Blockchain Concepts and Brilliant Use Cases

Back in 1991, when blockchain was still under deep conceptualization, the creators’ original thoughts of it would be that the data blocks that comprise it must be timestamped so they can’t be tampered with or backdated. However, such a strong concept would go on unused for another 18 years until the launching of Bitcoin.

It is said that necessity is the mother of all inventions. And since the need for a digital kind of currency to be commonplace during the late 2000s, it was only then that blockchain became truly practical. During the years that follow after the release of Bitcoin, there have a total recorded number of around 1600 cryptocurrencies. Truly, the blockchain revolution is something that must never be belittled.

Decentralization

From what we’ve understood already, the real strength of blockchain lies in the very idea of decentralization. To further understand it, let’s delve into the concept that completely opposes it – centralization. So far, it has been the current method utilized by internet servers today.

Centralized networks can be defined as computers and storage devices linked together into a central hub. Such hubs are often in the form of private mainframe servers which are designed to store large amounts of data. This method has been giving us a good enough global network called the internet.

However, users would have to sacrifice their privacy and anonymity. For instance, if you are signing up to any social media you can think of, you are actually agreeing that you’re willing to sell information about you such as your browsing patterns, product consumption, media types viewership, and even about social affiliations you may have joined.

To add more issues to that problem, other institutions are also using centralization to extend their power and reach. Governments, banks, as well as other online platforms are doing their very best to make sure that they will obtain the best relevant information about you so they can take advantage of you.

So basically, centralization gives more power to governing authorities as they take advantage of ordinary citizens. It could lead to hacks and even identity theft, which is an even bigger problem.

For years already, the call for decentralization has been sprouting here and there. But it wasn’t until the 2008 financial crisis when the urgency started to gain traction. Just a year later, the revolutionary whitepaper from Satoshi Nakamoto was released and has been the first true strong driving force that led to the creation and implementation of blockchains.

Instead of having just one server that could be prone to cyber-attacks, there will be multiple servers from varying locations that could function as mini-servers. They could then cater to precious information as needed by users. It eliminates the need for a “middle man” which couldn’t only delay the process but makes scary use of the data as well.

Because you can work directly with another user within the network, no third-party is ever involved. You can get the information you need and the transaction you want to be done easier and faster. It also allows you to retain your identity and reputation without worrying too much about what third parties might do to you otherwise.

Truly, decentralization doesn’t just cut out the middle man but also saves time, money, and other related resources that would have only been exploited by greedy institutions. And ultimately, decentralization has one thing to offer that is the most valuable of all: freedom.

With decentralization as a rule and a governing method, all users regardless of race, color, gender, and location can freely use the internet without fear or apprehension. It is important to consider however, that although decentralization is already prominent in blockchains and cryptocurrencies, experts declare that the entirety of the internet would still have a long way to go before it gets totally decentralized.

The good thing however is the trend is already starting and is strongly becoming the norm for many web institutions.

Patents and Intellectual Property

We’ve heard a lot about copyright and piracy problems already, chances are we might have even done our fair share of participation that worsened those problems one way or another. You have also most likely heard about songs or even melodies allegedly stolen by some musicians from other artists. We’ve also heard a lot already about entire novels being stolen by other writers and publishing those books as their own.

But with blockchain, artists, writers, inventors, as well as anyone who relies on their creativity for a living could have greater peace of mind. By publishing their creations to a blockchain community first, and then to publishing houses later, the structure of their writings could be forever engraved digitally.

Once an artist or writer publishes some material with very near exactness, the blockchain system could immediately alert the real owner or even the fans of those artists. This means that intellectual property robbers could be easily detected and pinpointed. This can make the police’s job easier, if not a little less relevant.

When a writer or artist submits his or her creations into a blockchain, any piece of literature, poetry, music, or invention manuscript could be attributed to the real owner regardless of how many times those documents could be passed on to countless people.

Since blockchain components are virtually impossible to modify, the real author of any type of digital content could be always credited because his digital signature will always be present no matter where it goes. So whenever a piece of writing is being read by someone, or if a certain song is being listened to by some audience, that information could also be added to the blockchain.

That information will then be linked back to the original source, which could be the author’s monetization webpage. The total number of views generated will always be recorded transparently which will result in a totally fair allocation of payment for the real artists or authors.

Such a method will be truly helpful indeed for those who only depend on publishing internet content as a means of livelihood. If this gets totally implemented, those days of attending court sessions, and waiting for long periods for investigations to finally unravel will be totally gone into obsolescence.

Politics and Elections

As of these times, voting happens either on paper or via special-purpose computers. With paper-based elections, it poses a lot of concerns that include a great expense in the printing of ballots and other related paraphernalia.

With electronic voting, some security issues are also present, though it is much faster and more convenient than its paper counterpart. But there are problems with it as well. Some countries are even moving away from electronic voting and have gone back to paper voting because of fears that digital results can be tampered with and influenced by hackers.

As a solution, we could use blockchain instead. Such a system would be totally transparent because any voter can verify if his or her vote is counted by just viewing the blockchain. A Swiss company called Agora is already developing such a kind of system. The authors claim that it would be totally open-source, which means how it works can be investigated by anyone by looking at the program code of the system.

But implementing this could also present some serious problems. One is that you have to verify the validity of a vote without compromising the privacy of the voter, otherwise, the whole point of the election process would amount to nothing.

Another thing is that if voters can just vote using their individual devices such as phones, tablets, or computers, we can’t be sure if those devices are not infected with various kinds of malicious software. Even if the blockchain is highly secure, inputting compromised data would result in a compromised chain of information.

This is undoubtedly a challenging thing to implement, but with meticulous planning and execution, it can truly revolutionize the way election and politics are handled and managed. It will provide a faster outcome, while at the same time generate smaller expenses.