HiveBooster Update: First Patch, Lessons Learned, and Early Revenue Report
It's been 12 days since we launched HiveBooster, and I'm excited to share our first update with the community. While it's still early days, there's been some meaningful progress and a few learning experiences I wanted to document.
What's New in This Update
We've just pushed our first patch, which includes:
Bug Fixes
- Resolved a few edge cases that were causing occasional hiccups in the upvoting process
- Fixed a few issues on mobile
- Actually had to struggle big time with the new release of hive-tx 7.0.0; for whatever reason, the production build was using latest while my test versions used 6.1.9, so production was failing since the latest update. Now everything should work fine again, I'll make sure to migrate to 7.0.0 on the next occasion
New Feature: Curator Field
The biggest addition in this update is the curator field. Users can now specify a curator name, and HiveBooster will mention them in the comment it posts when upvoting. This gives proper credit where it's due and helps curators get recognition for the content they're promoting through the service.
The Downvote Experience
Let's talk about our experience with downvotes. A bunch. Apparently the branding with "Booster" wasn't the smartest, and we were considered a vote buying service. Our reputation took a hit, which has limited the visibility of the service's comments.
I'm not complaining — this is part of the process for me. Some community members likely saw automated voting as something they don't want to encourage, and that's their right. It's a reminder that building on a decentralized platform means navigating community standards and preferences, not just technical challenges.
I'll continue to iterate and see how I can provide value while respecting the community's norms. The downvotes are data, and we're learning from them.
Revenue Report: Small but Present
On the monetization front, we've integrated ads into the platform, and I'm happy to report they're working and generating revenue. The key word here is "little"—we're talking very small amounts at this stage. It's not enough to convert to HIVE and power up yet, but it's proof of concept that the monetization strategy can work.
Every journey starts with small steps, and seeing any revenue at all this early is encouraging.
If you're using HiveBooster and finding it valuable, word of mouth would be incredibly helpful at this stage!
What's Next
We're continuing to refine the service based on feedback and usage patterns. The goal remains the same: make it easier for Hive users to curate and support content they believe in.
Thanks to everyone who's tried HiveBooster so far. Your feedback, whether through usage, comments, or yes—even downvotes—helps us build something better.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Have thoughts on HiveBooster? Drop a comment below or reach out directly. All feedback welcome.