In the following web conference, Peter Saddington (Yen.io), Jose Mota (thisweekincrypto.co) and Kenneth Ameduri (CrushTheStreet.com) speak with Matt Ward (Corl.com) about the realities of content creation in the current environment of centralized platforms as gateways to large audiences versus the emerging and immature blockchain ecosystems that are poised to disrupt the world as we know it.
2018 Blockchain Online Training & Certification
The following article notes 6 online courses from $10 to $800 for blockchain training and certification: the lower cost courses are from Udemy. Some require little prior knowledge but none are burdensome for someone well versed in technology.
Best Blockchain Online Courses For Training & Certification 2020
Steemit vs Trybe
In terms of time on blockchain as a social media entity, Steemit is the granddaddy and Trybe is a grandchild. Steemit launched in March of 2016 out of NY and Trybe is brand-new in 2018, out of Australia.
They both offer the potential to incentivize content producers by providing cryptocurrency to creators whose content is liked by others.
However, Trybe offers a unique factor, which is the ability to lose cryptocurrency via down-votes for low quality. Although they have established a rule against down voting content based on disagreement (as opposed to its quality) it remains to be seen how this will work out. Regardless, it’s at least a step in the direction of attempting to influence higher quality contributions.
Steemit is unique in that it’s created on its own Steem blockchain (and cryptocurrency), which powers other content apps, as well.
It’s also more challenging to sign up for Steemit and currently there’s a 2 week delay to become manually verified, unless you pay to be verified via a third party service.
Signing up on Trybe.one is straightforward.
Since Steemit is the granddaddy, it’s considerably well known in the blockchain community and at this point Trybe is not.
They both allow users with more cryptocurrency in the community to have greater weight in terms of up- or down-voting content. Steemit is already suffering from the fact that “whales” (those who have outsized influence in the community) are already a dominant force and largely inform the popularity of posts.
Trybe is at least trying to mitigate the issue of whales.
The concept of whales is antithetical to the notion of decentralized control inherent within the blockchain community and certainly its technology. Perhaps time may show such to be a temporary marketing initiative to drive more engagement in the early days, only to be phased out later when it will have outlived its purpose.
What Are Dapps?
“Dapp” stands for “decentralized application.”
Decentralized means it’s not controlled by one entity. Most applications on the internet, including the most well known, are centralized applications controlled by one company. Think Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo and many other applications large and small. Currently, these are ‘not’ dapps.
More specifically Dapps are programs, tools, or applications that run on the decentralized Ethereum blockchain.
A blockchain is a digitized, decentralized, public ledger of data, made famous as the foundation of all decentralized cryptocurrency transactions.
Blockchains can support many more applications than money.
The Ethereum network is a popular blockchain. As such, Ethereum is a decentralized technology uncontrolled by any single authority.
To further elaborate, regular apps have all their data controlled by their own company servers with one single authority. They may require a user login that collects personal information, such as name, birth date, address, user history, etc.
Alternatively, Dapps work off a blockchain. Instead of personal information for logging in, they require a private address which can be a random string of characters that holds no personal information.
We are in the early days of Dapp development and you will be hearing more about this term as conventional applications shift from the universe of centralized control to blockchain decentralized application.
What is a Stablecoin?
Cryptocurrencies have been wildly volatile. Speculators may profit or lose money trading the changes, but for those who want an online currency that maintains predictable value, the fluctuations are not as desirable.
Hence, a stablecoin is cryptocurrency that is pegged to a stable asset, whether gold or fiat currencies (such as the US dollar, British pound or Japanese yen) and is backed by a reserve which corresponds with the coins in circulation.
Theoretically, a stablecoin will remain relatively constant in price, as it is a representation of a known asset.
In other words, cryptocurrencies indexed to traditional fiat currencies have the aim of reducing volatility and increasing confidence.
However, this introduces its own controversy, since cryptocurrencies are by nature decentralized and not linked to governments or banks. So although stablecoins could be popular in the short run, a decentralised currency that is stable and doesn’t have a central organization behind it will better represent the intent of cryptocurrencies in the long run.
What Are Cryptocurrency Exchanges?
Cyptocurrency exchanges are platforms through which you can purchase or sell digital currencies for dollars, euros, and pounds, as well as other digital assets. For example, you can sell bitcoins and purchase dollars with the sold bitcoins, or you could exchange bitcoins for ether.
Cyptocurrency exchanges may be brick-and-mortar businesses, exchanging traditional payment methods and digital currencies, or strictly online businesses, exchanging electronically transferred money and digital currencies.
A number of cyptocurrency exchanges operate outside of Western countries, avoiding regulatory oversight and prosecution, but they often accept Western fiat currencies, sometimes maintaining bank accounts in several countries to facilitate deposits in various national currencies.
Some may accept credit card payments, wire transfers or other forms of payment in exchange for digital currencies or cryptocurrencies.
There are private exchanges, which are exclusive and operate by invite only, as well as those available for the public. Local exchanges also exist. Some are easier to use than others are.
What is an ICO?
Investopdedia defines an ICO as: An unregulated means by which funds are raised for a new cryptocurrency venture. An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is used by startups to bypass the rigorous and regulated capital-raising process required by venture capitalists or banks. In an ICO campaign, a percentage of the cryptocurrency is sold to early backers of the project in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies, but usually for Bitcoin.
Furthermore, a supporting article states:
Although there are successful ICO transactions on record and ICOs are poised to be disruptive innovative tools in the digital era, investors are cautioned to be wary as some ICO or crowdsale campaigns are actually fraudulent. Because these fund-raising operatives are not regulated by financial authorities such as the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), funds that are lost due to fraudulent initiatives may never be recovered.
The rapid ICO surge in 2017 incurred regulations from a series of governmental and nongovernmental In early September, 2017, the People’s Bank of China officially banned ICOs, citing it as disruptive to economic and financial stability. The central bank said tokens cannot be used as currency on the market and banks cannot offer services relating to ICOs. As a result, both Bitcoin and Ethereum tumbled, and it was viewed as a sign that regulations of cryptocurrencies are coming. The ban also penalizes offerings already completed. In early 2018, Facebook, Twitter, and Google all banned ICO advertisements.
What is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is derived from two words. Crypto is from Greek and means “hidden” or “secret.” Currency is from Middle English and means, “in circulation.” The crypto part refers to cryptography, which in this application means keeping the money private and secure and for verification purposes.
So, on an elemental level, cryptocurrency means secure or private money. But there’s more to know. Continue reading “What is Cryptocurrency?”
The Case Against Blockchain | Blockchain Decision Tree
In brief, at this stage of the game, blockchain isn’t for everyone. One key takeaway is that “ICO companies that invest in blockchain have a 98% failure rate.”
This is not intended to cast shade on its potential, but blockchain merits should be weighed carefully relative to your business interests. Smaller companies, in particular, are at risk. The cost of developing blockchain technology is high and the current performance levels, including the volume of transactions that can be processed per second, is low.
Following is a Blockchain Decision Tree for a more considered appreciation as well as options to consider a public, hybrid or private blockchain.
What is a Cryptocurrency Wallet?
A cryptocurrency wallet is a digital software program used to receive, store and send digital currency, such as digital coins or tokens, for buying and selling or other monetary transfers. There are different types of wallets, with a hardware variant deemed the most secure. A wallet does not actually contain the currency itself, but contains security codes call “keys” which reference the money on a blockchain. In other words, wallet “storage” is really a way to prove ownership.
For more info, visit Cryptocurrency Wallet Guide: A Step-By-Step Tutorial