Nothing Ventured, Nothing Blockchained: A Dive Into the World of The Hyperledger Blockchain

This past fall I enrolled in “Blockchain for Business — An Introduction to Hyperledger Technologies” on edX. edX is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider, originally created by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The course, itself, was created by people involved with the Hyperledger project at the Linux Foundation.

The “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Blockchained” series posts will follow my experience first with the course and then with the Hyperledger blockchain, in general. By writing about my experiences publicly I’ve learned that I’m more apt to achieve the goals I’ve put out for myself (or be publicly ridiculed) and I’m more likely to understand what I’m working on through writing about it.

In addition to covering the course and my understanding of the blockchain, I will also use these posts to consider ways to use the blockchain, be they for business, government, or non-profit use.

My goals for this series are to complete the edX course, to brainstorm uses for the Hyperledger blockchain, and, eventually, to start building Hyperledger blockchain applications.

Why should you read this series?

Maybe you’re interested in taking this course down the road and want to hear more about it. Maybe you’re interested in the Hyperledger blockchain and want to know more about that. Maybe you’re curious how many posts I can go without making a baseball reference. All good reasons to read along.

As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” To that end, here begins the Nothing Ventured, Nothing Blockchained series.

A heads up for those considering taking the course

The course is made up of eight chapters, all of which include short quizzes at the end. The course concludes with a final exam which represents 80% of one’s final grade. The quizzes and final exam are “open book” and require an 70% to pass the course (your correspondent completed the course with a 93%, if that sets you, diligent reader, at ease). Students can take the course for free or, if they wish to receive a certificate of completion, pay $99.

The course begins with a general overview of blockchain technology before focusing its content on the Hyperledger blockchain. It’s important to know this going into the course because if you want to learn about Bitcoin and the blockchain, this course is not for you. If you want to learn all about cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, this course is also not for you. If you want to know how organizations can use the blockchain, then yes, this course is for you. Still reading? Then welcome.

The course does a nice job of introducing concepts in a bite-sized manner, either in text or through short (often less than two minute, rarely more than five minute) videos. That being said, it does not always spell out some of the more difficult concepts or go into great detail. Fortunately for you, this series of posts will go where the course dared not go.

The course also helps those curious about developing Hyperledger blockchain applications by one, helping students install the necessary software on their computers, and two, by holding their hand to create their first blockchain applications using Hyperledger technology.

Lastly, the course introduces students to the Hyperledger project and its community. This is important because if you find yourself over your head anywhere along the line, these are the people who can throw you a life vest, get you back on the boat, and maybe, just maybe, give you a virtual pat on the back for braving the choppy waters of software development.

Because it is early days in the Hyperledger blockchain world, it’s still a small community and if you jump in now you can not only make some cool stuff, but make a name for yourself in the community.

That’s a broad overview of the course and some important stuff to know if considering taking it. Going forward we’ll go into more detail about specific subjects that the course addresses.

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More posts about this edX course and the Hyperledger blockchain to come.
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