Allen Taylor
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The Hive blockchain is a delegated proof of stake (DPOS) blockchain with several front ends that allow participants to post content to the blockchain from a variety of different dapps. These front ends are useful to every user depending on the features they are looking for in a front end posting dapp. This kind of system is very different than what most social media users are accustomed to on such platforms as Facebook, TikTok, X, Instagram, and YouTube. On those platforms, users have one front end and no choices. With Hive, because it is decentralized in its basic framework, having multiple front ends gives users choices with regard to how to interact with the blockchain.
One might ask why multiple front ends are necessary. What are the benefits to having more than one posting front end. Keep reading and I'll tell you:
Built-in content security - One of the benefits to decentralization is the entire network is more secure. If one front end goes down or becomes inoperable, users have other front ends from which they can access their accounts.
Censorship-resistance - On Hive, if your content runs afoul of one front end's posting policies or terms of service, or you find your account blocked by that front end, you can access the blockchain from other front ends. This effectively means your content is censorship-resistant.
Consumer choice - Consumers love to have choices. When you go to the supermarket to buy a box cereal, you know you are not stuck with eating Wheaties every day of your life. You can choose the cereal you want to eat for the next week, and if you want to eat a different type of cereal every week, you have the ability to make that choice. A proper capitalism gives consumers choices. On Facebook, you must use the posting option offered to you. There are no alternatives. The same is true of every legacy social media platform. Hive is different. On Hive, you have the ability to choose the front end you prefer to post from, and no reason for choosing one over the other is too arbitrary. It's YOUR decision, after all.
Every Hive front end has its own features and its own branding. All of them, however, give you the opportunity to post to the Hive blockchain and monetize your content using the Hive rewards system.
The Hive blockchain contains 21 different social media dapps. Those dapps are designed to make the Hive blockchain more robust than legacy social media applications like Facebook and YouTube. As a result, Hive is not a single community but a network of communities built around its various dapps and front ends.
Here are 15 of Hive's top front ends and why they are important for you to know about:
Hive.blog - Hive.blog is the original Hive front end. If there were no other front ends to the Hive blockchain, users could rely on the original front end for posting all of their content. Hive.blog features a Visual Editor and a Markdown Editor. Beyond that, its plain white interface is pretty boring. If you want bells and whistles, you've got to go elsewhere. If you want stable and steady, Hive.blog is here to stay.
3Speak - 3Speak has been around for a long time. It is the Hive blockchain's original video sharing platform and YouTube alternative. In addition to a browser-based application where users can upload and share their videos, 3Speak has downloadable IOS, Android, and desktop apps. Users earn HIVE and HBD and can also receive donations in the 3Speak native cryptocurrency SPK. Possessing SPK tokens gives users more say in governance on the 3Speak network. 3Speaks makes every effort to be a champion of free speech on the Hive blockchain.
Peakd - As of November 2023, Peakd is the most used Hive front end, according to Hive top witness @dalz. Peakd also has some uniquely useful features, including real-time chat. In its sidebar, Peakd lists popular Hive communities, which makes it easy for Hive citizens to find them. Users can also create their own lists of favorite posts and favorite curators. They can send tips, bookmark posts for later reading, and create collections of posts for their own purposes, all from the Peakd front end. On top of that, Peakd has an awesome analytics dashboard where users can keep tabs of important Hive blockchain data. Peakd front end users can also view Hive content in several different ways according to preferences, which they select in platform Settings. These options include hiding, showing, or prompting to show NSFW content; muting other accounts; sorting comments by rewards earned, newest, oldest, reputation score, and whether you upvoted or not; hiding posts with specific tags or categories; and more.
Ecency - Ecency is a personal favorite of mine. Its look and feel is attractive yet simple, and it's easy to use. Its content discovery engine is one of the best that Hive has to offers. Users can filter authors and curators by top rewards earned daily, weekly, and monthly; there is also a list of Ecency guest curators and other Ecency contributors. Ecency also makes it easy to find communities to join. And Decks is one of the most useful tools on the Hive blockchain, allowing users to set up columns of content preferences similar to Tweetdeck. Waves is a short-form content publishing mechanism Ecency users can use to post short posts similar to Twitter or X short-form content posting. This includes a market swap form for easily swapping HIVE and HBD. Users can schedule posts in advance and create snippets. They can also bookmark posts for later reading. Ecency also has one other feature that I really like: the ability to earn Ecency Points when using the Ecency app (browser-based or desktop) for posting to the Hive blockchain. Users can then use those points to boost posts that put them in line for manual Ecency curation. If selected for curation, they'll increase their rewards earnings, but if not curated, they'll receive their contributed Ecency Points back as if they were never spent. Ecency Points was instrumental in helping me increase my Hive earnings in November 2023.
InLeo - Late last year, InLeo rebranded from its previous incarnation as LeoFinance. The dapp has grown in popularity since. With 5,000+ daily active users, it has a very active community. Users can post long-form content or short-form content through its Threads tool. Users can create lists and follow lists created by other InLeo users. Premium users, designated by an orange checkmark next to their account name, can prioritize their content feeds, edit threads after posting them, add markdown styling to their threads, publish longer threads, pin threads, set an NFT profile pic (PFP), and more. That more is really significant. Premium members earn from ad revenue on their posts, a feature that is very unique on the Hive blockchain as no other dapp or front end is offering advertising revenue sharing, that I'm aware of. InLeo has its own Layer-2 token, LEO, that allows users to earn additional rewards over and above their HIVE and HBD earnings.
Actifit - Actifit is a cross-chain mobile fitness dapp. Users track their fitness routines and earn rewards based on daily fitness activity. When they post their activity to the Hive blockchain, they earn HIVE and HBD rewards. Otherwise, they can earn AFIT, the dapp's native Layer-2 token through their fitness activity. Actifit also has yield farming for AFIT holders to help increase earnings through a staking mechanism.
Hive Tube - Hive Tube has a very interesting proposition. This dapp front end is a self-hosted server plugin that allows users to monetize and stream their content on Hive, over Torrent, and through the Fediverse networks. Users can increase their earnings by becoming a site host or syndicate. Hive Tube is a secure, peer-to-peer network of streaming content designed for creators who want more freedom with censorship-resistant tools. No worrying about deplatforming or demonetizing as you and your peers own the distribution network.
D.Buzz - D.Buzz is a short-form posting dapp for the Hive blockchain, much like InLeo Threads and Ecency Waves. However, unlike Waves and Threads, it isn't attached to another project. It is a standalone front end where users can earn rewards for their short-form content.
TravelFeed - TravelFeed is a specialized front end for Hive users that post travel-related content. TravelFeed has some interesting features for posters, including the ability to create content using artificial intelligence and creating a custom map for embedding in posts. Users can create video posts or text-based posts, but video posts can only be done if a user syncs their YouTube channel.
Truvvl - Truvvl is a mobile dapp for travel-related content. Users can easily cross post their content from Truvvl to TravelFeed and from TravelFeed to Truvvl. Truvvl also has its own token allowing posters to earn additional rewards above and beyond HIVE and HBD.
Liketu - Liketu is Hive's image-posting platform.
Waivio - Waivio is a content posting front end with a social commerce component. Users can set up their own shop and sell items on the Hive blockchain. Users can create guest accounts using their Facebook or Google accounts.
Skatehype - Skatehype is a content posting platform for skateboarders on the Hive blockchain.
Vimm - Vimm is another YouTube alternative on the Hive blockchain. Users can buy Vimm merchandise in the Vimm shop
Reverio - Reverio is a question-and-answer front end similar to Quora. Users can join Spaces to network with others with similar interests and explore Bounties, which offer monetization options for answering questions.
Which Hive front end you should use depends largely on personal preference, however, you don't have to limit yourself to just one. Most Hive users use multiple front ends depending on their needs at the time. For instance, I use Ecency when I want to earn Ecency Points or boost a post with Ecency Points. I use Travelfeed when posting travel-related content. I use InLeo when I want to earn LEO or when I want my posts boosted by the Leo.Voter curation trail. I recently joined InLeo Premium so I can boost my earnings from ad revenue.
When posting to any Hive front end, it's useful to have some understanding of Markdown language. I've also noticed that most front end dapps require special formatting attention. Therefore, when I'm repurposing content from my Paragraph newsletter, which I do quite often, I copy/paste it into the Hive.blog interface with the Visual Editor enabled then switch over to Markdown Editor and copy the code, then repost that code to the markdown editor of the front end I want to post from. This saves me a ton of time in formatting my posts.
The Hive blockchain offers the best monetization and censorship-resistance tools of any Web3 blockchain protocol I've experienced. The various front ends expand these options by providing users with a bevy of choices and opportunities. Why not give Hive a try today?
To learn more about Web3 social media dapps like Hive, check out Allen Taylor's book Web3 Social: How Creators Are Changing the World Wide Web (And You Can Too!).
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