and the blink of an eye at the same time.
I imagine myself getting some tattoos in the future… we’ll see if that comes to fruition. If I do, somewhere nestled within the imagery I imagine the number 36,926 will have a place. That’s my Hive account ID, and I’m pretty proud of that low number. While I wasn’t among the very first… I was pretty early to the game. I suppose that number enshrined on my skin would be a bit like a “gang tat” as I rep Hive4Life!
I remember reading an article about Hive (called Steem at that time of course) in some mainstream media… Yahoo! Finance if I recall. The blockchain itself had been live for some months, but the project was now getting more press as it was right after funds could be withdrawn for the first time. There had been a lockdown period at launch. Suddenly the money was real, not just fake internet points anymore. That was the catalyst for the first big run in users and price. So yeah, I was part of that gold rush.
I never thought it was going to be easy money. But I was already hooked from reading the basic concepts in that first article. With a bit of a background in webcomics and self publishing, I could instantly see how applicable Hive was, and the immense potential it had for content creators and audiences. I was the kind of person to get excited off of any money earned by my work. A good month for me was a few dollars in ad revenue from my websites… but even those mere pennies were exciting and inspiring for me, coming in as they did, passively while I slept.
My first Hive post, 4 years ago today, earned 16 cents. I totally butchered the markdown code in spots, omitting a whole paragraph, things out of alignment… to the point that I didn’t know how to fix it, and was getting repeated errors when I tried to… having exhausted my allotted amount of transactions at the time.
I soldiered on. A few days later I posted a drawing I made specifically for a “Drawing Jam” someone had started. It was a drawing of Wonder Woman that netted me another 12 cents. That same day I posted my introduction again, attempting to abandon the dumpster fire of my first post’s formatting. I got some more responses, a few more followers, and no payout on that one… it was a repost after all!
Ah, the good old days. At that point there wasn’t even the ability to follow anyone! I was simply bookmarking some users as I discovered them… but even that wasn’t entirely necessary. For at least the first couple months I remember popping open the “new” feed about twice a day, and that being enough to skim every single post made to the blockchain. Of course volume of posts picked up, user interface improved, and the world of Hive today is very different from what it looked like back then.
I didn’t post much. (To this day I still don’t post as much as I’d like!) Although I wasn’t discouraged by my early posts, I think I was trying to figure out how to use this strange new tool, and determine just what I had to say with it. A couple months in, on September 21st of 2016 I posted some of the first finished concept art I had for the new comic I began working on, “I Thought It Would Be Zombies…” That post netted $36. A follow up a few days later, showing some work in progress, took in another $32. I was on my way and more hooked than before. Ever since, Hive has been specially entwined with this creative endeavor of mine.
Hive is motivational. It’s not about the money for money’s sake. It’s about freedom, opportunity, and possibility. It can be discouraging to labor on a story for thousands, or tens of thousands of hours not knowing if it will ever see the light of day. Hive has helped ease that trouble and keep me moving forward. There’s a sense that through sharing my journey on Hive, at the end I’ll have the resources to see it through, my little “war chest” to publish and market and birth my baby into the world. More than that, there’ll actually be some people waiting for it too. Through Hive I’ve met people from all over the world, a couple actually in person. (Something I’ve never done meeting strangers off of other social media) I actually have a few fans! People exist willing to support my art, and purchase what I make… and make me feel accountable to make more. Daily I’m inspired by the amazing work of others on Hive as well, motivated by others stories of triumph, and humbled by the adversity that many in this world face.
I crave more Hive Power, as much to give as to receive. 4 years later I’m still enthralled that by the simple act of “liking” posts on social media I can help other artists fund their projects, chip in my little bit toward a needed surgery, or help put food on someone’s table in times of turmoil. I’m account #36,926 but I’ve managed to work my way into the top 500 holders of Hive Power and I want to keep improving on that ranking.
4 years ago I couldn’t even follow anyone… and one website was the entirety of the Hive ecosystem.
Now I’ve created a community that I own. I can choose from a half dozen ways to post to Hive. I can get rewarded for tracking my steps. I play collectible card games. I sell tokens of my artwork to digital art collectors and wander the streets of virtual cities to find it on the walls of a blockchain based art gallery… All on Hive.
The truly amazing part about all of that… we haven’t even begun. The number of people using Hive worldwide… the money within the ecosystem… it’s so small that you might not even be able to call it a rounding error. I may be celebrating my 4th anniversary, but if you joined a month ago, or you’ll join a month or a year from now; you’re still a pioneer. It’s still so early.
I can think of two different quotes from one of my favorite movies; The Pixar Story, that sum up Hive for me at this moment in time, and perhaps explain why the last 4 years feel like an eternity that’s gone by at the speed of light… conundrum though that is.
Pixar is of course the movie studio which pioneered early 3D animation and is responsible for a nearly unbroken string of hits over the past 20+ years beginning with the original Toy Story. The Pixar Story is a great documentary which gives a look at their early years, struggling to develop new technologies that would ultimately spawn an entirely new industry. I find it a fitting analogy for Hive and the nascent blockchain and cryptocurrency space.
Pixar co-founder John Lasseter reminisced about seeing the movie Tron for the first time;
“Computer animation excited me so much, I was not excited by what I was seeing, but the potential I saw in all this… I was just amazed by it.”
Lasseter was able to look past the obvious technical limitations and rudimentary applications of the earliest 3D work and visualize the amazing outcomes it was truly capable of.
Prior to the release of Toy Story, Pixar had actually been around for many years developing their technologies and honing their craft. As they burst into the public eye Pixar was hailed as an overnight success story. Early investor and tech visionary Steve Jobs remarked,
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.”
Hive is clunky, rudimentary, and above all… brimming with potential. Every day we build toward our overnight success story.
I truly believe that. It’s why I’m still here 4 years later.
But even if Hive goes nowhere… if the blockchain grinds to a halt and every server and node spontaneously combusts at the same time… I still come out the other side of this experience with friendships, fans, and a growing body of work that I’m proud of.
Now, should the value of Hive go to the moon… that’ll just be the icing on the cake.
mmm. Cake. Happy Anniversary to me. I'm off to spend the afternoon as I should. Reading a new artbook, "Hive-ing", and eating cake!
- Bryan “the Imp” Imhoff
A huge thanks to everyone who so far has made my Hive journey memorable and enjoyable. I avoided naming lots of names and tagging folks in this post simply because I didn’t want to leave anyone out. I hope a lot of you can see yourselves reflected in this post and kinda know I’m talking about you! I’ve got a feeling the next 4 years are going to be even crazier, and I’m glad to have you all by my side!
| 
| 
| 