#50dAppsin50Days : AKASHA
I’m officially kicking-off #50dAppsin50days with a review of AKASHA, an experimental decentralized social network powered by Ethereum & IPFS.
Before we begin, it’s probably a good idea for me to introduce myself to you..
Hey, I’m Jason. Nice to meet you.
Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege to work full time on blockchain projects at an amazing company called BlockApps. The experience at BA, in short, changed my life. I was introduced to what’s possible when people and technology are equal parts in creating the future. In the Ethereum community, I learned that no matter how amazing an individual is, a network of amazing people can amplify and expand ideas beyond any one individual’s imagination. I met talented engineers working to solve difficult theoretical problems and visionary entrepreneurs with wild aspirations to change the world. With each person I met, it became evident that there was something happening in the blockchain space that’s different from other areas of tech — it’s an entrepreneurial energy, it’s incredible and infectious. As I met more creatives and technologists with grand visions, I started realizing that our community can rethink mature markets, and say “hey, we can do it differently and better for everyone, not just the people at the top”. Anyways Hi! I’ve trained developers to write smart solidity smart contracts and I’m very excited to talk about the first dApp of #50dAppsin50days — AKASHA.
#50dAppsin50Days : AKASHA (Version 0.7.1) / Testnet
AKASHA is rethinking social media and publishing by decentralizing the data and control of a typical social media network. Powerful built-in micro transactions enable content to generate value incentivizing content creators to create good content. At face value, these two properties enable a censor-proof, fault-tolerant network with incentivizes that are directly aligned with the community. As per the documentation, AKASHA plans to release a Live Net version of this dApp in Q3 or Q4 of 2018.
Setup:
Set-up was easy enough — I opted for a desktop app/node. There was no need for Metamask or a similar wallet provider — everything is built-into the app. My first impression was how clean the interface looked — the minimalist palette felt right at home on my Mac. The difficult part about setting up a node was the time it took to sync. Even with the express sync, I waited for a little over an hour and a half to get on the network. For the initiated, a 1.5hr+ sync is nothing new, in fact, it can actually seem pretty fast. For the uninitiated, it’s a strange experience.
At this point, you’re probably wondering how you can try this out — easy just go to https://akasha.world/ and click the Desktop App.
Core Functionality:
If Social Network = share stuff and see what your friends are sharing, AKASHA hits the mark. To set expectations, think Twitter, not Facebook.
While there’s no way to show the value of having this platform run on a decentralized network on the interface, I was able to see the value of micro-transactions pretty quickly. After I posted content to AKASHA it was up-voted by the community and my post score and Essence increased.
AKASHA uses a combination of ETH, AETH, MANAfyd AETH, Essence & Karma to create a balance/counter balance to maintaining the network’s content and it’s quality (more on this below). AETH is a temporary currency that is only used on the testnet and will be replaced when AKASHA moves to the Ethereum Main Net.
Prior to interacting with the network, I was required to transform AETH into MANAfyd AETH through a process called staking. Staking in AKASHA matches the broadly used process by which you deposit some amount of value in a system to gain a benefit, such as access to a network or service. In this case, the benefit I received from staking AETH was the generation of MANAfyd AETH every 24 hours. Each up-vote, down-vote, comment, and post burn some amount of MANAfyd AETH. Burning MANAfyd AETH generates Essence which is then transferred to the user that posted the content. As users gain more Essence, they also gain more Karma. The more Karma a user has, the more they can do on the platform for cheaper. By this point if your head is spinning, don’t worry — there are several explainer docs for understanding this element of the AKASHA. It’s also important to highlight that the AKASHA team is still testing some elements of this process out, a friendly reminder that this app is still in testing.
You can learn more about AETH, MANAfyd AETH, Karma, & Essence.
Experience
Truly decentralized blockchain applications must manage unique user experiences, such as having users sign every transaction, or storing data in a decentralized manner. In this release, AKASHA has tried to incorporate tools to handle these situations. In regards to signing transactions, AKASHA generates a simple pop up that asks the user to confirm their actions. The addition of a helpful password memory tool improves ease of use by allowing AKASHA to store a password for up to an hour. Decentralized data storage is managed by distributing files across Inter-Planetary File Storage (IPFS). Outside of advanced configuration, the use of IPFS is seamless.
TL;DR
AKASHA is bringing blockchain technology to social media in the truest sense while making it easy to use for the everyday users. This dApp is still in testing.
Get involved: https://github.com/AkashaProject
The awesome team running this project: https://github.com/orgs/AkashaProject/people
