Just imagine that we could have all been ape-like creatures roaming around the planet foraging like any other if we were born 200,000 years ago. We wouldn't have stood out from the myriad of organisms around us. So what transformed us from insignificant creatures into the world's most dominant species today? Stories. High-order information. The human mind enables us to surpass our genomic, physical limitations. We can't fly, but we can build planes. We can't possibly communicate with the rest of the world, but we can build the Internet.
"The ability to create an imagined reality out of words enabled large numbers of strangers to cooperate effectively. But it also did something more. Since large-scale human cooperation is based on myths, the way people cooperate can be altered by changing the myths – by telling different stories. Under the right circumstances myths can change rapidly."
By Yuval Noah Harari in Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
If you haven't read Sapiens, I'd suggest giving the book a spin. One major point of clarity I gained from the book is this: money is the most successful story ever invented by human beings. Seeing that we now also have social media networks on the Internet, each with their own popular stories these days, it's no great surprise there are tons of cryptocurrencies (or I daresay, shitcoins) with crazy valuations. Forget about the content. It's all about the potential in the power of exponential network effects. The Bitconnect scandal shows very well that all you need are a bunch of scammers and hopefuls spreading convincing stories to the right crowd.
Blinded by the shadow
So here's the big white elephant: why are there so many cryptocurrency supporters still actively using status quo media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube? The power these platforms wield are just too damn high, knowing they're all concentrated into just a handful of companies in Silicon Valley with insane-levels of leverage over millions and billions of users.
I'm not saying they're inherently bad for being so powerful, but my point is these platforms have single points-of-failure and are definitely ripe for mass market exploitation. Imagine that I can shill anything and substantially boost engagement or the illusion of it just by hiring some social media farmers for less than $100. What if I'm an insider in these centrally-managed media platforms? What if I also have a huge stake in some of those shitcoins? What if someone bribes me to sway public opinion? All too easy to exploit in a non-decentralised setup.
These social media platforms undoubtedly have massive network effects going on for them, boasting great connectivity and 1000x improvements over their predecessors that were largely formed by rigid, bottle-necked, land-based monopolies over the past centuries. Money and media really goes hand in hand. This is why companies like Facebook are becoming so valuable.
The higher-order
So what's next? Decentralised social media platforms. Just take a look at Steem. At first sight, it's easy to get caught up with the money rewards and sometimes unsavoury content, but make no mistake they're simply the product of a decentralised construct, a collaborative commons where every user is treated as co-owner.
While Steemit Inc still has substantial stakes on the network, the distribution of Steem itself is engineered to be decentralised over time. The protocol is also open for any entrepreneurs to build upon and earn without the need to ask for permission from any central authority. It's something Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube can never do without altering the nature of their existence. While Steem-based applications still have ways to go in improving their features and UI / UX for mass adoption, the next x1000 improvement is already here in form of shared-value, and decentralisation.
There are many things that we can decentralise, but as biased as I may be, I suspect decentralised media protocols like Steem to be fundamental in the cause. It's a decentralised mirror reflection of how national currencies, institutions, and businesses were built around centrally-managed mass media platforms throughout history. See my point? It's a bit like Pareto's Principle, where 20% of the effort put into a decentralised media protocol could potentially be the factor that yields 80% of the changes that will take place. It's likely the best place to focus on. There are only so many unicorns that one can attempt to speculate.
Personally, I'm hopeful that Steemconnect / Hivemind / Communities / Smart Media Tokens will boost adoption and increase the order of network effects. As for the rewards algorithm, I'd suggest a 50/50 approach to encourage voters to distribute Steem while knowing they're getting a fair deal in return as well. Also, a slight superlinear reward might help to bring some order and to curb spam from entry accounts. This should improve the overall distribution and growth of the network.
That's my stance on Steem in a nutshell. It may or may not work out. But is there something that's x1000000000 on the horizon? You betcha. It's way bigger and could even serve as the foundation for other blockchain projects.
The highest-order
In my opinion, here's a x1000000000 improvement over everything I've known in existence - Tauchain Agoras. This is the only other blockchain project I talk about other than Steem these days. It's engineered to open up application development to the masses by scaling discussions and consensus through an Internet of Languages and code synthesis. By far, Tauchain's self-defining, correct-by-construction, and decidable characteristics are conceivably the best fit for truly secure smart contracts.
Not only that, the way Tauchain is constructed also enables a knowledge economy while also featuring discovery algorithms that are unmatched in today's technologies. Think about a semantic web that actually works. If there's a decentralised logical deduction system that connects our queries and expressions with the rest of world in a relevant manner that builds upon a knowledge base, you bet your ass that it's going to be one of the most valuable things ever.
There are a lot more facets to this deus ex machina of an invention I wish I could talk about without sounding foolish. It's been blowing my mind since the day I think I started understanding the project. But again, I'll leave more information for another time until I really gain some confidence to speak about it without jumping my words.
Please note that this is still highly speculative since the product isn't even out yet. But I'm really liking the vision and fundamentals of this project after digging through it for the past couple of months. It may very well be the holy grail of the decentralised new world order. Hype or not? Only time will tell.
But of course, any attempts to predict the future will usually fail. The world is just too complex. Regardless, I'll be staying invested in both Steem and Tauchain's future for their solid fundamentals. Remember this little post if things ever go beyond the moon ;)
Recommended reads for Steem
- https://steem.io/SteemWhitePaper.pdf
- https://steem.io/steem-bluepaper.pdf
- https://smt.steem.io/smt-whitepaper.pdf
Recommended reads for Tauchain Agoras
Image from Expanding Brain Meme
Music mixtape by Kurdtbada
I'm surprised by the fluidity of your writing. It's the first time I read you and I got a very nice feeling from your words.
Steem, for me, holds the potential to become the new decentralised revolution right after the internet. I may sound dreamy about this, but really. People always make analogies about cryptocurrencies that compare to the invention of paper over stone, videos over photographs, planes over cars (and cars over horses).
The adoption rate of cryptocurrencies doesn't grow as quickly as it could because people are doubtful that it is a bubble, a new tulip market, the new thing that will pass or become just another thing.
But look at this, it's a self-maintainable social network in which anyone can participate and invest, where everyone can get rewards. It's entirely social and massive. And I think, of course, that it can be improved greatly upon. I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg for what the Steem network can become in the future.
I see great things and I don't know if they'll be accomplished, but I'm allowed to dream, right? I hope to be alive to see technology revolutionise the way I see the world.
Thanks @cryptosharon. I hope the Communities / Hivemind / SMT stuff will help improve the network.
seems to me there are plenty of ape-like creatures still roaming around ... on the high plains of oligarchal penthouses (-:
Haha! Too much hubris coming from me, dammit!
I will remember this post, @Kevinwong for its thoughtfulness & passion. We live in exciting times, where our world is changing---yes, because of stories that we tell ourselves.
This is why I'm happy-proud to be part of the blockchain revolution (in some small way) as a Steemian and to spread the good word. Also, because I take you seriously, we've invested in EOS and are looking into Tauchain Agoras.
Meantime, I've a question for you, from one reader to another, who values the power of the written word to shape our reality. Tell me, Kevin, have you ever considered writing, as in a book? I think you might have it in you, that's if you don't already have a manuscript somewhere in your attic, gathering dust :)
I'm sure there are other good ones as well. Time's just too limited so I've to settle on the one that's being actively used. Tauchain Agoras is more "idealistic" and fits into my criteria of a perpetual, intelligent decentralised network with communities that can "discuss" the "rules of the game" and programmatically evolve on-the-fly to adapt to changes. But better just check out Ohad's posts (linked at the end of post) :D
Yeah it's gathering digital dust. Just couldn't go more than a couple dozen pages. Didn't know what I wanted to really write in the first place lol. "The Art of Life". Too young, too inexperienced, and still too naive. Saving it for later. Another's a space opera, but found it too uninteresting and forced after a couple dozen pages as well.
Any good ideas?
Yes, of course, we do our research and diversify our portfolio--but your enthusiasm is contagious and for the reasons you outline, above.
Regarding writing, it's humble and wise to know that you are too young, too inexperienced, and still too naive to tackle a life manual (though this has not stopped others).
In my experience, one writes out of an inner imperative, where the story tells itself. Another way to put it is that the subject matter picks you & through your particular temperament is communicated. Meaning what are you, @kevinwong, passionate about and good at? What are you curious about, consumed by, even?
Every creative writer worth our consideration, every writer is a victim given over to an obsession, says Graham Greene.
Perhaps, it's the future of blockchain--with a dash of your natural idealism and impish humor--envision a utopian world that you want to live in (or dystopian, those seem to be popular, too). But, basically, a novel of ideas, where you play, seriously, with what captures your imagination. One of your time travel computer games gone awry, where you bring the blockchain to the past? How would that change it- and the wisdom of the past to the present/future - how would that change how we live? Art of living needn't be a straightforward memoir, it can be disguised as a sci fi novel ;)
What the hell does this even mean, @kevinwong? lol
I'm gonna look more into this Tauchain mumbo jumbo you're spewing. I think I'll be intrigued once I understand what what you said even means.
But you're right. It's ironic that people praising decentralization are doing it on highly centralized platforms lol. We all have Stockholm Syndrome to a certain extent.
Ah it'll take too long to explain. Basically, anyone can program any programming languages on Tauchain that could be close to natural language, just by interacting with the platform. There's no universal language here. Since all discussions take place on Tauchain are programs in themselves, people can even use it to discuss stuff like application development and have the code synthesised from discussion. But of course, it will all be very difficult in the beginning, I suspect we'll be like babies learning to speak.
Edit: better to read the creator's blogposts, i'm likely to have explained it incorrectly.
Well it's nothing wrong, just somewhat wasteful when they could've been contributing to the distribution of cryptos. Still hard to move since Steem-based apps aren't matured yet and Twitter / Facebook / etc users have massive lock-in costs from having their friends and followers there. Maybe just a matter of time.
It's incredible what a few humans can create with their thinking.
I was always a fan of the way some people think and create extraordinary things, like steemit.
Steemit maybe imperfect in a lot of ways, and I can't help but wonder that it has been more than two years since steemit was created and still there is no other platform in the crypto world that is even close to steemit.
No doubt that Dan and Ned created something extraordinary here.
And I hope that whatever problems steemit face, be that of hijacking trending page or linear rewards, all these will be evolved and solved in the next few years.
I am certain that things will be better here, because progress is one thing that humans can't separate themselves from.
BTW, are you a developer/coder?
Tauchain is hard for my mind to grasp. I'll have to keep trying, because your enthusiasm is contagious and you've led me down some good intellectual paths before.
So here's the big white elephant: why are there so many cryptocurrency supporters still actively using status quo media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube? The power these platforms wield are just too damn high, knowing they're all concentrated into just a handful of companies in Silicon Valley with insane-levels of leverage over millions and billions of users.
I think this quote represents a mental blind spot or at least a disagreement on principle between us... Do you think decentralization must fully displace centralization?
Seems more likely to me that Facebook, Twitter, and/or others continue to exist alongside decentralized systems. You'll use the Steem API to upvote content on those systems (with gov't regulations too burdensome for Amazon, FB, etc to launch their own full-scale tokens), and people may even use Facebook's API (despite the horror of the anti-FBers) to quickly and conveniently share data to their blockchain services that don't want to store that stuff.
Maybe in the LONG scale, we move past centralized systems entirely. But I'll be shocked to see anything like that in the next 10 years.
Haha I don't believe decentralisation must fully displace centralisation, hence the "hype" tag in case anyone thinks I came off as a maximalist. Don't think that's even something possible. But I do think anything that becomes too massive for anyone to handle will flow into alternatives.
Decentralised platforms are great. But there should be an age restriction on them. Otherwise, you know what I mean...
This reply is just a fun fact for your intro "Just imagine that we could have all been ape-like creatures roaming around the planet if we were born 200,000 years ago."
Brains and guts are the most energy demanding organs on our bodies. Limitating our brains By a) how much energy our brains can take advantage of b)how much energy our guts can absorb and finaly c) How much energy can our food provide.
You add c+b to get an equal of greater>than a
We can evolve further than humans
... Enough with that on the matter I will go to your Higher Order subject.
"While Steemit Inc still has substantial control over the development of network, the distribution of Steem itself is engineered to be decentralised over time. The protocol is also open for any entrepreneurs to build upon "
and call you to check this project.
https://fundition.io/#!/
I chatted him at facebook. @hightouch He claimed to work with the guys for @dtube. There is no reason for me to doubt that
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@funditian/be-a-funditian
The hearts system he uses is probably how smart tokens are going to work in my head.
Totally worth some clicks.
Edit: Nevermind I just noticed you already saw it.
Yup the discovery of fire and societies being domesticated by wheat gave more way to brain development, hence where we are today :) fundition is a cool project!
Society changes the way it communicates.
Cybercitizens in digital networks we must scream for independence because we are outside the states territory rules and jurisdiction and is a Hive inhabited by the humanity.
I'm using 5 words to define decentralization in Cyberspace about Power:
Decentralization, Deconcentration, Delocalization, Deterritorialization, Deregulation, the principles of the new "eco-nomics" philosophy on the blockchain autonomous communities, involved in the generation of new rules, principles, behaviors and values.
Steemit is a Hive of the systems of distributed Power, where collective knowledge and intelligence is a new form of non-violent and constructive Resistance using decentralised social media platforms.
Thanks for a very well laid out thought provoking post.
You are correct on humans getting to where we are now by our higher level thinking, we can indeed build great things, but these things are a culmination of thousands of years of sharing knowledge. It seems one of our strongest instincts is to share information. Whether it is a scientific breakthrough or a pretty stone, we simply must tell some one, anyone. Without this combined collective of accumulated knowledge, we would likely seek shelter from the rain under a banana leaf. As much as we value a level of in independence, we need each other for almost everything we do.
This is key to the popularity of social media I think, we can share our thoughts in an instant with other like minded humans. This is a giant leap from just a few years ago when we only listened, when it was one way information from tv and radio. I became interested in ham radio for just this reason, I wish to give feedback to what I'm hearing, to share a little bit of myself to who ever will listen. It is a very basic social media platform with vacuum tubes :)
I must look into this "Tauchain", it sounds interesting, from a quick look it seems to be based on p2p. Only thing is I am still struggling to understand steemit, it's quite complicated figuring out exactly what's going on.
One thing for sure, we are on the verge of substantial changes, we are the pioneers of a new technology poised to change the way society does business.
Thanks, I look forward to your next posts.
.
We are the new Illuminati! :) lol
I have read this book:
https://steemit.com/blog/@rismanrachman/money-in-books-sapiens-a-brief-history-of-humankind-bahasa
Awesome that it has translated to many languages :)
You are right about the fact that humans cant fly but they built aeroplanes. With the maximum potential the mind reach, it is almost impossible to say there is nothing the human mind is not capable of doing, as long as there is access to information
Evolution itself is not only about how man has evolved through time but also every other thing including information.
The steem blockchain is a revolution, and these projects will continue to evolve around it, maybe for better or better, a hand in hand teamwork for success and growth
n my opinion, a well-planned portfolio should consist of precious metals like gold and silver, cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum, some real estate in the right location(s), some cash, a small holding of dividend-paying and growth stocks, annuities, collectibles such as stamps, paintings, old coins, ... etc.
yeah hedged in other places as well of course :)
There’s a reason we are called higher animals. I never seize to imagine when every other animal spices evolve to be something they can humans of another spices and not aliens now. Imagine those evolved animal spices can do what we the already known humans can do. I marvel at the imaginary new world order
The humans can only access some 15% of the cerebral capacity and we can do all of this things around us including crypto currency, how much more when we can access 50% on the average. I can’t stop imagining
I agree with your thesis that we can decentralise most of human civilisation’s institutions and activities, but it will be within the area of social media that the masses will feel the most direct impact of the application of the decentralised Blockchain technologies. Just like the masses first felt the power of the Internet, once they signed up for Facebook, YouTube and Twiter, during the previous evolutionary leap of the Web from 1.0 to 2.0. Now it’s time for Web 3.0 – the decentralised Internet based on Blockchain protocols.
I've been here for over six months. And sometimes I still surprise visits from the awareness of how Steemit great! It's just a crazy fantasy idea, really brought to life. I think these thoughts are familiar to each of us. You write your content, you Express your thoughts, you promote your creativity and work, uncensored, no ads, free! And what's more, you also get rewarded for it! A year ago, I could not even dream about the emergence of such a network in the world. Of course, there are some problems here. But I think they can be solved or minimized over time. The main Steemit - it is great!
Highly rEsteemed!
Oh man I wonder how the blockchain can handle so much data! Will leave it to the smart guys :D
In 5 years time I will come back to this post and acknowledge your genius in predicting the next great coin and blockchain :P
Haha it'll be a shame if there's no blockchain to come back to anymore..
I always get iritated by these, you could have been born xxxxx years ago, fictional scenario's.
Any creature from 200,000 years ago would not be you in any sense of the way.
Lol of course
I'll definitely search for that book and make it my next read...after completing what I'm currently reading...
Lol, the world actually is definitely complex and attempts to predict the future might or might not fail....
It's all like a guessing game...
Blockstream recently launched the Bitcoin satellite, this means Bitcoin will still accessible, even when they use the 'internet kill switch'! Just connect your computer to a satellite dish (solar powered if they shut off the internet) and you can still communicate with the blockchain.
Many people are complaining about Blockstream, but this is huge in my opinion. They also made the blockchain accessible to people in less civilized areas.
It has always been in the nature of power, to go corrupt. An institution as large as The Fed, is simply incapable of not being corrupt. That is why Blockchain technology is so important. With it, individual sovereignty may be regained. And the beginning of the siphoning of power away from governments can begin to happen.
A very special article really tells about the world 200 years ago and about the world today
Technology has developed the world, it is man who controls everything
Man can fly and can sail and can travel long distances very short time
Really great thing
Music is very upscale indeed
A very special article was well done
Well, you have finally talked about "the project".
Well, Crowd Machine is also a project that hopes to open up app development to the masses, i think it has some promise too. But Tauchain Agoras seems to be something super, and hence its not yet out, we can only wait and see.
However, i am most sure that decentralization as a whole is just starting out, hence more is yet to even come...maybe things far greater than Tauchain Agoras...maybe things we never dare to talk about now, labelling them impossible.
Lets wait and see!
Crowd Machine.. nowhere near Tauchain imho, but might be pragmatic for short-term. My gut feeling is telling me to stay away from it though.
This is an eye-opener, money is the root of evil but right now we can't do anything without it. Well, we can use it in a good way like helping others *ehem whales just kidding hahaha. Nice writing I'll try to read more about the evolution of the human beings.
@kevinwong please permit me to give this wonderful masterpiece of information a title of my own " The Rain We Have Been Waiting for" there are a lot of hiding truth about other social media platform which you have revealed, that are #Educative and #Elightening. You have indeed opened my mind to a lot things with this, there is sure a better lesson to learn.
Thank Goodness we are not "Apes" but human who cannot fly but can produce planes ✈️ that can.
I Love This!
This is actually my first time of seeing a post from you, your 75% reputation aren't no joke because it really amazing seeing this post you put out. I have to take my time to go read that sapiens like you have said, but how am I going to get it? I'm from africa.
try googling it out :)
One of my favorite fun songs, I’m an Apeman, by the Kinks.
Loved the mix, how's that music direction is called? Vaporwave? I wanna listen more of that in the future.
Update (2 hours later). Still listening to the mix, it's SICK!!!
Yeah vaporwave lol. plenty of weird stuff in between too
I've already stolen a couple of good tracks from there. It's very very very very good. Was just looking for some good music.
Well written and well evaluated. Media and money really goes and in hand and does a lot when it comes to swaying the crowd.
But the thing is. The has been used for all the wrong reasons but it is left to use to control and influence the media for good and not let the media influence us.
Dear @kevinwong, I really appreciate this work. Its extremely informative and it was written in a very simple and easy to understand way. I must say, you have done noble.
Honestly, the steem blockchain is really turning things around making us feel more valuable and our works appreciated. And this is something that can't be found on most social network.
I have heard of the tauchain but honestly I havn't given it much attention. Am going to be checking it out to see what's up.
I know for sometime you have been talking about the tauchain and if I may ask @kevinwong, what actually made you believe so strong in it?
Great post... the world actually is definitely complex and attempts to predict the future might or might not fail... precious metals like gold and silver, cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum, some real estate in the right location(s), some cash, a small holding of dividend-paying and growth stocks, annuities, collectibles such as stamps, paintings, old coins....your post always valuable for me.because its helped me always new thing learning..thanks to sharing for your valuable post..friend.i think that,you are super person in the steemit platform..already you success in your life because you are a talented person.so,its not impossible for you..overall perfect and very well done for your great work..your best thought post always giving encouraged me my own work in the steemit platform.best of luck and take care yourself.... beat of luck
@upvote and resteemot done
😭😂🤣
anytime gift good post in your blog.. the world actually is definitely complex and attempts to predict the future might or might not fail... precious metals like gold and silver, cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum, some real estate in the right location(s), some cash, a small holding of dividend-paying and growth stocks, annuities, collectibles such as stamps, paintings, old coins....your post always valuable for me.because its helped me always new thing learning..thanks to sharing for your valuable post..friend.i think that,you are super person in the steemit platform..already you success in your life because you are a talented person.so,its not impossible for you..overall perfect and very well done for your great work..your best thought post always giving encouraged me my own work in the steemit platform.best of luck and take care yourself.my dear best friend... @kevinwong
On the other hand Steemit is very centralized. Few whales can dictate rules, like on bot usage. Can abuse major part of reward pool. Can make shit content appear in trending section. Can take out unwanted content / content of competing user by downvoting. Sadly, all these anomalies are because of power/capital centralization.
If the crypto giants can come together and improve the blockchain instead of using the "old model" and empowering just a few who now have too much power, it would be great
This is actually my first time of seeing yr post....I love the way you organized your work making it very educating,God loved man more than evryother creation that's y h deposited that grace to think than animal into us.
I’m only in the beginning of Sapiens but it’s been great so far. I’ll have a look into Tauchain. Thanks for the suggestion
Good read @kevinwong. I find some of your points very interesting. It's quite scary but I hope it's not a bad thing to have social media around.
Which is the best place to buy agoras?
hey @diebitch (lol), it's now on https://openledger.io/market/OPEN.AGRS_BTS. not sure if there are any other better places atm.
Thanks
Thanks
I dont know what I've enjoyed reading the most, your post or the comments!
You have probably the best followers i've seen so far. Loved it!
blockchain could be used for "bad", i dont think we talk about it enough. We are talking about a world, where everything could be tied to the blockchain. The moment you are born, you a put on a database aka George Orwell 1984 style.
Great post, thanks for sharing, it is clear that there is something that our current society is not going to do well....War, hunger, slavery, disease, pollution, bitterness ... which defines what is happening around us.
I've been here for over six months. And sometimes I still surprise visits from the awareness of how Steemit great! It's just a crazy fantasy idea, really brought to life. I think these thoughts are familiar to each of us. You write your content, you Express your thoughts, you promote your creativity and work, uncensored, no ads, free! And what's more, you also get rewarded for it! A year ago, I could not even dream about the emergence of such a network in the world. Of course, there are some problems here. But I think they can be solved or minimized over time. The main Steemit - it is great!
I love reading you daily @kevinwong. in my personal opposition. we are at the beginning of the revolution of the crypto, of the twenty-first century. this decentralized currency will be the best option in the global economy. go down or go up is the best option, we are in the best moment, and I see great things that come this year. although the majority of governments do not accept us. The mass of people around the world who agree with this currency will win the fight.
Ya, the world is just too complex.... I can't handle it well.
diversify my friend. For me some cryptos, metals, land, community of friends and skills and things that one can barter with. Think outside the box and use your creative skills. Good writing @kevinwong.
Humans and times will always be left behind, where they can not yet move to crawl and run.
But what lies before their eyes is a real Real Illusion in their social life as well as in the world of Criptocurrency, where nothing is able to interpret and provide a prediction of the coint's upward and downward direction, and in fact everything must always be through the process so that the success of success without any influence on what became his belief in Criptocurrency, in this case I really appreciate your writing so my eyes are more open to continue to learn it