The Internet of Things has its problems. Even the biggest advocate for IoT tech will admit there’s a lot of work ahead. Scalability and security seem to be major issues on the horizon, and the jury’s still out on whether blockchain can be part of the solution. Speaking to a blockchain evangelist is enough to leave one quivering with excitement about its possibilities. Cross paths with a skeptic, and the blockchain seems to be little more than smoke and mirrors. “Blockchain will reshape the future,” enthuses Drew Prindle at Digital Trends. “This blockchain buzz will die soon,” barks Dary MerckensPowered by WPeMatico
In the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency, there is no shortage of innovative ideas. If Mithril is any indication, the way we think about social media will come to change in quite spectacular fashion. This particular project aims to decentralize social media and reward content creators in a fair and transparent manner. The Idea Behind Mithril One could argue that there is no shortage of social media platforms out there. That is certainly true, but all of them are designed to harvest user data. Mithril takes a completely different approach, as it aims to put the “social” back in social media.
As we begin to enter into Industry 4.0, we are leaving old technology, business practices, and markets behind. The digital age has allowed the commodities industry to use the most complex machinery ever made, handling the toughest minerals in the toughest conditions. However, many of the industry’s commercial aspects remain stuck in the Stone Age due to convoluted, archaic systems which feature middlemen and a general lack of transparency. Smelting Out The Issues These archaic practices are a hindrance to both buyers and sellers in the industry, as true pricing is sometimes hard to determine, while commodity traders (middlemen) are making increasingly large
I had the opportunity to sit down with blockchain expert and entrepreneur Justin Wu, who is the Head of Growth and brilliant mind behind CoinCircle. Wu is also a strategic advisor to some of the industry’s top ICOs, and explained the importance of putting together an advisory board and utilizing these advisors when entering the crypto space. If there’s one thing you need to know, it’s that most of these ventures are based on a promise to deliver. “A whitepaper, in its most form, is a concept and idea, nothing more,” says Wu. Most of these guys haven’t built the utility
Most of us find digital advertising irritating. When online ads first came to platforms like Facebook, it was something of a novelty. For the first time, we were being shown products and services that were actually relevant to us, based on our likes and preferences – and data. That four-letter word has become a precious commodity. Because valuable data is, in fact, worth its weight in gold. But as with anything in our rapidly evolving lives marked by limited attention spans, we got bored pretty quickly. And Facebook responded by changing its algorithm to prioritize content from family and friends over corporations. Awesome
The human body is a decentralized structure made of organs, sub-organs and sub-sub-organs, all the way to the cells, which themselves have their internal structure. The functionality of the body is pretty decentralized and no cell instructs other cells on what to do. Rather, each cell operates autonomously according to inputs it receives from its environment. Now, imagine a company without a CEO or hierarchy. Imagine an organization that can essentially run on its own, without managerial supervision, completely autonomously, as if there were a CEO or managerial structure in place. Scary or brilliant? What Is A ‘Decentralized Autonomous System?’ A ‘decentralized
According to Forbes, the education market currently possesses a net market pull of around US$4.6 – 6 trillion. However, due to escalating tuition fees and increasing student debt, the gap between college training and job requirements has been steadily increasing over the past decade or so. ODEM, or On-Demand Education Marketplace, is a blockchain-based distributed network that allows university students to seamlessly interact with their professors and academic partners. Through the creation of nuanced digital channels, ODEM makes it possible for users to come together to raise the quality of accessible education at a reasonable cost. Additionally, the ODEM platform allows
It’s not something you see when you browse the internet. It’s not something you see when you hand someone cash. But you may notice it when you’re reaching for the credit card reader at your local Starbucks to accept your credit card chip. Why Our Encryption Protocols Need To Change Over a decade ago, the perfect cipher was created, One-Time Pad (OTP), a technique which provides a one-time encryption key allowing a small group of participants and applications to communicate securely with one another. In today’s digital age, OTP allows the world to connect securely on a global scale. However, encryption isn’t something to
We all have heard of Burning Man, a community devoted to individuals showing off the best of themselves, in artistic forms of self-expression and self-reliance. But is it outdated? For those new to the Burning Man community, art is created through experimental and interactive sculpture, building, performance, and other media. The event brings hundreds of thousands of strangers from around the world to one central isolated location each year, creating brand-new relationships and partnerships in the process. In the cryptospace, there’s the NextGen Blockchain Summit, a community of industry whales and futuristic technologists. And this year, it’s being held on the largest futuristic yacht in the
Despite many advantages, cryptocurrency still suffers from some highly noticeable disadvantages. Firstly, its lack of fungibility—the inability to convert the currency into readily available goods and services—prevents the “hands-on” experience that this area requires. But what if there were a way to convert our crypto into something fungible, like a gift card? Toto, We Aren’t A Cashless Society—Yet We are still considered a cash-based society, despite popular belief. However, while cash still finds a comfortable spot in our wallets, the demand for debit cards, credit cards, and gift cards is most definitely there. Why? It’s more seamless and easier to carry around a