The News

Things have not been too dramatic when it comes to the $HIVE price this month. It could do with a bit of a boost to get people excited. As someone just pointed out to me it is all 'small beer' really as the market cap is less than some CEOs get paid, but it can still make a real difference for many people.

I saw a video by one of the biggest drummers on social media where he says that he makes nothing on some platforms as he uses copyrighted music. He makes something on Youtube, but barely enough to live on and so he relies on selling merchandise. Others use things like Patreon where fans pay each month for access to content or just to support people they like. The Hive model is different as you can earn whilst supporting others. If you can afford to invest something you can get a return even if you do not post, but doing so can make you something too and it can be fun. There is also no minimum threshold to get paid so everyone has a chance. That is worth shouting about.

@meno did a post about whether Hive is ready to go big. I know opinions are divided on that, but we should welcome those who give it a try and bring value.

Next week the @vsc.network launches their smart contract system. I know a lot of people are excited about this, but I will admit to not understanding the details. I do know that it is something that other chains offer and so we need to be competitive.

Friday Follows

• @ravenmus1c is offering her services to help with music and design. If you are trying to build a presence on Hive then she has the experience to help.
• @sidekickmatt has been putting his comics on Hive for years. He has several different stories, but one just reached 400 editions. He does this whilst travelling the US doing pet-sitting.
• Photographer @lalalopophoto is a friend of @thetroublenotes and just (re-)joined Hive. Apparently she may have lost the keys for her original account. I know there have been lots of cases like that so ensure you have safe backups.

Who are you following who deserves more support? Post about them to help others find them. I have been doing that with these (mostly) weekly posts for years. I use the #followfriday tag, but you can do it any way you like.

The Dog House

This may be a controversial one, but I am not a huge fan of 'AI' content. I get that these tools can allow you to create images, text or even music or video that you could not, but what is the real value in that? There may be some skills in crafting the right prompts, but if you can do that then you could probably be writing something original. Actual humans work for years to develop their skills and often do it for little reward. Of course they may love what they are doing, but they still need to eat.

I have met @thetroublenotes who tour the world entertaining people and are passionate about it. They had some thoughts on this topic.

Of course you can use apps if you really need an image for a post, but I want to give my votes where some human effort is involved. I can still find plenty to vote on, but it would be sad if Hive and the wider internet was taken over by 'generated' content.

These tools are evolving rapidly and will improve. You can find lots of examples of where they hallucinate things, but people are using them all the time to help them with their work and creativity. There is nothing wrong with using productivity tools, but we should not let them take over.

I have seen that there is a new image generator in peakd that gives access to various engines. You pay a small amount of HBD for that. I have not used it yet. I prefer to use my own photos or charts for my posts.

The End

We are nearing the end of another month and so I will be generating a new #BritList soon. As always I am looking out for more Brits on Hive. I have not done any lists for other countries recently, but will consider doing so if I get requests. I just think that people in those countries can do a better job with their local knowledge.

Hive five! Yes, it is five years old now.

The man behind:

@tenkminnows: Helping good Hivers level up @proofofbrian: A bot that checks for tag typos #BritList: A monthly list of Hivers in the UK