Why simple and understandable uses for blockchain are necessary
There is so much chatter about blockchain right now. “Blockchain will change the world!” And I do believe that someday we will see a new crypto economy. However, we must also try to keep our feet on the ground when it comes to brilliant sounding, but potentially non-reachable ideas.
So how do we make the most of blockchain now? It is projects like Photochain — those that are needed now and are useful now — that will pave the way for public understanding. These types of projects also allow real world “testing” of blockchains for the more technically difficult projects to come, for the benefit of developers and also for regulators alike.
Relatively simple blockchain use cases like Photochain show how blockchain can be used to take an existing business model to the next level. By removing the need for a middle man, all the benefits of the platform go to the users rather than the intermediaries.
Not quite living up to expectations
Let’s take a look at the original blockchain, Bitcoin, to see how initially great ideas can go awry. Bitcoin was designed to be a purely peer-to-peer version of money. No need for banks or other intermediaries, so financial transactions could be faster and cheaper.
However in reality, bitcoin transactions currently take up to a day (rather than the 60 minutes that was foretold), transactions cost more than $20 (on par with banks), and rather than bitcoin’s main use in financial transactions, it’s more known as an alternative investment asset.
Due to public understanding, development and regulatory complexities associated with such grand ideas, the original plan hasn’t yet come to fruition. Bitcoin itself has divided the development community due to the technicals and we have seen many alternatives of the bitcoin protocol arise to challenge bitcoin as a fulfilment of the original whitepaper.
Blockchain for all
Truth-be-told, many blockchain concepts are just not that user friendly, especially for users who have no idea about blockchain. Addresses, crypto wallets and decentralised databases are new concepts to many and for those without a technical grounding, are a bit difficult to get their head around. Blockchains are network technologies, so for truly successful uses, they need to be understandable and readily mass adoptable.
Many projects make assumptions on how the public will adapt to them and believe that they have simple and intuitive user interfaces. However, this isn’t always the case.
Photochain has been designed with this simplicity in mind. All transactions will happen using the Decentralized Application’s in house crypto token — the Photon. When a buyer purchases a photo, Photons are automatically deducted from the buyers wallet and sent to the receivers wallet. There is no need for copy and pasting of addresses, calculating transaction fees or to access different cryptocurrency wallets to make the transfer.
Also with Photochain, the blockchain aspect is hidden from public view for the most part. The only time they would really come into contact with the blockchain is if they want to view their transaction post-purchase of images. You can see this for yourself on the Photochain Prototype Demo.
Blockchains also provide difficulty for regulators and governance. The more complex an idea, the more resources and understanding is needed by regulators. Simple, effective use cases such as Photochain are much easier to understand, and allow regulators to build an effective regulatory framework for future blockchain projects.
Are we there yet?
Since its inception in 2008, blockchain has evolved from the stuff of fantasy to pique the public’s understanding of how we transact with one another. Now that the blockchain hype is finally settling, in 2018 we will see many uses of this fantastic technology that are easily accessible to all.
Photochain will revolutionise the stock photography industry, as will many other blockchain projects in their own respective fields. From there we will be able to build onwards and upwards to bigger and more daring ideas.
