Hive has become a central repository for my ideas, and my writing. It is the place to which I escape from the real world, my home away from home in the digital metaverse.
I love that it brings me so much opportunity for connection with like-minded individuals who share a love for intellectual discussion and creative thought. I can blog, philosophise, write articles, short stories and poetry and enjoy the interconnectedness of community.
It exposes me to a diversity of culture, language, nationality, and opinion in a way that challenges me to grow and develop as a human being. It provides an encouraging environment to hone my craft as a writer. At the same time, it rewards me for my creative efforts and for the time that I put into appreciating the works of others. It brings me so much joy that I just want to shout it from the rooftops wherever I go. And so, I do!
The way I see things, I have a digital life and a real-life, and one is but a reflection of the other. My social circles in both are important to me and I would love nothing more than for the two to overlap one day. To date, I have not met anyone from my digital life, and could not possibly single out anyone from the many whom I would love to connect with in person. It just wouldn't be fair. And so, instead, I will speak of my efforts to bring my IRL friends to the Hive.
We gather most days in the park outside my sons' school, like bees around a flower, abuzz with chit-chat about our children, our day, and our lives. We share in each other's joy and sorrow, celebrating the wins and providing a shoulder to cry on when needed. So of course I have shared with them my love for writing, and I have shared with them my journey on Hive.
The expression of interest has been palpable and I have been quizzed about the platform, what it entails, how it works etcetera. There are a few who are genuinely interested, but they still hold back from taking the leap and making the final commitment to join. They are all individuals who would truly benefit from joining the Hive community and living a virtual life on the blockchain, in fact, some of them are already active bloggers on other more centralised platforms. I think the one thing holding them back is the perceived, and admittedly sometimes actual, complexity and the technical language of the blockchain. I myself required a guiding hand onto the Hive and needed help and support a number of times within the first month of joining.
Two of my friends, in particular, have shown great interest and I believe that they will one day find the time to sit down and join the Hive community. I don't think they will ever look back from that day onward. One of them asked me for the details for a client of theirs who writes a lot who is keen to join and I sent her links to 
Other than that, I have managed to bring over a few bloggers from other centralised platforms whom I only know through our connection in the digital sphere. We have never met IRL, but have found common ground where our interests converge. I also promote Hive on other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
I have spoken to my family about the Hive, and whilst they too have expressed interest, for now, they are happy being consumers of my craft which I share with them via Hive URL links. In time, I hope they come to recognise the value in our great community and that more people find their way to Hive.
I almost forgot: I'd like to invite 
Photo credit: Jaesun An
Image by Jaesung An from Pixabay