Blockchain and the Future of Stories
How technology will help us tell better stories
In the near future, we will be intimately connected to the things we buy and the people who make them. This new level of human connection will be enabled by a technology that is just starting to emerge today called blockchain.
What this means for pizza
Let me explain how blockchains will change the way we think about something like food.
A pizza can seem like a simple thing.
But even a pizza contains ingredients from all around the world and requires the work of many different farmers, shippers, distributors, and kitchens to get to your plate.
Currently, most of this supply chain is hidden to us. We rely on blind trust in many transactions in our lives. We have to trust that this tomato is indeed organic.
But there are currently several well-funded companies working to bring blockchain technology to supply chain management.
What is a blockchain?
You’ve probably heard of blockchain technology — or at least bitcoin. If you’re like I was, these phrases probably hang nebulously in your head with other tech buzz words. But these concepts are worth understanding because they are a glimpse of what is to come and will impact businesses far beyond the hills of Silicon Valley.
More than Bitcoin
Bitcoin, you may know, is a digital currency. The technology it relies on is called a blockchain. In place of a central bank or authority, Bitcoin relies on a blockchain. Blockchains are what let you conduct transactions with individuals anywhere in the world in a way that is transparent with no central authority. A blockchain is simply a distributed database that keeps a list of timestamped records called ‘blocks’.
A blockchain is a list of records, or ‘blocks’.
So, a blockchain is a list of transactions. It is distributed, which means that the information isn’t owned by any particular entity but by a peer-to-peer network. And blockchains are open, meaning transactions are verifiable and publicly accessible.
When combined, this technology can enable a new level of trust through transparency and connection between people and goods.
The Transparent Pizza
If blockchains were introduced into the process of your pizza order, there would be a public record that traced each ingredient’s journey from seed to your plate. Soon, blockchains will enable us to track the movement of each ingredient in a way that is transparent and accessible.
This will usher in a new era of transparency.
We would be able to verifiably see if a tomato is organic, where it was planted, when it was harvested, how it was transported, when it arrived at the restaurant and when it was served to us.
And while this will improve customer experience, trust, and connection, there is also a huge opportunity for storytelling.
The Future of Storytelling
Consumers are increasingly interested in understanding the story of the items they buy. They want their products to reflect their values. Shoppers today are looking to brands to help them connect to other people.
By tracking and documenting each step of an object’s life, blockchains will introduce a new era of storytelling. When the entire lifecycle of any object is tracked and visible, companies will have the opportunity to tell extremely compelling product stories.
This seismic shift in consumer values, when paired with this technology, will create an enormous opportunity for brands with ethical sourcing and labor practices. Consumers are starving for stories that will help them connect to products and companies.
Blockchains will help consumers to make more informed choices. You won’t have to blindly trust the claims written on the packaging: ‘organic’ or ‘fair-trade’ — soon it will be verifiable. The best companies will reap the full benefits of this shift simply by telling their story.
Blockchain technology will answer the primary consumer demand of our age by creating a new standard of transparency and openness.
It will foster a new level of connection and advocacy between people, products, and corporations. All that will remain is for brands that are good to tell their story.
