![post pic-1.png](https://images.hive.blog/DQmc7MrM6V2ajXMLoxh62oebxYpd7juLGnDMMaz8i8rr9Fc/post%20pic-1.png)

BEGINNINGS

As a casual blogger and social media participant, I basically used blogging as an online “portfolio” where potential clients can see mostly personal stories just for them to get a sense of how I approach writing. I used to do a lot of documentation work for conferences and seminars with non-government organizations and foundations before and I found blogging to be a simple way to market my services. And, for the most part, that was my “public” online life. Except for a few blogging invites to blog for product launches and events, it was mostly personal stuff, my hobbies and learning about how the web works, how search works, SEO, etcetera. Registering with STEEM back in January, it was going to be the same of what I did before. I just wanted to add to my writing “portfolio” to showcase to clients and maybe even for them to find me. It is easier and much cheaper to share a link to a blog than sending a document through courier. My haphazard and flimsy approach to transform my online presence into an income generating endeavor turned serious when Coronavirus pandemic hit. No conferences, trainings and seminars means that I will be on an indefinite extended vacation. __WHY I LOVE HIVE?__ For this week’s contest, #hiveph asked _“What is HIVE for you?”_ I haven’t really thought about it but welcome the opportunity to reflect about it and bring forward my observations and insights regarding the HIVE blockchain. And these are my answers: __Hive is a place where I can share my content__ HIVE provided me with a great opportunity to share things: my writing mostly, but I have shared things that I would not have thought about if it were in another platform. The communities here are awesome. I cannot stop raving about the wonderful people of HIVE. One can literally find people who share the same interests and hobbies, hopes and aspirations, failures and successes in life, whatever it is. And if there isn’t a community for a particular theme that I am looking for, I can just create one and people who share the same passion will come and find you, which bring me to my second why. __Hive is a great online place to meet new friends__ I have never seen such a welcoming bunch of people on the internet. Even for people with different views, the people here are generally nice and helpful and accommodating. It’s a great place to hang around; much like the place one will go to on a Friday night, after a hard day’s work at the office to meet a few friends and have a few drinks. __Hive is an ecosystem that lets me earn just by creating and curating content.__ Even with the learning curve, I found it so easy to earn a few bucks with the first post I uploaded. There are not many platforms that I can point out to where one can earn with the first post. And it gets better with the passing of time. As I get to meet the #awesomepeopleofhive and learn to navigate through the system, I discover new and wonderful things about HIVE. Things that help improve how I blog. Ways to earn a little more. Connect with people who have been here before me and graciously lends valuable advice. __Hive provides me with a space to learn new things and experiment; to develop my creative side and even advance some of my advocacies and causes that I believe in__. With the wide spectrum of people on the HIVE platform, there is a common thread that runs throughout: _the success of HIVE will benefit all of us_. It can be a great unifying factor to know that the other Hiveans will be there to support you just because we are all stakeholders in this decentralized world. __HIVE is a powerful tool for me to reach my online goals__ Now that I am slowly learning about the potential of HIVE through interactions with the fantastic people of HIVE and the entertaining and extremely informative posts, I can say that HIVE will help me reach my online goal of creating a steady stream of income that can replicate, and hopefully even surpass what I was earning before the pandemic happened. __CONCLUSION__ To end my post, HIVE for me is a lot of things: it lets me connect to people from all around the world, to share ideas and experiences with, to share a laughing emoji with, or maybe to engage with lively banter and interesting conversation. It provides income through rewards given to content that will just be posted somewhere else anyway, why not here? It lets me develop new skills as a content creator and explore subjects that I would not have posted online if I didn’t feel good about it, so HIVE for me is also a safe space because the people here care. Lastly, it is a place to convey inspiring messages of love and hope; things that we all need at this time, when the world is in disarray. Because HIVE was created on the basis of principles and values, to stand up for what is right, to choose one’s own path, as well as to fight oppression. It is true both online as well as offline because HIVE is a microcosm of the world we live in. Personally, I can say that HIVE is the coolest community of dudes (and dudettes!) that I have stumbled upon on the internet and consider it as my _“online-tambayan”_. That’s it. Have a pleasant weekend everyone. Mabuhay! @juanvegetarian ![HIVE Badge.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmYhsXev1RzcQsawkCg7y8aopjN1u5j8srSdM2nXjYZkgq/HIVE%20Badge.jpg) *photo/s are mine.

Topics