I was reading a post wondering why more people weren't flocking to the Hive ecosystem.
I love Hive. I hope that Hive does well. Here is my first of a few posts on why I don't think Hive is being adopted as well as it should be.
If I had to compare Hive to an automobile here it is :
(image taken from pexels.com -- free stock photo's)
Hive is powerful, sleek, and has a dedicated team behind it who are tweaking it all the time to give it the power to win. Just like that race car in the photo.
But if you want to drive it be prepared to spend some time learning to do it. You can't just take a seat and head to the track!
However, most people are used to something a little more like this :
(image also taken from pexels.com)
Something familiar. Comfortable and easy. Service available everywhere. Never going to win any money for you. If you have ever driven a car before just drop in and go.
Which is the better vehicle?
On paper the racing car is more valuable, more powerful, grips better, accelerates faster, turns harder, and is generally sleeker. It's built to win medals and make money
The Civic? It's what people expect. It gets the job done and does the everyday tasks in a fashion people are used to. Automatic transmission, predictable handling, easy to maintain at the dealership. In short much more average and boring.
What does that have to do with Hive?
Just like the racing car, Hive has a steep learning curve. There is just no way to getting in and going without someone to help get you started. Sure, Hive is powerful but sometimes that power makes it less adept at doing simple tasks. If something goes wrong there is no quick google search or youtube video to help you out. It is not intuitive and easy like people have been trained to expect.
Look at it another way. I've tried to get my wife to use Hive. She knows I'm on it. She knows she can make money. She says she wants to use it. However, it doesn't feel natural to her because its not what she's used to on facebook. I can't just let her sit down and tinker with it because there are a lot of things going on.
Just like a driver can't sit in a race car without a trainer there to guide them. A computer user can't just be told to "Go try Hive at home" without a guide. It is just more likely to end in frustration
My suggestion?
Find a way to 'dumb down' Hive for the masses. People are used to using one small password to take them to a website that does one thing for them. Or perhaps they are used to tapping one icon and having an app come up that does one thing for them. If there was a way to emulate those boring apps in the beginning to get people started then they could always expand their knowledge of how to move it further later...if they wanted to.
Just my two cents for today.