Hi it is not a stupid question @genesisledger but it works very much the same way as the Hive Token.
Powering up Alive very much like powering up Hive gives you governance in the community meaning your upvotes are worth more within the community depending on your stake.
It also means that the rewards you get back for staking the Alive token is also increased.
Depending how much you have staked also means you can all the tipping bot using the !ALIVE command.
You can get all information and updates about the token, community and connected projects at @alive.chat
Here is our latest post on Staking Alive, the bot and more
The community and projects is going through a revival and revamp at the moment.
We are adding many layers and opportunities for members to grow not just their Alive stake but other investments as well.
Hope that answered your question my friend
!ALIVE
!BBH
!LUV