The Better Web Begins: Po.et Hits Mainnet
Po.et is building the bridge to a better web, and today we’re excited to announce that the first major mile marker on our journey has been reached.
Po.et is officially ready for mainnet.
As I mentioned last week, Po.et as a protocol is more than just where the information lives. To us, the move to mainnet signifies that Po.et as a technology is open for all to use. We set out to build an environment where creators can have access to the first building blocks for bringing blockchain-enabled technologies to new and existing applications. If we are going to change the way the world works, we need to put the power in the hands of those who will build that change. It’s a limited view to assume what the applications for a better web will be, which is why we gave the keys to all of you.
Po.et is a protocol for creativity, a place where the next generation of the web will be constructed with a focus on interoperability, reputation and ownership. By providing these core values in our protocol, applications can build on the ethos of the better web, whether that’s through a marketplace, a wallet, the next social platform or the tools to enable a truly decentralized media economy.
We believe that technology is most powerful when it’s driven and supported by a community of humans, which is why Po.et’s success is tied directly to the technical fundamentals of the Bitcoin blockchain. These opportunities are endless. This is where the world is going and our job is not to keep you out; it’s to let you in. This is the bridge to a better web, and now we’re on the other side ready to build the future. Together.
Po.et on mainnet means a focus on the future of claims and what a verifiable web looks like. Building new values that expose the work, ethics and ingredients that go into a creative thought will not just drive a better consumer experience but enable creators to do what they do best without vanity metric distractions. We are laying down the foundation for the next generation of creative tools, applications and technologies.
Our initial explorations of the protocol focused on getting out an MVP that allowed us to have real conversations about real implementations. We’ve seen dozens of projects start to work with Po.et and get hooked on the possibilities that we can bring to the market. Most of these have been internal proofs of concept, but we also have developers building apps like the Po.et Publisher. Our Frost API layer has made it dead simple for people to integrate Po.et without having to know anything about blockchain technology. To everyone who has given feedback about how we can make Po.et better, thank you so much for reaching out to contribute.
Po.et the protocol is not just a foundation but an inspiration for future development. David Turner, Po.et’s head of product, put it best in his recent report:
If you look hard enough, you’ll see Po.et at the beginning of a spectacular journey that enables completely new stories that will shape the decentralized web:
Put together your own search engine ranking system by picking highly trusted curators that only use high-quality content
Creators can invest in validating claims about their content to ensure its authenticity, originality and subject matter in order to make more money
Brands can be sure that their logo is only being used against approved pieces of content
Find other people trying to claim your content as their own to protect your intellectual property
Establish a provable chain of custody for your academic paper
Marketplaces that fight for your listings and reward loyalty
As you can see, this is just the first step in a world of opportunity for dreamers to build the web we all deserve. We believe that our community is everything. Having everyone involved helps us strengthen the network that powers the protocol and builds new standards for reputation to guide this better web. The platform will introduce hundreds, thousands and, hopefully, millions of products driven on decentralized ownership and discovery. We will change the signals and values we identify for success and move toward an ecosystem that is built by those who create.
Today, this future is real.
We’re incredibly excited to show you what we’ve been building at Po.et. To get started, please dive into the latest documentation below:
Migration Guide- As of today, you can now record your creative works on the Bitcoin mainnet, securing the proof of their existence on the world’s most robust blockchain. To find out how to get started, please see our beta user migration guide:
Mainnet Means Maturity- We set out with a very specific roadmap of what moving to Bitcoin’s mainnet would take from us so that we would feel very comfortable and excited that we’re going down the right path. We identified five key areas to hammer on that signify the work and effort that went into this milestone:
Breaking Down Po.et: The Architecture — Po.et has a very basic goal: to use cryptographically signed messages about a hash that have been secured to a public blockchain as the basis for building a new web. In this article, we provide some clarity on the architectural decisions that make Po.et unique and explain how everything fits together:
Breaking Down Po.et: The Stages of the Protocol — There are four high-level stages to how we describe the Po.et protocol: describe, record, listen and curate. Each of these represents a logical grouping of technologies and functionalities that make up our protocol. All of the work from the latest milestone fits within the “describe” and “record” stages. While the engineering team continues to build enhancements on the protocol, we are laying the foundation for the next phase of our project:
Po.et Documentation — To coincide with our mainnet launch, we’ve also updated our technical documentation for developers. You can view it here:
The Po.et Glossary — In preparation for our push toward writing claims to mainnet, we gathered up some of the common terminology from our documentation:
Closing out our “Road to Mainnet” milestone signifies a critical step in Po.et’s maturity. The launch of mainnet signifies something way bigger than just a technical achievement; it’s a commitment to building a future together. There are no limits to what can be done on the web, just as there are no limits to what can be done and achieved on the Po.et protocol.
We look forward to seeing, supporting and celebrating all that you will build with us. Here’s to a better web!
