Steemit and cryptocurrency will not change money, but might fix the Internet

Source: giphy

Internet has two layers: the basic layers are the protocols on which everything is based. Things like HTTP. These were developed by people interested in building a better humanity, not in making themselves rich.

Then there is the second layer: the web itself. It's built on top of the basic protocols. However it's not run by the same people who built the basic protocols, it's run by corporations. As the Internet grew, it attracted private investment. The web was built by people who did not want to create value per se, they wanted to capture as much value as they could out of this new thing called the Internet. So they built functionalities and protocols that were useful, but they were private. Google, Facebook, Amazon have become so incredibly big because they capture most of the value created through the services they provide. Facebook in essence is a protocol for establishing identity and sharing content. Yet you, the user, only get to access a tiny part of all of that data: what you see in the newsfeed. Facebook has it all, and it uses it to make money through ads that change the value you get as a user.

Imagine if GPS was a private technology like Facebook. You would have another Google who had all the data on the movements of all people using GPS in the world. Imagine how much power that company would have. And how different GPS navigation would be for all of us.

As Tim Wu argued in his 2010 book, “The Master Switch,” all the major information technologies of the 20th century adhered to a similar developmental pattern as the Internet, starting out as the playthings of hobbyists and researchers motivated by curiosity and community, and ending up in the hands of multinational corporations fixated on maximizing shareholder value. Wu calls this pattern the Cycle, and it seems the Internet is locked into it.

Source: breakthecycle.org

Theory says you cannot break the Cycle. The only way to make it bearable for people at large is to have government step in and try to force the monopoly corporations to behave not too badly.

Is it unavoidable? Do we have to live with clickbait, fake news and shady advertising following us wherever we go?

Blockchain might be the mythical sword to break this gordian cycle. But it's not by revolutionizing money (although that could happen). It's by creating alternatives to the current corporation owned second layer of the internet.

You see, the problem with any protocol or utility that any company brings to the web now is that it is inherently centralized. Someone has to be the central authority that makes sure it works and that people are not cheated. Not to mention to fund the underlying resources needed to run it.

However with blockchain technology one could build protocols that are decentralized. And they could be self-funded through their inherent token (through ICOs or just trading). Plus they could reward not only adoption but also improvements brought on by other people. Like how we get Steem by creating content on Steemit.

Steem and Steemit are a great example of a relatively low-tech application of this insight. Content discovery right now online is broken. Almost everyone producing content has to monetize it through advertising. This is a deal with the devil. I work in a media agency, I know. Advertisers don't reward content that is valuable for readers, that makes them think and improve. They reward impressions and clicks. You get impressions and clicks through controversy, clickbait, gossip, fear-mongering and fake news.

Medium is a honestly altruistic attempt to change this model by rewarding quality content as judged by its community. But it's still centralized and depends on its owner's goodwill to remain true to its vision.

Steemit is like medium only not centralized. It aspires to be the first fair platform to reward actual value for its community rather than private interests. It's up to us for it to succeed.

Upvote if you want to help Steemit succeed and get the message out there!