Welcome to Hive!

If you are reading this, you have probably just joined Hive. Maybe you have followed a link in a reply on your introduction post.

While writing this post I have been active on Hive for almost 6 years. During that time I have learned a lot. With this introduction blog I will try to help you make your first steps on Hive.

I hope this blog will help you understand what Hive is and guide you with the start of your journey on Hive.

If you have any questions after reading this blog, just leave a comment on this blog or check out the Discord servers I mention later on in this blog.

Hive is not an easy money platform

I want to get this one out of the way first because I know Hive is being advertised on other platforms as a place where you can earn money easily. And although it is true that you can get rewarded for posting, Hive is not an easy money making platform.

Hive is a community of people that have a shared responsibility for the Hive blockchain. As Hivers we create content, curate content, interact, build communities and develop projects.

Rewards are a nice part of Hive, but they should not be the only reason you are here!

You can see Hive as a garden. If everyone takes the harvest and nobody plants new seeds or waters the plants. The garden will be empty after a while.
If we all invest a bit in the garden, the plants will thrive!
That is why it is important to invest back into your account and the community.

Grow your account with Hive Power

The Hive platform uses a token called Hive (which is a bit confusing, I know). You can earn Hive by creating original content that is upvoted (this is called curation) by other Hivers.
After 7 days you will actually own the tokens. By default 50% of the tokens will be converted to staked hive. This is called Hive Power (HP).
HP gives your account more influence on the platform. More HP means:

• Bigger upvotes when you curate good content
• More curation rewards
• More possibilities to support other users

Instead of removing every reward from Hive, I would advise investing it in your account. At least in the beginning. Growing your account takes time, but every small step helps.

Be patient! Growing your account can go slowly in the beginning, but the more you interact and invest in engagement with others, the faster your account will grow.

Resource Credits: what are they?

Resource Credits (RC) is the fuel of Hive. You need it to interact on Hive; blogging, commenting, updating your profile.
New accounts start with very limited Resource Credits because they do not have any Hive Power yet. By staking Hive, your Resource Credits will increase. This means you will be very limited when you start on Hive.

But you do not need to buy Resource Credits! Some people are offering RC's for a fee, but don't fall for that. Be careful in general with people asking money for things. Most things on Hive are free!
Many Hive users are happy to delegate RC to beginners for free. If you need some Resource Credits to get started, just leave a comment under this post and I will provide enough for you to start.

Create original content

When you have enough RC's you can start publishing content. You have to remember that Hive values original content.
Using AI to create complete blogs or copying content from others (plagiarism) can lead to downvotes.
If you use images that are not yours, you should make sure you always mention the source. You can use AI generated images.
Reposting content you already posted on other platforms is often also not appreciated.
The Hive community wants to see your own ideas, experiences and original content.

Protect your account

Your Hive account is valuable and will be more valuable the more you grow it. So make sure to keep it safe. As with all platforms where there is something to gain, criminals also find their ways.
Remember to never share your private keys with anyone! And store them in a safe place and don't lose them. Not your keys, not your coins!
Be careful with people in the Discord channels. Hive doesn't have support employees and nobody ever needs your private keys.
If someone asks for your keys, it is almost certainly a scam.
Also be careful with links you might receive from people.

Engage with the community

Hive is not just about posting. The real value comes from interaction with others Hivers.
Check out the different communities and start following people you think post interesting content. Read their blogs and engage with them in the comment section.
Engagement will build you connections and grow your account faster.

Communities

There are quite a lot of communities. Communities often have a specific subject. There are communities about photography, cooking, gardening, technology and also about Hive Learners (for learning more about Hive).

Find the communities of the things you enjoy. You can find an overview and search here!

Everyone can create a community and define their own rules for that community. Be sure to read the guidelines for the communities you join so you don't break their rules.

You do not have to become a blogger about a specific topic. You can also choose to interact in the comments.

Need any help?

One of the best things of Hive is the helpful community. If you have any questions, there are always people that want to help.
Apart from asking for help in the comment sections, sometimes it might be faster and easier to have a chat with someone.
There are quite a lot of Hive related Discord servers. I'll share you the two that I think are most important for beginners.

Firstly I highly recommend you yo join the Discord Server: The Terminal. This server is focused on helping beginners and is a great place to learn more about Hive. It already existed when I onboarded and I learned a lot from the people in there.

The second one is the Official Hive Discord server. You can find a lot of Hivers in there and stay up to date of things happening on chain.

I am a member in both servers as well, so if you have questions you don't want to ask in the comments, you can look for me there.

Thank you...

...for reading until here. I hope it was useful. If you have any questions or additional tips, feel free to share them in the comments.

Enjoy your journey! Learn, connect and help make Hive thrive!

Friendlymoose