A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about an idea I (and apparently several others) have to possibly increase the demand for Hive. After reading many comments and having some very constructive (not sarcastic for once) conversations on Discord, I think I understand a flaw in my idea. Actually a few flaws.
First of all, I cast too small of a net. Because I (and a semi-trained monkey) can create content for Hive, I focused on what I know: creating demand through attracting a content producer and their audience. Although I still think this is a sound plan, it left out other ways to increase demand for Hive such as game development.
Second, I forgot how ingrained the idea of producing in exchange for rewards has become. Every time I mentioned paying a content producer with an actual audience, people said, "We already tried that. They couldn't get enough votes or they got down-voted and left". But this is not at all what I am talking about. What I am suggesting has never been attempted (as far as I know).
Third, I also forgot that people are just as stuck on the "adverting doesn't work" kick. And they are right. We have proven over the past ten years that paying someone to mention Hive, putting Hive billboards up, or advertising in other ways simply does not work. All of that advertisement seems to focus on "Come to hive, produce and earn". We have way too many amateur producers already. We need an audience.
Fourth, I did not use a good enough analogy to explain why the lack of an audience/consumers is the biggest problem on Hive. I had a great "chicken or the egg" discussion on Discord. The other person said, "Well do we need an audience first and then good content creators will come or is it the other way around." I get his point but I just think it is absolutely wrong. That's simply not how things work. Let's use a comedy club as an example. It has content creators and and audience there to consume that content 9and a two drink minimum). Here's how that works:
Step one: Hire a headline act
Step two: Sell tickets for an audience to come see the headliner
Step three: Profit
It is not, fill the club with an audience and then flag down a comedian passing by or grab one from the audience. That may work for amateur nights, but we have had an amateur decade. It is time to retire that model.
So my idea from a couple of weeks ago addressees the fourth problem. But what about the other three.
I think I can address all of those with one simple change. My idea is to use the DHF to pay people for a service rendered. In this case the service is bringing in a certain number of new people to Hive, getting them to power up and a certain amount, and getting them to stay for a certain amount of time. If the person does not provide the expected service and fails to fulfill those three parameters. They don't get paid FROM THE DHF. This has nothing to do with votes. This has nothing to do with advertising. This has to do with bringing in and manage Hive buyers.
And there are many ways that someone can bring in an audience. I focused on bringing over a small but established content creator but that is only one possibility. A game or app designer could also do the same thing. My point is that we are way past the "use the DHF to advertise" portion of our journey. It is time to only use the DHF to pay for actual services rendered. And it is important to note I have mad respect for all the people who tried to use the DHF to help Hive to grow. But I think it is time to go a slightly different direction. Let's use the DHF to pay for the service we want most... more people joining the community, buying Hive, powering up and actively participating.