Do you know what the main advantage of decentralization is over centralization?
Innovation.
The ability for anyone to contribute makes decentralized systems advance at a much greater rate than those which operate centrally.
Blockchain is garnering a lot of attention at the moment. It is starting to get on the radar of some major enterprises. IBM,for one, is really establishing itself as a "blockchain" company soliciting other industries to embrace the technology. Of course, what IBM is offering is not decentralized. Corporations want to retain control hence are going to opt, for the most part, for a centralized system.
While this is progress, it is not revolutionary. Creating shared databases will certainly lower costs while reducing the friction on many transactions. Supply chains are easier to manage with the potential to eliminate some steps. However, the full effect is in decentralization.
What does decentralization look like and what is the impact?
I will sum it up this way: Steem.films, DBooks, and bSteem.
These are three projects that were announced in the last few days on the STEEM blockchain. These were put together by individuals who saw a need and filled it. It is nothing more than an individual or group of individuals getting an idea and following through with it. They required no approval from management. There was no meetings to see if it fit into the corporate culture. These people did not have to wait to see if their application would be approved by some central entity.
Instead, they created something they believe the user base would like and put it out there. Now it is up to the community to determine the success or not.
Compare that to the Steemit. Before making this comparison, I will acknowledge, the scale of the projects differs greatly so that much be taken into consideration. Nevertheless, the point still holds true I believe.
We are anxiously awaiting the release of SMTs, the community feature, and an automated sign up process. Some of these ideas were floated to the community over a year ago. As we enter the 2nd quarter of 2018, we are still awaiting them.
I do not write this to take a shot at the people over at Steemit. What I want to emphasize is the fact that Steemit is a company that has employees who are compensated in some form to produce what it needs. This is centralization. Only the employees at Steemit (and whomever they contract with) are working on these issues. Everything that is being done is inside this frame work.
Let us contrast this set up with the mobile application (another thing that was mentioned as being put out by Steemit). eSteem is a mobile interface that many stated was a decent application. Personally, I didn't use it so I will not comment about that. No matter what the view is on it, the people behind bSteem felt they could do better. So they went ahead with their project. Again, the user base will decide which one it embraces, if it doesn't embrace both.
This is the unleashing of human potential. When people have the freedom to see a problem AND create a solution, that is what advances a society. The Internet was suppose to provide this except the corporations, ie Google and Facebook, were able to get in and centralize it. Hence, we spent the last 20 years seeing what could have been the greatest breakthrough in innovation stall out.
The white paper that appeared a little over 9 years ago talking about a decentralized public ledger changed the world. While it was not known at the time, it provided the basic framework for unleashing the power of humanity. Right now we have tens of thousands of people developing stuff on different blockchains. In a couple years, that will be millions.
STEEM has under a million users with roughly 60K of them daily active posters. Even with those numbers, we see a great deal of development and innovation starting to come out. Imagine what it will look like when there are 5M or 10M people on this blockchain. Instead of 500 or 1000 developers, perhaps we see 5 or 10 times that number.
And that is why @ned said it is his goal to get over 100K entrepreneurs on the STEEM blockchain within 5 years. The innovation that comes from that many people will be amazing.
This is a major reason why I believe so much in the potential of blockchain...it is unleasing the power of humanity.
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Great and thought provoking post.
This part made me think of a couple of things, 1 people are starting to realize this now, so how long will it take us to catch up with the lost time of innovation? Also what if it was Steemit coming out all those years ago instead of Facebook.. I couldn't being to imagine where the blockchain could be today as well as this platform.
I am glad to be part of this platform as it evolves and grows. It's crazy to think what 5M to 10M members would be producing and contributing to the blockchain but let's see what the future brings!
The thing about technology is it arrives when it does for a reason. With computing, a lot of it is tied to processing power. Could a blockchain for a social network exist 15 years ago...was there enough processing power at an affordable price to allow for decentralized networks processing a blockchain like it does now?
Certainly the fact that Microsoft dominated for so long followed up by the Google and Facebook monopolies moved people away from the decentralization of Linux, as an example.
Now is the time for blockchain to flourish...and it is very exciting.
Yes! Block chain has lot of potential but still I don't know why steemit people don't upgrade its features and I also don't know why there is no app for steemit..
I cannot speak for the Steemit personnel but I would surmise they are working on it. I would believe they are not just sitting around wasting time...but maybe they are.
As for the app, I dont know what you mean? Steemit.com is an application...it is an interface....just like busy.org is an app...
Unless you are referring to mobile...I think what they had developed was trashed since it wasnt turning out very good...that opens the door for other apps to fill the void.
Please tell me if I misunderstood your meaning.
@taskmaster4450, intriguing post!
I agree with you - that is why open source is the way to go nowadays.
With contributions from a whole community of developers, many open source software are more current and updated than paid software.
Look forward to more of your insights! (:
A good summary.
I'm going to take a chance here and play devils advocate.
Decentralization is good - except when it isn't. Perhaps the best example of this is SegWit in Bitcoin. The governance model of Bitcoin and the difficulty in achieving the level of signalling to implement SegWit caused delays and considerable animosity and hostility in the community, ultimately leading to the least desirable outcome - a hard fork and Bitcoin Cash (least desirable is a different argument and some would passionately disagree).
Before you jump all over me, it isn't hard to find use cases where centralization is a better model, just as it is easy to find use cases where fully decentralized systems are better. Further, there are instances where semi-decentralized structures perform best. A good example of this is a spoke/hub model such as used by airlines.
Deciding which model is best often depends on how you define "best". Is the efficient movement of physical product "best"? Then the spoke/hub model works really well. Anonymous transmission of messages? Decentralized TOR is the way to go.
Blockchain is an amazing technology. But it does not solve everything. It will transform and disrupt many things. But it will only occupy the parts of the information universe where it is truly the best and most efficient choice among all other technologies.
Certainly you bring up valid points and not everything is going to end up on blockchain nor centralized.
In the article, I mentioned Steemit not to slight them but to compare. To your point, some of what they are working on is better of centralized...like the automated sign up...there needs to be one process especially since, STEEM, so far, is given out. Too many cooks could be a bad thing in that instance.
The diversity that blockchain is inspiring, both in crypto projects and more traditional avenues, is really exciting. Especially when you add in the convergence of things like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, Internet of Things, and the other major tech frontiers. Exciting times.
I especially like how it is unleashing the power of each individual. Not only is it creating innovation on the platform, allowing people to make amazing apps and cryptos, but the individuals can then use which ones work best and be rewarded for it.
It's interesting to me that steemit really has no advantage over some other site that uses steem, like busy.org
I think a case could be made that, as an interface, Busy offers more than Steemit....
And that is the great thing...a better mousetrap can attract the user base....it is the community who decides what it uses.
The ability for anyone to contribute makes decentralized systems advance at a much greater rate than those which operate centrally.
I couldn't agree more, Innovation will continue to be the engine for the successful thriving of decentralized platforms. The Steemosphere (steem blockchain) has witnessed different innovations right from inception.
Without innovations, the entire universe wouldn't make much sense.
I was in MSP during a show with various witness and a representative from Steem INC talking about some of the issues.
One thing that struck me was the term Steem is the Blockchain of opportunity and before some @ned hater goes off and rattle how EOS is better I would like to take it in the context of this post.
This platform had Steemit as one of its front portals and yet tons of other apps and condensers where created in order to make things better.
A decentralized system creates opportunities for others to create a product or app that can service the user better. Now we have Busy, Esteem app for mobile, Steemgigs for freelancers and hirers, Utopian for tech and open source submissions.
We have Dtube and Dlive for videos, dsound for sound and music clips and even Dmania for memes.
The Steem blockchain is continually growing and now we have dbooks, Steem.films and bSteem.
Innovation and change will make us to advance further and unleash its full potentional.
Now if we can only get to HF20 and automate the account creatio. haha
Thanks for that information. Steemit is just on application on this blockchain and it will lose its influence over time. As more applications are built, we are going to see people accessing it via other methods. At some point, one of the applications will take off encompassing a great deal of the user activity. Which will it be, we shall see.
Thank you for this post! The more apps we see on steem platform, the better for all! I haven’t heard about those projects you mentioned above, but will check them out today.
Absolutely @melpost. The more the merrier.
Some might amount to nothing yet some could be a windfall to the community. It is something that makes this so exciting....
Someone, as I type this, is hacking away on a computer somewhere, laying down code, that will be the next great application on this blockchain. I have no idea who it is, where that person is, or what the app will even focus upon. But it is taking place right now.
Hi @taskmaster4450 . What are your thoughts on the Ethereum Blockchain and the problems it is having? I like your positivity but not all blockchain's are great and some will fail. Let's hope the central banker's one's do anyway! They are really pushing the blockchain technology mantra.
Sure some will fail...in fact many will fail.
The banksters arent establishing blockchain in my opinion...they are using the technology to establish sahred databases, which, to me, are not revolutionary. They are not decentralized or are they public. The fact that the data is blocked and chained means little since it is them who control it.
As for ETH, I believe, like BTC, they will overcome their problems. I do feel more confident in BTC over ETH ironically since BTC has the name. ETH has too much development to go under...it will survive. That is the thing about blockchains, they are networks and as long as people are using them, they not only will survive but have value. Now how much that is remains to be seen. EOS could present a problem for ETH which could knock it down to $100 a token...we shall see.
The big issues with the ETH, BTC, LTC is they are still dealing with scaling issues although ETH says they are going away from a proof of work concept.
Would you recommend buying Eth at this low price or would you wait and see if it drops further @taskmaster4450 ? I think it's going to see another big dip at some point if some positive breakthrough for EOS surfaces and Ethereum is beleaguered with more issues and FUD.
The last few days I have been a little off Steemit because I myself have seen the potential in a decentralized platform and am researching on what to do myself to bring solutions to some problems we currently face in the world today.
Good for you @lordjames.
I hope you come up with some wonderful ideas to change not only your community, but the world.
A few thousand more people like you and we will be well on our way.
It's interesting, I'd wager 90%, or more, of the people on Steemit really don't understand blockchain technology. It's kind of like most of us have booked a cruise around the world but stay below decks not even looking out the portholes. We've come along for the ride but don't know where we are going or our own potential for doing things while on the cruise. I must admit, having come from the Dark Ages (pre-internet) that I am only just now beginning to see how Blockchain will change economies, industries, education, healthcare...everything. This does not mean that Blockchain will do away with centralized systems or distributive systems but will be adding a dimension to human intercourse that has the potential to shift the very consciousness of humanity. No wonder banksters and centralized governments are resistant. Blockchain is like the extinction event of the comet that crashed to earth killing all the dinosaurs. And to think WE are part of this amazing new galaxy of human potential. What we are part of is not just revolutionary it is literally Evolutionary Transformation into new realms of consciousness. Humanity linked and transforming together. I just read yesterday that someone has developed the tech that will allow blockchains to communicate with each other. Just another creation within the system that will morph everything.
Spiritual masters have talked about the concept of Oneness for ages. Blockchain, in a very tangible way, is achieving this oneness. Certainly not like the Masters have envisioned, but in a very real way moving us to a new reality that we are only just now beginning to comprehend.
Could this usher in the end of war, the end of racism, the end of ignorance? Whoa!
I appreciate that you have seen the vision and have been attempting to show it to us. Thank you very much, and blessings.
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Well it's happening. The digital revolution is bringing a new and radically different platform for business and other institutions that can take us through the next quarter century of human progress.
At the core is the biggest innovation in computer science in a generation. It is the technology underlying the digital currency bitcoin - the blockchain.
This technology platform is open and programmable. As such, it holds the potential for unleashing countless new applications and as-yet-unrealized capabilities that have the potential to transform everything in the next 25 years
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Great article. I've been following the progression of IBM blockchain technology and revamping of their new collaborative global shipping transformation. It is great to see that the technology is catching on and I can't begin to explain how happy I am that IBM in particular with the aid of Maersk Shipping are leading the way to change. With the use of IBM's quantum cloud computing, Watson Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain decentralization it will be very interesting as to what the result will be and how the technology could shake the foundation of the modern world. Thanks again for the post.
Your articles are my go-to for information on blockchain technology. I just downloaded bSteem; it's way better than eSteem.
Thanks for the heads up, and keep putting out great content!
(By the way, it is surely only a matter of time before someone launches Steembook)
A necessary read for everyone entering the crypto-space. Entities such as IBM and Ripple work there way into the process just as "they" always have, with the motto of pretending to be amongst the population and posing as everyone else.