An interesting conversation came up after my Holozing article yesterday, concerning stake delegation to earn other tokens. As I mentioned in a comment or two, while there is no risk to the stake itself, there is a cost to using stake in this way, as it takes away the opportunity to earn curation on the same stake. This means there is a tradeoff, with the "risk" being whether the value of the earned token (ZING), is going to be worth more than the cost of obtaining it (foregone curation earnings). And, "value" is going to be a relative term here, because it might not be the monetary value alone, but in the case of a utility token, what is possible to do with it later.
What can be done with it later.
For almost seven years, I have been espousing the value of building stake. And as I generally practice what I preach, it has cost me dearly. That means, it has been expensive, because rather than powering down and selling at the various highs, I have largely powered up and held.
One of the reasons I have done this is because I believe that Hive is worth more than the book value the market gives it, as it also gives the potential for ownership of the network that enables it and, the potential for earnings directly from it. And, these earnings are more than just the curation, for as we have seen in the past, Hive stake has also been used as a type of oracle for airdrops for new projects and tokens. It has been used many times over the years, with limited success, depending on the project involved. If a project doesn't have any interest behind it, the tokens it drops on stake will just be dumped. However, if there is interest, it can be valuable for those who get it.
And, this is where the delegation comes in, because what it is essentially doing is making it like a liquidity pool of sorts, where based on the staked amount, a certain amount of the distribution will be received in a token. This is not done for free, it is trading that stake vote value for the token, which can be used by the project to earn and encourage users. Splinterlands did and does this with their stake, and when they first started up, it was vital to incentivize the conversation. Without Hive (Steem at the time), Splinterlands would have struggled, because building a community is hard.
Being able to offer value in return for help developing the discussion and buzz around a project, is a nice way to reward participation. Although, a project has to be somewhat discerning with this method and who they reward, because essentially there will be people who have no intention of actually supporting the project long-term, still trying to earn by posting about it.
And, stake is also considered a form of influence on Hive, and it isn't just because it can financially incentivize people directly. What you will find, is that a lot of the community type people who have been here a while like myself, have built their stake over that time. They aren't selling out and, they are starting or are parts of other discussions on the platform. For me, I am a content creator who covers many topics that interest me, but what ties them altogether is an underlying and deep appreciation for Hive and the community upon it. It is impossible to have a belief in this platform, and not build stake, because stake and the success of the platform go hand in hand.
In my opinion.
And I am hoping that in the future, there will be more quality projects that use delegation and similar to build their usecase, while rewarding participants who add value to building the community. This is a good usage of stake, because it supports expanding usecase potential for audience capture, as well as incentivizing targeted content that helps build the community required to demand the usecase.
Content creation is vital for a content platform like Hive, but what content does matter. This isn't Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or TikTok that relies on various advertising models for income. Hive relies on a community. If the content created doesn't add value to the community, if it doesn't help people be more engaged on Hive, it probably shouldn't get much support.
This doesn't mean just talking about Hive of course, (like some people do with "Hive" in nearly every title for votes), it can come through general content totally unrelated too. But, if there is no discussion around it, if there is very little interaction, if it isn't practically helping people participate here better, build relationships, make friends, and motivate them to participate, stake and collaborate - what is it doing for the platform and community?
Quality content.
I am a big proponent of quality on Hive. But, it isn't just about the language and pictures used, referencing and layout. If there is no engagement, what is the point? If no one is reading it, no one is commenting and no one cares, does quality matter?
For me, I attempt to create something that people each day are willing to read, willing to comment on and hopefully, will walk away with something changed in them in some way. I want them to opt-in to the conversation, and make it part of their focus for the day. Something to think about, something to build upon, something to connect them to the community. So much of our lives are lived "alone" in terms of content consumption, and I want to change that, at least in the content I create.
Do you see how stake matters?
I reward a lot of the comments I get (as well as reply as often as I can), because whilst some might be doing it for the vote, there are a lot of others who genuinely enjoy being part of the experience. Being part of a community should require adding value of some kind, but it should also come with rewards, incentives to participate. Hive allows for this through staked voting, but often that stake is looking at a single piece of content only, regardless of the value it actually brings to the platform.
Stake can also support community building activities, accounts that support community conversation, and the projects that help develop solid usecases for the community, which will in turn, raise the value of the community as a whole.
Having usable stake is great, but using it well is vital.
If the only reason people are posting is for vote value, and what they post is not adding value to the community, they probably shouldn't be getting voted. What adds value isn't just topic-based though, it is also impact-based. What is the impact of an article and perhaps more importantly, what is the impact of an account over time?
It is very hard to enumerate this, but watch for long enough, and it is pretty easy to tell what does and what doesn't add value - at the edges at least.
There is so much potential in Hive that goes beyond price, but a lot of people seem to not consider it at all, let alone support it. Even when they have stake to spend.
Just like with money, it matters what you buy with stake.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]