Controversial? Maybe, but cryptocurrency and blockchain is still in the early stages. Bitcoin was the first to really make blockchain work and it's an amazing piece of work, but it has limitations and needs a lot of work to make it scale up.
This post is a sort of follow-on to yesterday's. I just read this fine article about Bitcoin and the potential of blockchain. It resonated with me as it talks about the open standards that allowed the internet take off and how it is increasingly proprietary. It talks about a lack of open standards for exchanging data about our identity, but there were attempts with things like FOAF. Open standards encourage innovation without being tied to the whims of some corporation. I know it's possible to build apps around some of the big platforms, but they can change things or impose restrictions.
Blockchain opens up new possibilities as the data is open and nobody has central control (mostly). In most cases changes can be made based on consensus of miners/witnesses, if necessary. The article doesn't mention Steem or Steemit, but this is a prime example. We are seeing all sorts of apps being built on the Steem blockchain, such as dtube and Zappl.
It does talk about IPFS (Interplanetary Filing System) that uses Ethereum. They emphasise that cryptocurrencies are not really replacing current fiat, but they can be tokens that allow us to buy and sell. My title was inspired by my own thoughts on reading the article. There are many cases where the first example of a technology does not prevail. Other coins do a better job with speed, cost and scalability than Bitcoin. It is losing dominance and I think this will continue. The high price was mostly fuelled with bubble-style speculation and we are seeing a big correction this week. I care more about real utility. When I first came to Steemit I could see it had great potential to empower creative people and to break down some barriers. It remains to be seen if governments will continue to fight back.
The piece also talks about us controlling our own data. I don't have examples, but I assume some blockchains allow us to release certain information to chosen individuals or organisations. As far as I understand Steem is pretty much all public for now.
I think we are still in the early days of blockchain utilisation. We are starting to see real applications apart from semi-private financial transactions. Steemit is a prime example that I hope will gain in prominence and show it's not all about drugs and extortion.
Steem on!
I'll buy guitar picks for Steem Dollars
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I think that blockchain technology itself will be phased out and replaced by something else, like The Tangle. But it is the proving ground for concepts and innovation. And it will also be the funding source for the really smart stuff to come.
I think if we view it like that, we can be excited to be at the forefront of the next big wave as it starts to build. The blockchain is the foothills we must cross in order to see the mountains. :-)
Blockchain is really cool technology and it has evolved, but I can believe there are good alternatives. It just seems a pain to have to get the whole blockchain to verify stuff. I'm currently downloading the Bitcoin one for my local wallet
I agree. As a coder that just seems like a waste of processing. On paper it probably seems like a good idea. But that sort of logic just wont scale (as we are seeing).
That's why I think some really smart people (who made some seed money from their blockchain investments) will come up with something better.
So I'm really looking forward to what comes next.
I clearly had no idea about the existence of Zappl App. Its an interesting thing to know that steem block is not limited to just steemit itself, but a lot of programs and websites and apps can be run through it. One thing i did not like though is that it lacks creativity. It looks a lot like twitter. In-fact it just looks like a clone of twitter. I think the developers should work on changing the pattern to have their own unique build on it. They should make it its own thing.
If Dtube, Utopian.Io, Zappl, Eteem are all being run on Blockchain in its early days then a lot of other things can also be done in coming years. This might bring a complete change in markets like internet itself did in the first place.
For now we are seeing a lot of clones of existing services, but I hope to see more innovations. There must be things Steem can do that other platforms cannot.
BTW Here's the list of apps
Hey, Steeve... I was wondering (being the geek that you are... lol) if you've done any research into Hash-Graph technology. It seems at first glance anyway, that the "Hashgraph" may well turn out to be superior to the blockchain. I don't know much about it beyond info contained in a documentary and this article I found - so I thought I'd pass them along to see what you thought... Thanks! https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@heiditravels/more-than-blockchains-how-hashgraph-and-dags-are-different
I didn't know about it. Will have a look
Cool, Steve... I'd be interested to learn what you think about it... Thanks, brother!
I hope it is. I hope other coins set themselves free from bitcoin. It looks like bitcoin is big and slow too ignorant to move aside.
yeh but i realise some thing about steemit when i joint it before one month then it prise was almost 4$ but after new year it magically rise to 8$ for two week and again fall fastly to 4$ again i think so some one was increasing its price artificially in new year day.and sitill now steem $ is not so popular comparitive to othere cryptocurrency.but i agree with your this statememnt
''We are starting to see real applications apart from semi-private financial transactions. Steemit is a prime example that I hope will gain in prominence and show it's not all about drugs and extortion.''
Don't worry too much about the price for now. Build your following. It could be worth far more next year
Very interesting post. I did not know about Interplanetary Filing System for Ethereum and will look into it further. I have upvoted and resteemed this post to help share with others. Have a great day!
Guitar is greatest instrument !:)
True, but irrelevant
nice that is
i am appreciated for this
i know about bitcoin
but want to know about blockchain
thanks to you
Is this poetry?
Good post .. thank you
Mediocre comment. Be relevant