Decentralization is the Future: Why Centralized Systems will Fail and Nothing is Permanent

Nothing is permanent, even in this digital era.

It’s been a common saying that “whatever you post online will be out there forever!”

However, this is just NOT true. Your Facebook pictures will not be there forever. Your G-Mail emails will not last forever. Your GoogleDrive files will not exist indefinitely.

As long as these systems are controlled by central corporations, if that corporation goes bankrupt or shuts down operations, you will lose your data.

WHAT IS CENTRALIZATION

The official definition reads:

the concentration of control of an activity or organization under a single authority. — Google Search(a terrible company in my opinion)

Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not some anti-corporation, ultra libertarian BTC miaximalist. I’ve spent years of my life building a digital marketing business and growing hundreds of thousands of fans on social media.

Capitalism is the ultimate economic system. The people (mostly)drive the markets, and now more and more people are deciding to support decentralized systems over centralized authority or corporations.

WHY IS CENTRALIZATION BAD?

Just as the United States founding fathers knew that power in the hands of a small group is easily corrupted, so corporations controlling our data, invading our personal lives, and being involved in every decision we make, can lead to destructive consequences.

It’s not that these things are inherently evil, but as a result of years of data breaches, data abuse, and platform censorship, many people are becoming more welcoming of crypto currencies, decentralization and ultimately taking personal responsibility for your own identity, finances, data, and information.

A fact of life is that you can not put blind trust in anyone! People are easily tempted and easily corrupted. Decentralization is all about taking people out of the equation, removing the need to trust others, and creating a system that is more open, automated, and ultimately free of human interference.

By removing the easily corruptible and untrustworthy middleman, we can become even more connected than ever before.

THE WAKE UP CALL

This morning, I had the ultimate wake up call when years of my personal life, all of my facebook pictures, and all of the facebook pages and popular groups I managed, was simultaneously shut down because my account was deleted.

Not only was my account deleted in an instant and without warning, not only was years of my business and hard work completely cut off from me, but all of this was as a result of FAKE COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT reports that some unnamed “third party” decided to file against me. (It was my own content that I posted, full 100% own the commercial rights to it, that’s how I know the copyright infringement reports were fake.)

In a world where centralized systems can make decisions about your data, censor your content, and decide on a whim to remove you completely from their platform, we can begin to see a shift in general public opinion from being fanboys about certain brands (Facebook vs. MySpace), to completely shunning any and all brand loyalty in favor of convenience and self interests.

ITS NOT ALL SUNSHINE

Of course, with anything that is free, and open, and unregulated, and anonymous, the darker side of humanity tends to shine through even brighter.

There are many “open” posting board websites you can visit and see how disgusting humans can really be. Is complete censorship really the answer though?

If someone says something you don’t like, does that mean the PLATFORM has to remove that person to bend to your will? Does that not make you a corruptible, over powered individual?

And what does this mean for copyright holders? If unregulated systems and social networks exist, does it not mean that copyrights can be totally abused and destroyed?

Yes, all of these things are possible. However, it is important to realize that “Decentralized” does not automatically mean “Unregulated.”

There are many ways to created a decentralized system that is still able to be moderated or controlled. Master nodes, arbitrators, public forums, all of these things can be utilized to help create more “reasonably regulated” places; This is assuming that these groups of individuals aren’t all in cahoots with each other as we have seen with criticism of Seemit, a supposedly decentralized posting board that is allegedly controlled by a very small group of the founder’s friends.

HISTORY TENDS TO RUN IN OPPOSITES

Every so often the general population sways between opinions, people are not so set in their ways as we want to believe. New generations emerge with different perspectives and thoughts on things.

One term a republican president wins, the next, Democrats become the new trend. People change with the tides all the time. And at this particular point in history, the public is start to make a shift towards decentralized systems vs. completely controlled and centralized companies.

History tends to repeat itself, and based on how humanity has oscillated between extremes in the past, you can be certain that decentralized platforms have a very bright future ahead!

WHY WILL CENTRALIZED COMPANIES FAIL?

Of course, no one can predict the future with certainty. Look at the big picture, don’t pay attention to the current trends. Everything thought MySpace was the biggest thing and look what happened to it.

Facebook, Twitter, and Google have long stood the test of time, and I believe these companies are very good at adapting to new technology and evolving with the times. The Facebook that first came out is a completely different beast to the current Facebook that exists.

In a sense, these platforms are constantly given new life with new updates and improved features. Constantly innovating is the way these companies are able to continue lasting throughout the years.

What is uncertain is how these companies will be able to innovate as we move closer to a decentralized reality? Will Facebook launch its own decentralized platform? Will Facebook completely decentralize itself? How will this affect its owners or shareholders? Does it even seem possible for Facebook, Twitter, or Google to do such a thing?

The fact that (true) decentralization goes completely against the self interests of many of these corporations makes it very difficult to imagine how exactly they can compete or adapt?

There are definitely some benefits to having centralized systems, so I don’t believe ALL businesses or platforms necessarily need to be decentralized. When I go to a restaurant, I don’t expect “decentralized” volunteer chefs to handle my food!

A decentralized future doesn’t mean decentralized everything. But it does mean decentralizing the core elements that society holds dearest, mainly our identities and our finances.

When it comes to liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom from corruptible control, it seems that for social media platforms, their days are numbed.

MODERN DECENTRALIZED SYSTEMS ARE STILL IN THE EARLY DAYS

The current “decentralized social networks” that exist as of today still need a lot of work before they can be competitive with Twitter, Facebook, or Google.

I am trying to be realistic here, as much as I want to support the new revolution, these UI designs, their overall marketing campaigns, and platform niches are still in their very early days!