We create content to elicit a reaction. We expect users to view or interact with it and engage with that presentation in one form or another. Some people are successful in their endeavors and can receive any combination of the following:
- High votes
- High engagement
- High rewards
These benefits are NOT restricted to the Hive blockchain. I once thought that all I needed for high gains was a solid article posted at an ideal time. I could not have been more wrong.
The Contest
I attended PS 13, Roberto Clemente School, in Brooklyn, NY, when I was about 6 or 7 years old. My teacher entered me into a storytelling contest. It was a topic of which I knew little. It seemed an odd sort of practice. No one read stories to me back then, and the stories I did know of I learned from TV.
The teacher called my mom about it, and then these two ladies went to work on me. They selected a book for me to memorize, clothes for me to wear, and coached me on speaking.
It didn't take long for them to deem me worthy. I memorized the book at the beginning of the week, and the contest started that Friday. I wasn't nervous, but I was uncomfortable. I felt like it wasn't me performing, but instead, it was the teacher and my mom. It was a dry delivery.
The kid that performed after me was terrific. He engaged the crowd, misdirected their attention, and made them laugh. The difference between the two of us? He must have understood that he wanted to be there, or he'd been doing that since he was born.
Trust
One goal of any author on Hive is to gain the trust of other users on the platform. When they trust that the content you provide is reliable, they tend to follow your content and vote on it accordingly. People on Hive, with thousands of followers, will not want for rewards or voting.
Caveat Emptor
Take care to use the correct markdown, referencing, and citations during your time on Hive or any other platform for that matter.
There are plenty of authors here who I trust entirely. I've put their articles through the wringer long enough to know that I can get comfortable and enjoy reading their work. If that ever changed, it would be some time before I revisited their blog.
People can make mistakes, and forgiveness is always possible. It's just not immediate in many cases. Be careful.
Quality
Quality in Writing
Some people are naturals at writing while others are not. I'm impressed at both extremes, especially when high rewards are involved. The point of this is not to single anyone out. Instead, it's to communicate what I feel I should focus on when writing something.
I've learned from reading the stories on 
While theinkwell recommends these types for fiction writing, we could apply them to other topics. It represents recommendations for repeatable behaviors in writing anyone can use. It's excellent reading.
Rice on the Wall (ROTW)
When I first started on Hive, I came from Vocal Media. I had no guidance on what to do, so I started writing on various topics hoping something would stick. I don't recommend the ROTW technique for anyone. It makes for sad days.
At Hive, I didn't have many of the same issues. I was able to ask around and get some pretty good answers. I found that I loved writing about STEM and followed groups like 
Engagement
You can't grow your following unless you engage with people on Hive. Hive is an ecosystem, and growth requires networking. Outside of the occasional whale vote and introductory post, you won't generate much income unless people know who you are.
When you curate someone's post and upvote it, consider dropping a functional sentence that communicates how you feel about their presentation. More often than not, you'll get an equivalent response. If you do it enough, perhaps the author will remember you and decide to read through some of your work.
I remember someone speaking to me about their lack of support in various communities. There were two main problems with their articles:
- #1 Little to no use of references when writing about factual information.
- #2 Next to no engagement on their articles.
Issue #1 has its problems. People don't like DV'ing on Hive, so they will avoid your work if they suspect plagiarism or some other fraud. And if you keep failing to address the problem, people will eventually learn to ignore you when an article comes up.
One of the very few good use cases for a DV is issue #1. While most people will ignore you, someone like myself would not. It could be a wake-up call that helps you fix a problem.
Resolving Issue #2 takes a while. You can't expect much voting if you just put an article out there, hoping everyone will swarm to it.
Presentation
Your fans are out there whether you realize it or not. There are people ready to read your content. It's up to you to bring elements of your quality content package together and make your mark.
- Engage in the articles of others. Let them know you're there.
- Learn to create solid content that expresses the purpose of your article/video and delivers the message to readers that you want them to have.
- Oh, and ENGAGE with the people that visit your article. It doesn't have to be a single-sentence response. The more you interact with the community, the greater the chance that they will remember you.
- Be consistent in your content creation.
- Avoid producing content with next to no substance unless that is what the community requires.
Avoid No Content Pieces
It's a recommendation more than anything. My personal opinion is that if there's not much to say, then there's not much to vote on concerning content.
Take, for instance, the topic of images. I can look at virtually any picture I want on Google, and it would have the same impact on me as something on Hive or POB. Why would I need to vote on that article? HOWEVER, if I were to learn why the author chose that image and what it means to them, it would make all the difference.
@Proofofbrainio, if I remember correctly, was against the introduction of a POB tag for images. I argued that you couldn't have a community accepting all topics and then be selective about images. However, I see his point now following conversations with other members of the community. And so, I must make the change.
Given DPOS and ProofofBrain concepts, I can't prevent anyone from just slapping an image into an article and call it good. Given the same ideas, however, I choose not to vote on them. There are plenty of communities that are fine with single-shot images with no discussion whatsoever. In those communities, it's okay because that's what they seek.
In my opinion, Proof of Brain shouldn't be one of them. It just looks like spam to me without context. I think we can take things to another level, and we should.
In Closing
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
I see someone older, yet still devastatingly handsome, hoping to provide a good life for his family.
I didn't realize this, but many of the things that I'm doing are now centered around them. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'm doing it anyway because it feels proper. I spend most of my nights up late into the morning and do everything I can to keep the weariness away from my family. Storytime, however, is my favorite part of the evening.
Until bedtime comes, then they become little jerks and DGAF that daddy's exhausted, lol. Kids.
I look forward to providing more in the future. Thank you for reading and following on throughout my Hive journey. The discussions I've presented are my own. These aren't rules to follow, but instead, are guidelines I've learned along the way. The exception, of course, is fraud and plagiarism so don't do those.
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