My understanding of Blockchain continues (at least I keep telling myself that)..

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago · 2 min. reading time · 0 ·

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Graham🐝 blog

My understanding of Blockchain continues (at least I keep telling myself that)...

"My caution to all is get as much information as you can about this technology but look hard at what they are saying. I'm pretty sure there is a pony in here under all this manure."
Jerry Fletcher

Gerry is a smart man so I have continued to get as much information as I can about Blockchain technology — not only to understand it for cocktail party banter but to determine if there is a place for me in all of it.

As I continue to dig into the utility of Blockchain technology I've categorized it into three general areas for consideration —

Blockchain technology used in a centralizedmanner for data integrity and process efficiency — current trust institutions (such as banks) that want to be more efficient and effective with the integrity of their data management.
Blockchain technology used in a decentralized manner to disrupt current trust institutions and middlemen — challenging the way we do things, such as banking.
Blockchain technologies used in a decentralized manner to create new "ecosystems", as well as new value creation becasue of its activities — the creation of defined value where there was none before (represented through its cryptocurrency).

As I have mentioned before, I am not a very good futurist so there are probably many other areas of consideration.

I've also come to appreciate that if you're looking at Blockchain from a "decentralized perspective" you need to have some sort of "currency or token" involved — it is used as an incentive for the network (or "ecosystem") to ensure it works properly. A currency is required to support the efforts of the people in the network in a sustainable way, and ultimately will reflect the value associated with what is happening in the ecosystem.

As I continue to search for the "pony" I have come to believe I'll align with the third consideration for two simple reasons — I don't have any coding skills to speak of that would help an established institution and I just don't have the energy to be very disruptive. Although strangely enough, I do have the energy to get involved with new ecosystems. Go figure. Maybe it's my marketing background, or my increased efforts with blogging, or my interests in personal branding or even my increased involvement with social media... I don't really know; whatever the reason though, it seems my place in all of this is leaning towards blockchain and it's utility with social media — and I suppose by extension, personal data and identity in the virtual world.

Because more than ever we are living in both the real and virtual world (with each becoming as real as the other) — and frankly, I want only one of me in each.

iamgpe

PS — As always let me know where I've gone off the rails.

#Gerry #iamgpe #Jerry Fletcher #PS #Blockchain

Comments

Mark Morris

6 years ago #32

Sierra Leone just had an election using blockchain.

Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸

6 years ago #31

#29
Graham\ud83d\udc1d Edwards

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #30

#18
NP Jerry Fletcher... thanks for the pony visual

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #29

#14
Thanks for the insight Zacharias \ud83d\udc1d Voulgaris

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #28

#11
I think it was just a "glitch" Phil Friedman... I saw it...

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #27

#9
Thanks for the comment Javier \ud83d\udc1d beBee I really like where beBee and Profede are going. I'm definitely focusing on blockchain, social media platforms and personal identity. So far I think that's the part of the sandbox I want to spend some time in.

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #26

#7
Thanks for the insights Harvey Lloyd... there is no doubt there are a bunch of experts jumping on this train. I have heard someone explain blockchain as a really slow database where the data is really secure. I've already heard people talking about AI and Blockchain, let's add VR and AR and really set ourself up for unintended consequences... god help us all.

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #25

#6
I think there is lots of action going on behind the scenes, and most of it will just find its way into our life without us really noticing it like most technology... just think of all those iPhone apps Pascal Derrien

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #24

#5
Thanks Donald \ud83d\udc1d Grandy PN... it's definitely a journey and I still blackout a lot.. lol

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #23

#4
Thanks for the comment Jim Murray... plus Block chain isn't the miracle technology that will solve everything including the common cold. Part of why I'm exploring all of this is to determine if I should care about it.

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #22

#3
Thanks of the comment Randall Burns... I found a topic that's so big I've decided to pick a small area and try to sort it out... these comments and participation has definitely helped me....

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #21

#2
Hey Phil Friedman this is turning out to be a very "rich topic"... Regarding using blockchain in a centralized way the Canadian banks are all over it for different uses and like this type of technology it will be incorporated and we will never even know it https://www.americanbanker.com/news/canadian-banks-pick-ibm-blockchain-to-expand-digital-identity-project Regarding a decentralized way to disrupt current institutions well there are a bunch of ICO's out there to do just that.. — personal identity seems to be one of the areas for sure. Regarding blockchain to create ecosystems that created defined value with a cryptocurrency I would say the best example of this is Steemit, I saw a site that wanted to do the same thing with design/photography and of course there is what beBee wants to do with Profede. Regarding the now 1500 + cryptocurrencies out there, like all things of this nature there will be a "bloody shakeout" but some will survive and they will find a basal value of some sort — until then it is the wild, wild west... Great conversations — making me think a lot... thx

Randall Burns

6 years ago #20

Just an FYI Javier \ud83d\udc1d beBee as of this viewing of this thread comments #3 through #10 are missing

Randall Burns

6 years ago #19

#16
HaHa! I can relate to that Harvey Lloyd very reticent to "jump on the bandwagon" without comprehension.

Phil Friedman

6 years ago #18

#12
Randy, it appears that you are correct. My comment still shows up in the queue on the Update feed, which is good to know. It was as follows: "With all due respect, @Graham🐝 Edwards, I don't see yet any explanation of how blockchain technology fulfills any of the potential uses you describe. That is not just a problem in your piece, but in virtually all of the literature I've looked at, I see lots of claims about how blockchain can do this or that, but absolutely no explanation of how it does it. Moreover, many of the claims about blockchain are, on their face, self-contradictory. For example, we're told that blockchain can protect privacy. However, when blockchain is used for genuinely decentralized data keeping, the keystone concept is data integrity that is constantly verified and re-verified because the database is public. Then we're told blockchain can be used in a private (or centralized) manner, but if so what happens to the alleged assurance of data integrity? Anything less than public decentralization fails to assure the promised data integrity. Simply having a bank's data concerning accounts "decentralized" to 100 of its branches is not any better in terms of trust and credibility than having it centralized at one location. For that is still a matter of trust the bank's record keeping or don't. And when it comes to incentivizing decentralized data-keepers by paying them in crypto-tokens, well, to my mind that strains credulity because at last count there were at least 113 different cryptocurrencies being marketed worldwide. Maybe the 114th variety will be dubbed Ponzitos. You can get yours by sending me your "worthless" US and Canadian dollars, and I will send you by return mail Ponzitos, 1,000 each for each US dollar you send me (or in the case of Canadian dollars, 1,000 Ponzitos for each CDN $1.35 you send me). Cheers! "

Jerry Fletcher

6 years ago #17

Graham, Thanks for the quote. Nice to know someone else is looking for the pony.

Jerry Fletcher

6 years ago #16

Blake, Thanks for the quote. Nice to know somebody else is trying to find the pony.

Harvey Lloyd

6 years ago #15

#11
I have had some quirky things happen when commenting. At one point the comments i was writing on one post actaully showed up on another. To the point the author took the post down and reposted later. I believe this is telling though. Technology can become overwhelming in maintenance as updates and changes are made. Remember the proposed crash of 2000 that never came. I feel the same way about blockchain. Graham\ud83d\udc1d Edwards proposes that if financial benefit is not present what is the incentive to maintain the backbone of the system. Semi-Private internal systems utilized by Banks and financial institutions will be somewhat incestuous tech. I am a late adopter so i am not a good prognosticator of future tech. But i feel blockchain in its current marketing format is more snake oil than results. I do see some value within the system to better keep folks honest, but those systems tend to get gamed on a regular basis.

Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸

6 years ago #14

#12
Randall Burns

Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris

6 years ago #13

It's good to see people looking into the technology more than the one particular application of it that brought it to the limelight. However, even though blockchain is a great technology worth learning more about, there are other Distributed Ledger technologies worth investigating too (e.g. Hashgraph).

Randall Burns

6 years ago #12

#11
In fact on this buzz I'm missing comments # 1, 2, and 3; they will not come up even after refreshing page

Randall Burns

6 years ago #11

#11
I don't think that your comment has been removed Phil Friedman, (usually there is still a space with comment # and a statement in italics stating "this comment has been removed") I've noticed over the last couple of days "holes" in comment threads of EVERY buzz I've been on, some missing many comments. I was wondering if it was a glitch on my computer but I now believe it may be the website. Any ideas Javier \ud83d\udc1d beBee Is anyone else seeing this issue?

Phil Friedman

6 years ago #10

#3
#4 #7 and Graham\ud83d\udc1d Edwards -- I notice that my comment has been removed, yet none of my honest questions have been answered. Obviously, beBee is changing. Cheers!

Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸

6 years ago #9

Nowadays, professionals have completely lost control of their data. Professional networks and job portals, such as Linkedin and Xing, sell their data to anyone who wants to pay for it. Professionals are not only continuously bothered, but never receive a compensation for it. Furthermore the prevailing system is not good for businesses either: they make investments without being sure of having a return on investment. The current model makes it almost impossible to gain access to highly qualified professionals and, on top of that, the success rate is rather low. On our ideal platform we should give the power back to the user. Professionals should control their profile, decide who has access to their data and are paid each time businesses or other professionals use their data for any purpose. We want to create technology that allows professionals to easily store and manage their profiles, that are accessible by third parties. The future beBee will allow businesses to make appropriate payments for a professional's data regardless of the organization in which that person's information is located. Intermediaries will be eliminated and interactions will be facilitated by the network itself. Instead of paying any middleman, businesses automatically make customized offers directly to professionals based on their reputation and profiles through a decentralized platform.

Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸

6 years ago #8

Blockchain is a decentralizing force that puts more power in people's hands https://www.bebee.com/producer/@javierbebee/blockchain-is-a-decentralizing-force-that-puts-more-power-in-people-s-hands Blockchain Is Now Aiming to Disrupt Professional Social Networks https://www.bebee.com/producer/@javierbebee/blockchain-is-now-aiming-to-disrupt-professional-social-networks BeBee, what's next? Enter Blockchain https://www.bebee.com/producer/@javierbebee/bebee-what-s-next-enter-blockchain

Harvey Lloyd

6 years ago #7

I listened to a designate guru of block chain explain the system crayola style. I use the term guru somewhat sarcastically as it seems that these gurus are popping up allover the place. The first statement he made is that Blockchain is merely a database, remember DbaseIV? The proposed difference is that Blockchain is a public/semi public database that is self auditing. Hence the name. The databases are linked through code and accept our reject entry based on an algorithm that is testing every entry every ten seconds. The value within this technology is the fact that machines are auditing in real time without human intervention. Supposedly this would take more complex transactions and remove any ambiguity that humans bring. The best form of this i have read so far is the "Smart Contract" The guru used the arts as his environment. An artist creates a song and a smart contract is created. When a record or mp3/mp4 is sold by anyone it goes through the Blockchain and the royalties and payments are divided at each sale and money transferred. This is in lieu of the record label owning the database and telling you what sold and your royalties. In the end i would have to agree with Phil on this one. In a perfect world we could see this as a way of removing mistakes from the system. But not living in their world we also must consider the law of unintended consequences.

Pascal Derrien

6 years ago #6

The thing with blockchain could be a bit less conversation a bit more action... the so called experts are all waffling on the topic :-) but I undertand what you say :-)

Donald 🐝 Grandy PN

6 years ago #5

Like your title: My understanding of Blockchain continues (at least I keep telling myself that)...I'm with you!

Jim Murray

6 years ago #4

As I said to Phil Friedman in a Beezer telegram today. I'm not bothering to figure this shit out. Because if it ever does become a thing, somebody will write a Blockchain for Dummies book and I will read that.

Randall Burns

6 years ago #3

Yeh, Graham\ud83d\udc1d Edwards I still don't get it, (and not through lack of trying)

Phil Friedman

6 years ago #2

With all due respect, Graham\ud83d\udc1d Edwards, I don't see yet any explanation of how blockchain technology fulfills any of the potential uses you describe. That is not just a problem in your piece, but in virtually all of the literature I've looked at. I see lots of claims about how blockchain can do this or that, but absolutely no explanation of how it does it. Moreover, many of the claims about blockchain are, on their face, self-contradictory. For example, we're told that blockchain can protect privacy. However, when blockchain is used for genuinely decentralized data keeping, the keystone concept is data integrity that is constantly verified and re-verified because the database is public. Then we're told blockchain can be used in a private (or centralized) manner, but if so what happens to the alleged assurance of data integrity? Anything less than public decentralization fails to assure the promised data integrity. Simply having a bank's data concerning accounts "decentralized" to 100 of its branches is not any better in terms of trust and credibility than having it centralized at one location. For that is still a matter of trust the bank's record keeping or don't. And when it comes to incentivizing decentralized data-keepers by paying them in crypto-tokens, well, to my mind that strains credulity because at last count there were at least 113 different cryptocurrencies being marketed worldwide. Maybe the 114th variety will be dubbed Ponzitos. You can get yours by sending me your "worthless" US and Canadian dollars, and I will send you by return mail Ponzitos, 1,000 each for each US dollar you send me (or in the case of Canadian dollars, 1,000 Ponzitos for each CDN $1.35 you send me). Cheers!

Graham🐝 Edwards

6 years ago #1

Jerry Fletcher

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1 year ago · 1 min. reading time

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