A select group of likeminded individuals in the Philippines, powered by HIVE blockchain, transformed an ordinary meetup into an extraordinary event, resulting in the creation of a decentralized application. As a new DBuzz team member, starting in May 2023, I will document behind-the-scenes activities and conduct personal interviews with the core team, founders, and developers in Davao City, Philippines.

Three years ago, in 2020, @chrisrice rallied developers and support to launch the first micro-blogging platform on HIVE, marking a significant moment in the platform's history. This momentous occasion followed the Hive Philippines meetup group's inaugural gathering on August 23, 2019, in Davao City, Philippines, attended by key figures such as @nathansenn, @jancharlest, @chririce, @emafe, and @zaclucas, setting the stage for the formation of the DBuzz team.

As a newcomer to the DBuzz team, this is my first impression. I became an official team member last May 7, 2023, and was assigned to do tasks like documenting their activities, especially the things that are not easily seen by most people; in other words, I will be doing some personal and behind the scenes interviews with the DBuzz core team, the founders, and the developers here in Davao City, Philippines.

Image Source: Hive & DBuzz Family at Bull or Bear NFT Debate

In a personal chit-chat with DBuzz Founder Chris Rice, he stated that their initial vision was novel, to gain exposure on #CryptoTwitter, and bring them to the HIVE Blockchain, which later proved to be a valuable idea given the later emphasis on short-form content across the web.

In the following years, with the events such as Elon Musk buying out Twitter and Instagram jumping on the bandwagon with their Threads.net Twitter alternative, all things are lined up for short-form content online.

Pre-DBuzz History:

Here is a pre-DBuzz history post about when @chrisrice gathered developers and support to launch the first micro-blogging platform on HIVE (not on the legacy chain) three (3) years ago in 2020.

There were some activities made preluding the founding of DBuzz. I will bring you back to a historic moment for the Hive Philippines meetup group, the precursor of the DBuzz team.

The unforgettable moment happened and started on August 23, 2019, when HivePhilippines.com, an online group, had its first meetup in Davao City, Philippines. Attending the historic event were Nathan Senn (@nathansenn), Jan Charles Tana (@jancharlest), Chris Rice (@chririce), Emafe Rice (@emafe) and Zac Lucas Rice (@zaclucas).

Image Source: Hive Philippines First Meetup

Image Source: (L-R) @chrisrice, @nathansenn, & @jancharlest

The online group discussed various topics, including the HF21 topics, the future of the Internet, and the ETF decisions for Bitcoin that happened last October 2019. According to the prior consensus, Bitcoin would start to rise in price in October 2019, and BTC would either correct on a negative confirmation of the ETF decision or would surge in price, possibly breaking new all-time highs.

The Hive Philippines meetup group discussed the possibility of the ETF, or at least how one could get approved in 2019 (for BTC). Some members thought an ETF was almost guaranteed to get approved, as Chris Rice pointed out the possibility of HIVE (on the legacy chain) entering a new bull market along the lines of 2017, that is, if Bitcoin broke the previous all-time high of $20,000 USD per coin.

The group also discussed other ideas about Bitcoin, Hive, Tezos, and the future of the Internet and technology.

They also noted the advancements made by Hive developers, namely the integration of Hive Keychain by @yabapmatt with Hive.Blog, @dtube, Hive-Engine & @steem.ninja, so that transactions, logins, and many features, products, and tasks related to those websites would be seamless or near seamless. It showed that the development work on the Hive blockchain was ramping up and had been ramping up consistently, even while the price of HIVE had been testing prior lows.

DBuzz History:

DBuzz was initially supposed to be called SteemSays, but shortly before launching, the #SteemHostileTakeover occurred, and DBuzz launched on the brand new chain as one of the first new Hive DApps.

The reception for DBuzz was initially mixed, with some people believing there was no room for short-form content on Hive. DBuzz remained strong, accepted sound advice, and continued with the stance that HIVE is not just a blockchain for blogging, but a chain for all social media DApps.

The project helped create the short-form discussion on HIVE, and the DApp is no longer alone. @ecency later integrated short-form features and @leofinance made a pivot toward short-form with the launch of LeoThreads in Q1 of 2023.

Conclusion:

My first impressions of the DBuzz team were fascinating. They welcomed me with open arms, sharing their visions of helping the online community learn more about Web3, crypto, micro-philantrophy, and more. Still, most of the topics were focused on providing values to the community and sharing their guide for life as a polite, kind, friendly, and respectful human being.

I met all the DBuzz developers based in Davao City, the business group supporting the project includes Nathan Senn, PJ Entrepreneur (@pjentrepreneur), Kenny Owano (@kenny.rogers), and Tony Rebamonte (@tonyrebamonteph). Based on my initial understanding of the team, they are very helpful, and assisted me with my entry into Web3.

Image Source: (L-R) @philnews.xyz, @emafe, @chrisrice & @kenny.rogers

Image Source: (L-R) @emafe, @tonyrebamonteph, @philnews.xyz & @chrisrice

Image Source: DBuzz Developers & Other In-house Developers Wearing Hive Shirts

With regards to the progress of the DBuzz decentralized application as a whole, I was able to witness the time when DBuzz submitted a proposal to open source their project, and I was also there when the community supported the project and the Decentralized Hive Fund agreed to support the proposal.

After three years of meticulously developing the platform from scratch, the DBuzz Team is working extensively to fulfill all promises made and written in the DBuzz Proposal. The DBuzz Development Team released DBuzz Development Report Version 3.41.0, which you can access easily through the link provided.

Dev Report 138 for DBuzz.jfif

The next release of DBuzz will include large updates with the most dramatic visible change that DBuzz has seen since the founding of the project.

~ Ed Umbao @philnews.xyz