It only took 7 years of blockchain effort š but I made it to 2k followers. I noticed that I had crossed over 1900 and it seemed bloody ages to get the 100 more followersā¦but here we are, 2000 people were interested enough in my content to smash that Follow button.
Is that what you say on Hive? š§ or is that the social media version of cultural appropriation? I digress. It was 
Hive account@jza that was my exact 2000th follower. Thanks M8, Nice that it was you, ie. someone I have met in real life several times! I also noticed that we exchanged comments way back in 2017! That is like a multi-generational friendship here on Hive š¤£ I often wonder what it is about Hive that made me stick around long enough to hit this Milestone. What made my tick go tock!?!? I like most had a lonely start. I didnāt know anyone. I wrote posts that got little to no attention. I remember getting my first decent rewards on posts .37 cents and .47 cents, woo hooo š
I remember thinking wow I just made nearly a dollar for blabbering online. After years of posting on Facebook and never receiving a dime, a dollar seemed a pretty sweet deal for a few posts.
Slowly but surely over a 90-day stretch of consistently posting, I started making a few connections. There were a few people I related to and felt like I would like this person if I met them in the real world. 
Hive account@raj808 stands out as a first bud.
We both liked poetry, fiction, and goofing around. That helped my journey along too.
Hive account@sultnpapper (who I hope to see around again someday, Iād like to know how he is) He was someone I just loved his no-bullshit vibe. We didnāt agree on all things but our back-and-forths worked because there was respect.
Iād call those the good olā days, but Iām not sure if that is accurate, I rarely had interactions on my posts and the time I spent writing compared to pennies earned could start to get frustrating.
Itās weird that part of Hive, even though Facebook, Twitter, Insta, and most people on YouTube will never receive a penny, we happily share our content. Yet on Hive, somehow it could be incredibly disheartening when the upvotes didnāt come. At first, any amount of money just felt amazing, but after a bit, that satisfaction of getting pennies faded.
I feel like the switch for me happened after a Curie upvote; it was so cool to get that big upvote that when I went back to pennies, it left a hole. Left me chasing that upvote dragon, lol; I still feel it today to some extent.
Ha, and I know that the Hive purists would say, it shouldnāt be about the money. And I agree, but I also am pragmatic and think we must face it honestly and recognize that the system is built this way and thus it is about the money. Hivians can do things to downplay it, encourage and demonstrate all the better reasons that are very true and proof that is not only about the money. But most who join will see money first, and in my view, I think there are healthy ways to leverage thatā¦.but alas, Iām getting off topic, and this wasnāt what I came to write about.
I came to write about my 2000k followers milestone and what got me personally hooked on Hive to stick around for all those followers to find my Butt! In my case, it was the combination of the engagement with people all over the world and that leading to real-world Meet-ups. Itās great meeting people online and making connections, but traveling across the world and meeting people in real lifeā¦that was the real game changer.
When I got on a train headed to Liverpool, U.K., to meet a stranger, many would have called me crazy, and those many may be right. Yet I felt I knew Hive account@raj808 already, and sure enough, the first Hivian (then Steemian) I ever met was a long weekend over New Yearās. What an amazing dude Hive account@raj808 was to take me into his home and show me around Liverpool, meeting his friends and celebrating the New Year. Almost 6 years to the day from todayā¦ wishing Hive account@raj808 a wonder new year 2025!
Here is the post link if you want to check itā¦ the writing is still there, but the vid no longer plays
@buttcoins/ocfbtrym
My next online-to-the-real-world follower experience was with 
Hive account@lidac (a poet who is no longer active š¢) and 
Hive account@abbak7. Here we had a funny drunken back-and-forth where Hive account@abbak7 invited me to come visit him in New Orleans. I remember it being something like: Me - Sure, Iāll come, but not sure when I can. Him- Iāll buy you a ticket to come right now. Me - Are you serious? Him - Are you serious? Next thing I know, Iām boarding a flight to New Orleans. You can check the post and video hereā¦ @buttcoins/xh6twfe8 ha, this is when I got smart and posted both to Dtube (fucking Dtube gone š¤¦āāļø) and YouTubeā¦so this video is still watchable on YouTube.
Had the pleasure of meeting back up with Hive account@abbak7 with the entire family at Hivefest Croatiaā¦!! š
The other key piece of my Hive puzzle was 
Hive account@ddaily. A community that has unfortunately faded but whose spirit lives strong in my journey. A group of creators dedicated to Daily Decentralized content, mostly video. I met so many amazing folks through that community. 
Hive account@artakush 
Hive account@minigunner 
Hive account@kevinli 
Hive account@camuel 
Hive account@captainbob 
Hive account@bimjer 
Hive account@adetorrent 
Hive account@neopch 
Hive account@greencross 
Hive account@tibfox 
Hive account@myndnow 
Hive account@jongolson 
Hive account@slayerkm 
Hive account@maneki-neko There are surely other names, but these popped into my head as I wrote. Many of the names in that list went to Hivefest in Krakow. And boy was that a major point of stick for me. We rented a big apartment and called it the Ddaily Mansion. What a complete fucking blast that was! Iāve chased that joy dragon to 4 Hivefests!
Now I have had many other meetups over the years (just recently met up with 
Hive account@knowhow92 and will soon have a meet-up post about that experience. But these meetups have been the hook for my time here on Hive.
I encourage all Hivians to take that extra step when possible to go from behind the screen to in front of the screen in real-life existence.
And there we have it, 2000k followers as a product of 7 years of engagement online leading to engagement in real life. I want to thank everyone who chose to follow me. You are appreciated, Hive friends! Hope to see you for real someday š
