Just like that we are staring at the beginning of May. Trust me kids, if you think time flies right now, wait until you get some more years behind you and you will start to realize just how quickly it goes. For those of us who choose to participate, the first of the month means it is time to power up your HIVE account. Ideally, you should be powering up all the time, but the first of the month I always like to push a little something extra into my stake.
It's safe to say it has been a long winter. In fact, I was reading the something the other day that said this is the longest crypto winter we have ever experienced. I'll let you decide whether that is true or not. Some people are saying we have been in the bull for the last couple of months. Looking at my wallet, it sure doesn't feel like it. Hanging around some of the Discord channels related to HIVE, it really doesn't feel like it.
Discontent is at an all time high whether it is focused on the blockchain in general, or one specific project. I'll be honest, I have been pretty down myself lately on Splinterlands in particular. I'm not alone either. I know a handful of people who either have already cashed out or plan on cashing out at the first sign of positive movement. I was commenting back and forth with someone the other day who was hoping for a target of $.25 to $.50 for SPS. I'm not going to lie, I'd definitely be dumping some if that were the case.
Like I said, sentiment on HIVE in general has also been pretty dismal. I'm even starting to see die hard supporters of the chain start to express their doubts. I'm not saying the doubts weren't ever there, but they weren't so vocal about it. That's no longer the case. Someone (I won't name names) actually brought up the point the other day that barring getting caught for abuse, folks in third world countries are probably pretty happy with HIVE.
Sure, they likely wish they were making more, but writing some posts, earning rewards and then moving it all to fiat has been pretty lucrative for them. In fact, for some it has probably been quite life changing. Meanwhile, many people in the first world countries are barely scraping by with HIVE. I know that is probably a bit of an oxymoron, but I'm not going to debate what defines 3rd world. Apparently that is an outdated (cancelled?) term and there are a number of factors that make the label applicable.
I'm pretty lucky that HIVE isn't my full time job. While I often refer to HIVE as a hobby, I also see it as a business. If I owned a bar, I would be constantly putting money back into my business to grow it and make it better. That's the same idea for why I am continuously powering up my HIVE account. I think we have probably all heard a story or two about the guy who owns a bar and ends up drinking all his profits.
It never turns out well. Both for the owner and the bar.
I'm not saying people shouldn't be allowed to pull out some of their HIVE, I plan on doing it myself one day, but why would you want to pull all of it out? Why not build your account so you can earn more down the road. Just like a small business in the real world, I plan on powering up as much HIVE as I can so that one day it can be this awesome income generator, giving back to both myself and the community as a whole.
Trust me, I don't think that a handful of people suddenly powering up instead of extracting their rewards from HIVE is going to turn things around. I honestly don't know what we need to turn HIVE around.
Actually, that's not true, I know that more users would definitely help. I also know that finally coming to a consensus on all of this bickering and fighting about upvotes, downvotes, vote buying, and things of that sort would be helpful. I don't see it happening though. If the current world has taught me anything, it's that once entrenched in their beliefs, people are very unlikely to change them.
It really does make me sad to see so many people bitter about the state of HIVE. I still think it is an awesome blockchain with a lot of potential. It has become an outlet for me and I love being able to see what I have built over the past seven years. My hope is that the current discontent is just some residual weariness from the bear market. That doesn't mean things don't need to be fixed, but it also doesn't mean you throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The northern US (including Michigan) can be pretty brutal in the Winter. The majority of us have a vitamin D deficiency because of how little sunlight we get. In addition to that, the lack of sunlight can also impact your mood. My hope is that in the coming months we finally see some blue skies ahead.
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