Back during my college days, I remember one particular piece of advice — or maybe it was just an *observation* — to the effect that *"100% of nothing is still nothing."*

![CC0642-CrystalCat.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/curatorcat.pal/23vsQTkVvJAWL5oBagySbocfmAdyBpueDBzJAjVeVq65CgBZWZYjnTapPamrZaCBKyvxT.jpg)

I suppose it was intended as a bit of a cautionary word that even if you are wildly successful, if it's at something that's *failing,* the end effect is that you are *failing.*

> *"But my ranking in the system has risen from 673rd to 5th!"*

Doesn't mean a whole lot. In fact, it's probably *worse* for your self-esteem to lose everything from a *high ranking* position than from a *"barely in there"* position.

Maybe some of us just have a natural talent for backing losing propositions, but there comes a point where it begs the question of *why* we so unerringly manage to pick things that end up going nowhere.

Sometimes, the answer might be that we choose things that have relatively modest *"value"* at the *best* of times, and turn out to have *absolutely NO value* at the worst of times... whether that be the side effect of being too esoteric or too obsolete or too irrelevant to the majority.

![CC-L-0059-Twig2.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/curatorcat.pal/23xpHMUCQWjBSwjZotvn1GyvspUdjCRQjdx4PUiRyXBH4hrRgrHcbWtfWgudQxbPBGwys.JPG)

Consider the field of writing (because it is close to my heart) — *technical writing,* even — which has gone through a long series of setbacks, dating back to the start of the Internet *(making your competition non-local);* then *outsourcing* to lower priced parts of the world; now being supplanted by bots and AI. 

Maybe the part of the picture we're *really* reluctant to face is that words have pretty much *zero* value. We keep reaching for different iterations of fantasy to wrap our words in a package that allows us to play make-believe that we — as writers — are magically providing something that has *monetary value.*

At best, that value is merely *advertising revenue* to a third party, not even related directly to our actual *creativity.*

Heck, Hive is just a new iteration of this issue, wrapped in a different container. Instead of depending on *"some corporation"* to revenue share their ad monies with us, we point to our system of *"micropayments."*

![CC-L-0079-OakCreek2.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/curatorcat.pal/23xyTCapV3v9Xn19qZWoh7Ppr82exvZSfv4VeqxVYmQnXMifFSPc9UzQkT4PTLDFxfh64.JPG)

But the micropayments gradually end up becoming more and more *"micro"* because everyone ultimately wants to convert them into something tangible, like a slice of pizza. And in any market that has more *sellers* than *buyers* the *"value"* of the primary commodity — the means of exchange — will decline. Let's be real here: more people *sell* their Hive than *buy* Hive. 

It's not *Hive's* fault — it has been so with every online *"reward for content creation"* venue since the first one in 1998.

Personally, I have never taken out a single cent *(or Hive)* out of the system, but the chart below pretty much speaks for itself:

|Year End|Hive Power|US$ Value|
|-|-|-|
|2021|88.434|$133.54|
|2022|292.084|$75.47|
|2023|461.997|$170.29|
|2024|765.662|$269.742|
|Now|994.715|$120.360|

Personally, I'm not talking about throwing in the proverbial towel, simply because I *enjoy writing,* as a standalone fact that exists separately from whether or not I am being *compensated* for it. But if I were *dependent* on the Hive I am rewarded in order to do something very basic like *eat,* I'd likely be increasingly likely to take my words somewhere else.

Of course, this is all just an academic exercise, since I am less concerned with the *actual* lack of value than I am with the *disappointment* of promises broken, as they invariably seem to end up being. But *was* there ever an actual *"promise"* with Hive? Or just a *possibility?*

I plan to keep plugging along, just because I am fascinated to find out where this experiment is going to end up... or *keep going.* What will I think, when I look back on this, from ten years down the road? Will someone in our witness bank have changed the metrics in some way, and turned the tide? Or will I be sitting here with 10,000 Hive, worth $50? 

Only time will tell!

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