21 Powerful (Not-so-silly) Questions From Hive Newbie Answered

Dear Hiver,

I am writing this headline because I have a wonderful story to share. You see, since last one month, I have been on a mini-operation. I truly felt like a detective here.

Here’s what happened:

There are questions people don’t want to ask because it is embarrassing, ridiculously simple, and may even seem incredibly silly. So I have been collecting questions from one particular user.

Truth be told: these are ridiculously powerful questions that I have failed to answer in my earlier posts. It was my fault that I didn't think about them.

This mini-operation started through a personal conversation on Twitter. I onboarded this user on Hive and he has been asking me dozens of questions. I shared some links. But he comes back asking for more. Few questions turn into dozens. So instead of getting annoyed, I continued to answer these questions and then there was a lightbulb moment.

Why answer privately when I can answer publicly? It makes sense, right? Together we came up with these questions.

Note: No questions are stupid, silly, ridiculous, or even embarrassing. That is why this article is a mixed bag — that I am putting together logically and cleaning them up for newcomers.

As you read them, maybe you will also find some forgotten gems. Let’s get started:

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#1: There are too many options to sign up. Which one to select?

YES. There are multiple ways to sign up. You have paid and free options on the Hive sign up page. You are free to select anything. Go with free.

Also, if you want an instant account, then check out Hiveonboard. It only takes a couple of minutes.

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#2: Can I post personal stories?

YES. You can write any stories you want — as long as it is not copied. Consider Hive as your social media site except that no one controls you.

In many ways, Hive is a kingdom without a king. Everyone runs the platform — yet no one rules.

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#3: I really want to earn money! Can I make $100 here?

Two questions here. First, if you want to earn money, then yes you can. Second: $100. I don’t know how to answer this. There are several ways you can earn. I listed all of them here.

In short: You have to put in the work. Also, note that you will be earning in Hive tokens. Not in dollars.

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#4: So how much is 1 Hive worth in my local currency?

The price fluctuates but you can see them here: CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. Copy the USD price and convert it into your local currency using Google.

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#5: What is this key thing I get after making my account? Is it important?

The key thing is your password. And yes, it is important. Incredibly important. You will have multiple keys tied to your account — it is unique, so save them.

Remember: No one will help you recover your account if you lose it — only these keys can.

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#6: When publishing, can I use pictures from Google?

Short answer: No. I highly recommend you to read this article on copyright images.

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#7: Reputation means more money?

Your account reputation score has nothing to do with money. Every new account has a (25) reputation score. Then, as you actively engage, your scores continues to climb. You score decreases when people downvote you.

Overall, reputation is only for the community to know your involvement. A reputation score of 60+ is fantastic.

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#8: Should I buy anything to participate on Hive?

No. You can participate for free. It is not mandatory to buy anything. You can be a worker — who puts in the effort. Or a passive and active investor (who buys tokens).

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#9: Okay, I am sorry but what should I write?

Write anything you love sharing. If you are stuck, then check out the #introduceyourself tag. Introduce yourself in your first post. See my introduction as an example.

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#10: How do I know if someone is reading my post?

There is no clear cut answer to this. But I can think of a couple of indicators. When people upvote and comment, then you know people are looking into your post (and hopefully reading as well).

You can also use @Peakd’s analytics feature (link) to get a rough estimate. Click on “Views” tab.

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Note:

After couple of days, something bad happened. This new user screwed up big time. I was intrigued. It gave me another opportunity to get more questions out of him. So these are the next set of questions with some modification:

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#11: I am really sorry but I messed up. I introduced myself too many times.

Rule #1: Do not abuse the platform. Do not come here thinking Hive is a get-rich-quick scheme. I see you have posted multiple times with the same #introduceyourself tag. Don’t do that.

If you want to succeed, you have to embrace patience. Read this to hear from the experts.

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#12: My article received 25 votes yesterday but today I didn’t get a single vote.

I totally understand votes are important. But do not let votes drive your emotion. Be clear in terms of action. Action is under your control. Earning votes isn’t.

If you come here as a content creator, then produce high-quality articles that impacts the community. Good content published regularly will earn visibility. It is the bitter truth.

Focus on something else — and don’t let votes consume your mindset.

#13: Can I post my old content here?

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Best to link your old content rather than copy and pasting it and sharing as a new article. You have various other accounts looking for plagiarism and duplicate content.

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#14: Can we withdraw the money from our posts?

Yes. Only after 7 days. Payouts are shown under every article.

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#15: How do I increase my followers in hive?

By constantly engaging, interacting, and investing your time here on Hive. Just like anything in life, to gain any following, you have to be active. More you do, more you get. On Hive — and in life.

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Note: Despite this, after few days, he gets downvoted. I am framing some more questions based on that:

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#16: I messed up. How do I delete my content?

If your article has votes, then you can’t delete it. But you can remove your content. Simply edit the article and replace the entire headline and content with a couple of words.

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#17: I got 8 downvotes. What do I do?

You can’t do anything with these downvotes. Perhaps you were trying to spam the platform. I see you have posted the same content again and again in different communities. Why?

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#18: I thought I was cross-posting.

Cross-posting is like sharing URL in the other communities. You didn't cross-post. You copied and pasted the article as a “new” post and then shared in different communities.

You are reposting. Not cross-posting. You are milking. Not contributing.

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#19: I am sorry. Do you cross-post?

Rarely. Perhaps once in a month or two. It is important to shift your understanding. You don’t look for loopholes here. Hive's audience is mature. If anything, you come here to celebrate the beauty of decentralization and stay together as a community. Hope you can remember this.

Be a good responsible user.

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#20: How can I be a good responsible user?

The trick is to learn more. Take 30 min of your time and open these 3 links. Read the articles.

• 19 tips for beginners - Link
• 11 mistakes to avoid - Link
• 9 do’s and 9 don’t of engagement - Link

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#21: What else can I do?

You can do dozens of things:

• Challenge yourself to put in the work. Read this article to see 15 tips and challenges.

• This is the article every content creator should read. Check it out.

• Be closer to the community. Meaning: read more. If you are too busy, then scan through the homepage.

• Engage. Leave comments. And do it from your heart.

• Write good articles — and share them in your circle.

• Don’t enjoy writing content? Then you can play games. See these 7 Hive games.

• Read the comparison article: Medium versus Hive and also Publish0x versus Hive.

• Have more questions? Read the grandma’s guide to Hive.

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Wow.

There you have it. 21 questions! The last one was mine — with more links and directions.

In fact, I almost felt like the entire mini-operation was filled with curiosity, fun, and also panic (getting downvoted is no fun). It also teaches you so many lessons.

Like I said in my other article, what is common to us may not be common to everyone. All of us go through the journey of learning. We all start somewhere. I am simply delighted that I was picked to get such wonderful questions.

And to answer them was absolutely fun.

I am sure, with time, many other questions will appear. So I will keep discovering and saving them. As I went through the chatlog, I found few more that I wish to answer later.

Overall, I guess it will take more effort — more involvement — and many more articles. So let's continue sharing and growing together.

And with this thought, I hope every newcomer will find this article helpful. And old users can spot some forgotten gems as well.

Let's continue Hiving! 🔥

Cheers,
Sid

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