Carl Munson: Michael, some say the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency will be as significant to society as the Internet has turned out to be. Do you agree?
Also, some say the 'crypto-space' and ICO (Initial Coin Offering) trend is like the Wild West!
What's your view on this? And where's a good place for people to start like my friend Darren, above?
Michael Brodie: There seems to be little doubt that Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Both provide solutions to the problems that many perceive as blocking human social development.
The Internet provided people with the opportunity to connect across continents with ease, but what Blockchain and cryptocurrencies look as if they will do is help people to self-organise without the need for strong hierarchies. That may dramatically change the geopolitical organisation of the world, at least as much as the internet has already done.
Regarding ICOs, whether ICOs are like the Wild West, depends on what that means to you, freedom to explore or violent grabbing. I guess that there's some of both in ICOs, just as in any other human activity.
It always pays to be prudent and informed in any activity. But also to be aware of the risks of avoiding risk. All life involves elements of risk, and it is easy to ruin lives by a paranoid attempt at avoidance of risk.
Finally, for Darren. It only matters if it's something that interests him. Google and Wikipedia are amazing tools to find out about anything, and if he's intrigued I'd have thought he'd already started reading about it. If not, I guess he's better getting on with his life as it is.
Carl: Thank you, insightful and tangential as ever!
Certainly Google and Wikipedia, those great gifts to humanity, are abundantly helpful, as is YouTube. I also find Max Keiser's 'Keiser Report' with Stacy Herbert a very light and entertaining gateway into this Rabbit Hole - https://www.rt.com/shows/keiser-report/
More specifically on the Blockchain, Manuel Stagars' documentary - 'The Blockchain and Us' - is a great primer, see below.
With crypto', a wise man once told me to effectively 'play' with a small amount, maybe the amount of money I'd be happy to spend on a meal-out, and therefore happy to kiss goodbye.
For me, it was a £25 stake that helped me understand how to buy digital currency, what exchanges and wallets are, the diversity of currencies, and how to watch your 'money' rise and fall, sometimes drastically. He forgot to mention buying some brown trousers (-;
This approach also led me into some small ICO investments and certainly a wider understanding of how the Blockchain, 'Crypto' and tokens can, and probably will, change our lives - MASSIVELY!
Given that the Blockchain is central to it all, start here Darren:
To be continued...
ONversations are where OurNet's Michael Brodie (CEO) and Carl Munson (Community Builder) showcase the project's founding principles and key premises through conversations, ahead of the platform relaunch later this year.
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