The Hede.io Series – Define it Your Own Way [Episode 1]

Repository

https://github.com/Hede-io/hede.io

Introduction

I am quite sure a number of us would have had some kind of history with websites where you are required to give the definition of words or terms in your own words, or in your local parlance. The beauty of this is that you get to define those terms however you want it, away from the normal ‘boring’ definitions you can find in the dictionaries. You like that right?

For us to understand the concept of hede.io and what it brings to the table, we have to look at it like a kind of mini Wikipedia or much more appropriately, an urban dictionary. The difference? Your ears would definitely stand once you hear it – define terms and earn steem in the process.

Definition of Hede.io

Well, since we are discussing a platform that deals with the definition of terms, it would be amiss not to define Hede.io.

Simply put, Hede.io is an open source platform built on the steem blockchain via which you can make definitions to a whole range of terms, post to your blog via the platform, get an upvote from the owners of hede, and get paid in the process.

The founder of Hede is @ercu and hede has been running since no less than 3 months now judging from when its introductory post was made. According to its founder, the term Hede comes from a popular internet slang term. It is used to infer the word “thing” when something is being defined in Turkish. So we can say that Hede.io is of Turkish origin.

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How to use Hede.io

I have been using Hede for a while, at least since the announcement post was made, although not frequently. It has been a great experience so far and I am quite sure you would want to be a part of this. Here’s how to access and use the Hede.io platform.

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A. Logging in and Signing Up

Hede.io is an open source app built on the steemit blockchain. To enable users log in and use the platform, hede’s developers utilized the steem connect authentication system for it’s log in process. This means that potential users of hede have to own an account on steemit before they can use the platform.

For users who are not signed up on the steemit platform, a sign up button is also provided for new/intending users. This button will redirect you to the steemit signup page where you can now sign up for an account. Once your account is ready, you can now access and make your entries through the Hede.io platform.

Once you have logged in , your next question would be “how do I post an entry via the Hede platform?” Read along to find out how!

B. Making an Entry into Hede.io

Hede.io is a collaborative knowledge sharing dictionary through which you can write about anything from your own point of view. Thus to be eligible for an upvote from Hede, you need to make your entry according to the rules and regulations of the platform. According to Hede’s introductory post, authors are allowed to write about anything at all, be it about their countries, foods, cultures, cities, traditions, etc.

Users can also write about cryptocurrency and steem related terms and also be eligible for an upvote from Hede. To further buttress how liberal posting on hede can be, you can even write about your favorite movies, TV series, restaurants, or even your friend’s nickname.

So now that you know the kind of topics accepted on hede, how do you make your first contribution on the platform?

There are two ways via which you can make a contribution on Hede.io. The first method is by starting a new topic or entry. Type in the term or topic you wish to define in the search bar provided at the top bar of the platform. As you type, the platform searches for and presents you with existing or related topics.

If the term you want to define is not shown there, a new tab will open up and the system will inform you that there are no previous entries. You will be asked to make the first entry into that topic or term. You’d see a content box directly below this information where you can write your definition of the term you are contributing on.

The second way of contributing on Hede is by adding your own definition to already started topics or terms on the platform. Once you log onto hede, there is a list of the latest topics started by different users on the left side of your screen. Scroll through them and choose anyone you feel very comfortable writing about. Rinse and repeat the process again.

Don’t be scared. That it was a topic started by someone else does not mean you will not be upvoted by the Hede team. As far as your contribution is good, you will definitely be upvoted and rewarded for posting via Hede.io.

C. Submitting to the Steem blockchain

Once you are done making your entry, you need to post it so that it gets posted to Hede, as well as the Steemit blockchain. Before now, entries made on hede were posted to your blog on steemit. But, a very recent update made to the platform changed all that. You can now decide if you want your post to appear on your blog or in your comments.

This option is good for people who stick to one niche but still like to contribute and talk about different terms via hede. They don’t want to bore their followers with their contributions on hede but still wishes to keep contributing. There is a small slider button below, just before the post button which says “Create a new steem blog post”.

Where you enable that option, your contributions via Hede will be posted to your blog. If you disable it, your entries will appear in your comments. Once you have taken a decision on that, click on the options button above the post button. Here, you can edit the title of the post to sound better, add some more tags to the existing tag and decide what form you want your payout to come.

If you choose 50% SBD and 50% SP, your payout will be divided into three and sent to you on the 7th day. But, where you choose 100% steem power, the rewards from the post will go to increasing your SP.

How Hede will Impact Positively on Steem platform

I will take time in another episode of this series to discuss on how I think the advent of Hede will translate into growth for the steemit platform. However, it is my belief that with Hede, the steemit platform will see an influx of new users especially once it receives a large SP delegation from the powers that be.

Users are looking for communities or platforms where they can make their contributions without stress and get handsomely rewarded for it. What better way to achieve this than to define terms in your own words or to talk about your cultures and traditions?

With Hede, steemit will become a one-stop location for people from all spheres of life who want to learn about the cultures and traditions of other people. It will also be a point of connection for people from the same origin who are separated by distance or other barriers. There are so many other positive impacts Hede will have on steemit which will be x-rayed in another episode of this series.

Some Recent Development Changes

Hede is a platform undergoing continuous improvements and development. Its founder, @ercu is committed to taking Hede to greater heights and is always listening for suggestions by members of the community.

Previously, Hede was sporting a yellow header/navigation bar color. Most of us using hede didn’t like it as it made the site look ugly. After making our complaints, we conducted a poll and the color has now been changed as you will notice once you visit hede.io

Apart from that, users also complained about having to spam their blog with such short contributions. As such, members suggested that we should be able to decide where we send our posts to – our blog or comments. That has now been implemented and users are at will to decide where their posts will appear on the steemit platform.

Finally, to cut down on the amount of words written by users, the developer placed a maximum limit of 150 words (1500 characters) on contributions made via hede.io. This is to ensure that entries made a much more concise and readable for users.

Hede’s Discord and A Growing Community of Hedeians

Hede’s discord community is growing on a daily basis and at the moment, there are about 224 members making up the group. There are 2 community helpers but this is bound to increase as the number of users increase. It is my hope that Hede becomes one of the greatest SMTs on the Steemit platform. I also hope that you will join us in making this a reality.

Welcome to Hede!
Curtwriter.

Resources And Image Sources

1. https://steemit.com/utopian-io/@hede-io/introducing-hede-wiki-platform-and-knowledge-sharing-dictionary-on-steem
2. Other images were screenshots via my device.

Series Backlinks

This is the first post in the series.