There is a popular game in the world of Improv commonly known as the “One Word Story” where going around the circle, participants each take a turn to contribute a word at a time with the goal of crowdsourcing a narrative. Generally used as an icebreaker, you tend to notice the initial sheepishness and trepidation dissipate and instead be displaced by infectious laughter and electric energy. This icebreaker typically fills the room with vigour that’s rarely established so quickly, however, look a little deeper and you realise this simple game has managed to accomplish something much bigger, a sense of community.
Giving each an equal stake, empowering them with an equal voice and uniting them under a common goal. A seemingly simple solution to a seemingly difficult task. However, as we all know, fostering a cohesive, collective whole out of the masses is easier said than done; In truth, such idealism is hard to implement, let alone sustain. This is observed in various types of organisations around us; Governments stoking patriotism among its people to encourage intrinsically motivated actions towards a common goal; corporations proclaiming an inclusive, ‘family-oriented’ corporate culture so their employees will perform as such; yet, these arrangements are usually far from perfect.
With little consequence and little stake in the organisations or networks that we engage with, we find ourselves having little interest in its maintenance and growth, instead surrendering that responsibility onto a central authority. But what if we were each granted an equal stake in these networks, and in turn rewarded for our contributions to them. Surely then, achieving community-mindedness might be more achievable than once thought.
The decentralised nature of a public blockchain creates a sense of communal belonging that has been missing for so long. With the strength of the public blockchain stemming from the active participation of its community, public blockchains will enable us to finally transcend geographic and political boundaries to reach a higher level of integration and globalisation.
That being said, public blockchains do possess risks of their own, but the potential to lead a paradigm shift of genuinely inclusive communities far outweighs the costs (N.B. a cost-benefit analysis of public blockchains is a huge topic to be tackled at another time. Stay tuned!). But in truth, there is still much more work to be done before a legitimately fair and efficient version of a public blockchain ecosystem comes to light, but as public blockchains continue to gain traction and move towards mainstream adoption, an ideological shift will slowly but surely take shape, and perhaps that may be a form of success in itself. After all, a more community minded world may just be what we need to bring us all to the next stage of growth as a race. Don’t hold your breath, but a public blockchain state of mind may just be around the corner.
TLDR
Public blockchains have the potential to bring about a stronger sense of community mindedness that will help us to grow and progress as a people
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#technology
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About the team
We are a Singapore based team of consultants with experience working with leading blockchain and technology companies around the world. With backgrounds in fintech, recruitment and strategy consulting, we look to provide a holistic and unique perspective on topics relevant to the blockchain industry while continuing to play our part in growing the ecosystem. Reach out to us if you’re keen to connect, we’re always open to meeting new people who are passionate about the space!
Francis-John Ho
https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-john-ho-a3727bb5/
Jonathan Ng
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-ng-01a652128/
Good thinking guys ! Particularly relevant for individuals atomised in society, for citizens who don’t feel they have a stake in the polis, for disenfranchised communities...
Keep pushing the thinking ! Maybe we need distributed autonomous democracies and blockchained communes :-)