Hive is imperfect, but offers an alternative to the corporate platforms. Reddit may be the closest equivalent, but I have not used it much. I have to hope that we can persuade some communities to migrate over, but it's not easy.
I remember the person you mention. I was not that impressed by his posts really, but we are desperate for investors and people want them to stick around.
I am supporting the stuff I like, but I often run down my voting power (like today) and have to ease off. There really is enough to keep me busy. It does help if people respond to comments and makes it more social.
We really just need a few key people to join who can bring in their followers and then Hive could take off, in certain niches anyway. It is so small that you can get noticed.
I'm mainly do it all for fun and I want to see others get the benefits.
Happy new year!
!BEER