Feeling Guilty...
I am pretty upfront with my friends and family about my activity on the blockchain. More specifically the fact that I blog pretty much every day and that I have been doing it for the past four years.
To be honest, it is kind of difficult to keep it secret from them when you are taking photos of your food every time you go out to eat!
Probably about once a year, one of my family members looks at my brother in law and says "why aren't you doing that". It's not that I haven't tried to get him to join the blockchain, but up to this point he just doesn't seem interested.
You see, my brother in law went to college and got his degree in journalism (I believe). For many years he covered local high school sports throughout the greater Columbus area. When one newspaper would close down, he would move to another one.
The fact is, he has a tremendous backlog of content that would have a perfect home in a community like Sports Talk Social on Hive.
So this got me thinking... Why wouldn't he want to at least give it a try? There was a time a while ago I registered a domain for him set up a website so he could share some of his work. That was before I was involved in Hive.
It was a couple of years ago that it finally dawned on me what his hesitation might be. After that, I made it a point to back off on bugging him to join. When someone else in the family brings it up, I just stay quiet and let the moment pass.
It's all my fault
The realization I came to was the fact that on some level people like us are the reason the industry he dedicated his life to imploded. Newspapers and similar content have been dwindling with the introduction of the Internet and amateur content creators.
Now, he has never specifically said this is the reason, but I have to believe it is kind of a slap in the face that someone without a degree is doing as a hobby what he spent a portion of his life preparing for.
Heck, if someone came in and tried to do my job without the proper credentials or degree, I would probably be pretty pissed too.
I did major in English Literature for a while in college, so I feel like I might have a better claim to be doing this than someone else. If you wanted to look at it that way, I'm not saying people shouldn't be doing this.
But I would never call myself an author. In fact, I wouldn't even go so far as to call myself a writer. You might disagree, but I feel that would be a disservice to all of the actual writers and authors who are out there.
People like my brother in law, @ericvancewalton, and the like.
I still can't help but feel a little guilty though. I can only imagine how much it might sting for people who have actually made writing a career.
My brother in law has been working for a school district for the past couple of years. He actually seems to like it a lot and though it might not be what he planned on doing the rest of his life, it should provide him a good income and retirement when he is ready.
I dunno, maybe I am jumping to conclusions or being overly sensitive. I'd just hate to think that someone is turned off from Hive because of me. I want to bring people here not drive them away!
What do you think? Do you have someone in your circle with a similar background that is absolutely against blogging on Hive? Let's talk in the comments!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
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I believe majority that joined the hive blockchain today aren't writers but when joining the platform a lot would be learnt that such passion will be derived in writing.
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I am definitely a better writer since joining, but I still wouldn't call myself a writer.
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I have no qualifications as a journalist or writer in general, but Hive could cater for all sorts. I see some people describe themselves as 'citizen journalist', but to me a journalist is someone who has training in how to properly source their research and know the legal issues around their writing. Just putting out opinions based on watching some videos is not the same thing. I think there is room for professional journalists here, but they will have to compete with everyone else and establish their reputation. I just enjoy writing and I am learning it as I go along.
You could be wrong about why, the only way to find out is to ask him if that is the reason, hopefully he will tell you.
Very true, I could be totally wrong.
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That's a shame he doesn't want to join. But it's maybe good to not bring it up anymore if he doesn't show interest
Yeah, I don't want to be "that guy".
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Mmm, I know when I talk to people outside Hive, their eyes mostly glaze over pretty quickly. I have tried to moderate what I say and definitely not to be evangelical (although it fascinates me), but I think that often the whole thing (technical/community/etiquette) is so overwhelming. One or two people have joined, they've been welcomed and received comments and votes and rewards, but have said to me, "it's such a headwreck"!
Another thing is that you are established here and there may be quite a high psychological risk to someone, who is apparently (but not necessarily) better qualified, joining and then they don't do so well. That brings potentially even more awkward moments in the future.
And then again, he might just be happy with what he is doing and how life is going.
Having said all that, it would be fabulous to have some professional sports writing on Hive.
Whatever the reasons, and he's not obliged to say what they are, there's no need to feel guilty. You've already worked out to let you do you and let him do him.
Thanks for the great comment! You bring up a lot of great points! I really appreciate it!
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I don't push it on anyone now @bozz. I did, but that phase has passed. Most people I personally know have no idea about what I do here. It's poor advertising on my part, but doing this, with all the other things you need to know is far too much for most regular people.
Good point. He isn't really that active on social media anyway, so I am not really sure why he would want to be active here.
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Just ask him !LOL
I doubt the reason is you and i expect he will have his reasons valid or not.
Also just something to consider if he is a journalist he knows how much work goes into creating content of value.
Getting paid to write in a job is not the same as creating content for yourself that you then have to market yourself.
It is not the same and it maybe he is looking for a quicker solution right now which for most people means a JOB.
It has to be realistic a view that, it takes work and dedication to be successful in anything that some people are just not willing to give.
!ALIVE
Thanks for sharing on listnerds
!CTP !BBH
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Good points. He honestly doesn't seem that interested, so I doubt we will ever have that conversation. Maybe one day... Part of me feels like he is really close to being past that part of his life.
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Well it is not for everyone 😎
!ALIVE
Because this is such an awesome post, here is a BBH Tip for you.
. Keep up the fantastic work
Dumb question 🙃 Have you ever asked him?
Or perhaps he does it for a living and it's the last thing they want to during their free time. Bit like if you're a baker, that's probably the last thing you want to do to entertain friends over the weekend
Usually I can tell by the way he responds to people that it is something he isn't interested in. No point in making it uncomfortable. You could be right though!
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I think of the daily writing as to much like a job. Being retired I am not wanting to commit to something to earn 1.00 per day. Yes I play Splinterlands for .50 per day but I call it the cost of entertainment.
!PIZZA
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I look at this as more of a hobby than anything. It passes the time and I enjoy it.
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Blogging on Hive is relative. Hive is a Social Blockchain. So everyone is free to create an account and start blogging. I also actually think that there are very few blogs of comparable quality to that of a professional trained journalist, writer.
And besides, I don't think anyone should feel guilty for a changing world. And that the Internet has certainly brought about a change in people's accessibility to news.
Ultimately, it's up to the readers what they want to read. So I don't think anyone should feel guilty about that.
Personally, I think it has more to do with the whole technical story. The fact that for many people cryptocurrency is still a far-from-my-bed show, and many people still believe that cryptocurrency is in the illegal corner. For many more people that is a point that they find it difficult to get over.
The fact that Hive does not have a professional slant, but can be placed in the same corner as, for example, Facebook (Social Blockchain) can also be a reason why someone might even 'look down' on Hive. No idea if this could be the reason. But I could imagine someone thinking. "Hello, I'm supposed to be paid with $1 a word, you don't think I'm going to blog on your Social Blockchain for $1 a blog now, do you?"
It could be for many reasons, but the fact is that only a small fraction of writing humanity is a member of Hive. The only way to know for sure is to ask him why he doesn't want to try.
Good points! I think we are a long way from mass adoption. At least a ways away from people shaking off those old misconceptions and false narratives.
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This was going to happen with or without us. It is the natural evolution of the industry.
A vast majority of people do not want print media any longer.
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That is true, but I still can't help but feel a little bad. The Internet was going to change the landscape blogging or not.
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I’m no journalist, but I’d love to see some professional join the community. I’d love to see hive have some investors coverage some of the larger world issues. Why let fox and cnbc make all the money on the hard work of these journalists. They should get paid for the their work and own their content.
Yeah, it would be kind of cool to see something mainstream like that.
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On a base level I think some people just simply don't like change. Hive is blogging on a blockchain and that adds another level of change/complexity. On the other hand many of the literary career tracks in many ways mirror the hierarchy of the traditional academic system. It's like a class-based walled garden that hasn't changed all that much in the last hundred or more years. People on the inside grow to seek comfort in the traditions and the sameness of it and their thought process grows rigid, institutionalized in a sense. That's one reason so many segments of the industry are dying.
For over twenty years I fought like hell to get through the gatekeepers and break into that traditional publishing world but I'm so glad now that it never really worked out. I have far more creative freedom and reaped far more rewards here over the years. That traditional literary world is a for a chosen few, you have to have gone to the right schools, or know the right people, or just plain get a really lucky break. When you do make it you only get to keep a small fraction of your book sales. Most traditional authors have to resort to speaking tours to make anything resembling real money now.
I really do think that Hive is a early glimpse of the future of content --- decentralized, crypto-rewards, and with the freedom to let the audience choose what they want to read and how they want to reward the author. The part I love the most about this place is the direct feedback and interaction you get from readers, that's priceless.
You are most certainly a writer. Here, you don't need a piece of paper you've paid $100k (or more) for or the nod from some editor or literary agent to prove you're a writer. Audience engagement and response to your work will tell you all you need to know.
I hope your brother-in-law has a change of heart and at least tries it! It might open him up to a whole new world.
Thanks for the awesome response. I knew you would have something great to say! No, I'm not just praising you because you called me a writer either 🙂. Those are some really good points from someone who has been in the trenches! I appreciate that! It's possible after plugging away for years he just realized it wasn't his passion. I will have to have a conversation with him about it when the time is right.
You're welcome! I appreciate it and am happy you found some value in them! You'll know when the time is right. : )
yup
I still hope that maybe one day your brother-in-law will find his way on Hive but that would need to happen on his own terms and not under pressure from anyone. Maybe just sharing with him some cool articles from time to time would encourage him.
Voted on ListNerds!
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Yeah, I have tried to do that in the past. Who knows. I think the world is going to be looking at blockchain differently in a couple of years.
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I don't really talk much with the people who are in a circle like journalism but I generally don't push people to join. It's up to them to action on it.
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Maybe you should just bring it up and ask him directly?
I mean, if that is the case, I'm quite sure he will appreciate the fact that you thought about the reasoning as he would have probably never brought it up himself to avoid hurting your feelings (maybe?)...
It may also be something that he never thought about himself why he is not interested, who knows.. just talk to him :) I'm sure it can't hurt!
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That would involve being direct and that is something that I am not great at. You are right though. I will probably need to have the discussion with him at some point.
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I was a professional journalist ... and the problem I have is that people think that if they are NOT as skilled as I am, there's no point... but consider this: people not seeing an opportunity has nothing to do with you or me. You presented it. No need to feel guilty. Opportunity knocks on people's doors every day ... when they are ready to get up and open it, they will.
For the record: what killed newspapers was not bloggers. What killed newspapers was the papers themselves being SLOW to get online and to appeal to a younger and more diverse audience in the news they presented. I know because I was a copy editor. Information people really could have used was held back for fear of offending advertisers trying to get to a certain segment of society and without concern for other sections ... they FORGOT that all those other people had places to go they had not gone before.
Very interesting! Thanks for the great points! Maybe I am making far too many assumptions in this whole thing! Thanks for the great insight!
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