Blockchain is a Gimmick

It seems as humans we are always looking for that shortcut in life. Which often leads to a plethora of gimmicks. It would be nice if there was one thing solved all the problems of mankind… for $19.95 per month, If only.

Much like my headline, people use blockchain as a step to get attention. Even if they haven’t a clue on what it does. I overheard a few nerd-lingers (I mean this in the most affectionate way possible) at a coffee shop say their LinkedIn profile got more hits after they put blockchain in their title. My little man bun wearing neighbors were onto something, a buzzword. Take into consideration the Long Island Iced Tea company renaming their company to Long Blockchain and their stock rose 289 percent. How dumb are we? Maybe Elon Musk was right. This is all just a simulation…. of stupidity.

Like their man buns and their overwhelming burning scent of patchouli, my coffee addicted neighbors adorn themselves with more than just bad style choices but choices of those around them based on influence. Blockchain is no different. Often I find people saying that they bought bitcoin and made money quickly but they don’t know how or why it happened. This is no different than the pet rock. Its purchasing based on the fear of missing out and perhaps to be included. Now, before you get your troll engine all fired up, before you think about some witty response to this post because you are a facebook-tough-guy, realize I’m actually a huge fan of blockchain. I just believe in talking about how it can help us and not creating hype around the price of bitcoin.

I’m also not a fan of talking heads going back and forth on a technology they know nothing about. I know what you are thinking, It's unfair of me to pick on CNBC. If the viewers think they will manage their retirement account by listening to Jim Cramer rant his senile banter then I suppose they will get what is coming to them. Or maybe not, seems like CNBC ratings are at a 22 year low, I supposed no one is watching anyhow. I suppose desperate people do desperate things. A series of click bait and half-truths can hardly be a strategy for a CNBC rebound. I honestly can’t blame them because they cover so many companies and they just have a surface knowledge of what they are talking about. Except for the fact they launched CNBC Crypto. If you watch this, its literally the same crap as before. Its as if Jim Cramer is behind the curtain making endless video memes. We all know that CNBC prides themselves in interviewing Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan which by the way was found by Swiss regulators breaking money laundering laws.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer of Mad Money — Image: Wiki Creative Commons

I suppose we should stay on topic and off the dirty “laundry.” The real issue here is that CNBC lacks competent journalists to talk about anything blockchain related and constantly broadcasts the “PRICE OF BITCOIN” fueling hype. It's not just CNBC, It’s your UBER driver who tells you BUY BUY BUY but can’t tell you why or even what it is your buying. It’s your hairstylist telling you that it's the next big thing. All this to say, greed is a funny thing. If only there was more to this blockchain gimmick. So the whole “Bitcoin-is-a-ponzi-scheme” comment is another ploy to get people in for the fear of missing out. Affectionately known as #FOMO. The last guy in is the first loser.

Ah, right that’s where this led me to write this to begin with. What is blockchain? Simply put a distributed ledger system with massive potential to do really good. It should be thought of as the global brain. It reminds me of what the Internet was in the early 90’s and now we are at the cusp of a new paradigm shift. During my tenure of what was to be one of the largest internet companies at the time.(VERIO) I had people question my direction of life choices. I was even told that the Internet wouldn’t amount to anything and it was all hype. Was it? When it comes to bitcoin, ethereum or whatever coin you choose, sure you can use it for financial transactions but that is so short sighted and narrow. Ask yourself what could we fix in the world if some facts were brought to light? I will agree that not everything must be brought to light. Confidentiality exists for a reason. What if the information we call “Public Information” was really public and didn’t require a trip to your municipality and a $5 xerox copy when you know as well as I do it shouldn’t cost $5 when we pay taxes every year.

What if we talked about the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. Keeping track of marriage licenses and real-estate property is cute idea but take it a step further and just put a whole government on the blockchain. That is what BitNation is doing. What a novel idea! A transparent government! I mean when we talk of corruption of human power we often gravitate to government and rightfully so. Seems like many conflicts have happened in government when things are hidden and some hero comes and bring it to light and a revolution then begins. Why not just cut the crap and keep everyone on the same page? I’m oversimplifying the concept as I don’t want to come off like I am endorsing them. I am just a fan of people really thinking of what the future could look like sans gimmicks. Of course we will have growing pains and privacy concerns but these kind of growing pains have always been the motivating force behind innovation. My early days of the internet proved to be some of the same struggles but also led to amazing ideas.

Marine life is facing the largest threat in human history — Photo: © Jeremy McKane 2017 / lucidproject.org

At this very moment we are faced with an unprecedented environmental catastrophe, why are we not looking to our smartest innovators to solve the biggest issues? I started referring to this as “Blockchain for Good”. It will not be the future generations that solve the planet’s biggest ecological issues. It is this generation that will solve these issues. We are destroying our oceans at an alarming rate. I’m not for a second going to say blockchain is the solution but it could be the path. Can we use blockchain technology and AI to track how we use plastics or how effective we are when it comes to keeping it out of the ocean? What about keeping track of fishing habits? We are in a bad spot and now we are hurting the very thing that gives us breathable air. This is just some of the things I think about as I look for ways to make a difference. Can we use technology to offset damage done to the oceans? I’d like to think so. Our “innovation” has created the problem in the first place. Seems logical we can counteract.

My point is that there are real uses outside of just finance and the “Price of Bitcoin.” I think news outlets are talking about price because we all understand profit, but at what cost? I think we all understand breathing but yet we keep our eyes closed to the worlds biggest issues. I believe the blockchain can be the fuel for innovation. Like what the United States was once known for. As a whole, I think we’ve gotten lazy and the thought of easy money is more motivating than doing the right thing. My deepest gut feeling thinks we can do the right thing and still make money. I’m not asking the leaders of the world to sit around a fire and sing kumbaya. Maybe they could hug more but, I digress. Could we come up with new business models that also benefit the life support system on the planet? To destroy the one thing that provides breathable air on spaceship earth is ludicris! The real question or perhaps test is, can we look past the greed and find the solutions within?