Source: Credit to DOC Trucker - edited with Canva
If I were to solve one of the five problems that the world is facing today (i.e. Unemployment, Illiteracy, Homelessness, Animal cruelty and Organised crime), my first choice is to solve unemployment since it is the elephant in the room globally. But, the high unemployment topic is much deeper than just lacking enough jobs for people. One needs to be able to "read and write" to get a decent job or be somebody's boss. I call it "decent" job because I feel that there is a need for people to identify and benchmark the worth of our time vs the complexity of the job given to us.
HIVE ecosystem has exposed us to the worth of being able to "Read||Write||Own" monetize our original thoughts. We know that literacy is required for a quality post - we know that the time and activities we do have a price tag if packaged in a good quality post. We also know that being unique is what sells the most. Thus we cannot address unemployment in isolation from literacy in the digital era which is the future of our economic empowerment.
Why advocate for everyone to be literate?
The job industry is not having any pity party for anyone - because most are looking for competence structured by institutions that assume to know what is best for everyone. It is not everyone who aims to fit in with sustainable jobs like lawyers, doctors, or engineers. Some brilliant minds are excluded through a structured system but the knowledge we get from "structured learning" can never replace the wisdom that comes from each individual's life experience.
Platforms like Hive embrace that uniqueness and originality as skills that sell the most. The nice thing about blockchain platforms is they do not use a model like that of structured institutions for one to gain financial freedom. Being able to read and write in Blockchain ecosystems can be enough skill to solve our financial problems by just trading our time and effort - The fun part is time wasted in doing something can be regained if you can look back and post about that experience on hive.
What is the feasible solution to unemployment?
One thing to clear out is not to confuse being literate with being educated. Being illiterate means not being able to read any one of the 7,117 link existing languages in the world. This also means not being able to access written information for self-improvement.
Web 3.0 and blockchain have motivated everyone to learn to read and write. We can't learn all languages, but there is progress in getting most of them translated. This means language will not be a limiting factor if one was to use platforms like Hive to tackle the unemployment problem. Then with all this progress, what if a platform like Hive gets integrated into early childhood learning? And in syllabi where schools create their communities for different subjects - learners can post their homework and even write essay contests. What could be better than getting paid for doing your homework on time?
Source: Cover for the Movie My Homework Ate My Dog
I am sure we will have little Jonny or Lyle doing his homework, keeping it away from the dog and being the first to engage with other learners on the hive platform. We will probably have little Karin posting to share her honest opinion on essays that lack substance. Perhaps the downvotes will be all young Karin and the bully need to straighten up. There is a high chance for this strategy to get kids enthusiastic about learning to read and write at a young age when there is a touchable price for it. Most kids would aim to earn money for gadgets that Santa never bothers to put on his list. They would probably grow their account to invest in other projects when they start adulting.
Motivating for innovation instead of aid
Countries with lower Human Development Index have been receiving aid for the longest time - One being funding to improve literacy and education. But what if the focus shifts more funds to equipping schools with tools that are aligned with the digital era?
Source: Credit to Charmain Z. Brackett - Donations to Freedom Park School
We can have private schools to share a common ground with public schools. Schools will have a platform for posting about their homework, and book club, and have kids showcasing their talents. This initiative will make kids look forward to learning and being literate. It would be refreshing to have school communities full of posts about the books they are reading or how they are spending holidays. This will improve both writing and reading skills, but in their mind, it will be about aiming to publish engaging content and being creative for curation.
Philanthropists can even donate to those schools through a blockchain-like hive where everyone can be aware of any misuse of funding. Other schools can adopt strategies that work for others by following their community. Kids can showcase their talent for curation - they get to learn with the hope of being a good content creator and earning. The read||write||own method will also shift their focus from thinking about their affordability or score to making it to the universities. The enthusiasm to learn and earn will shape their future and not necessarily have the high institution decide what is best for them.
There is a safety concern when exposing kids to the internet world.
But you will be shocked to see the stats that it's the people we know that we should fear the most - Numbers don't lie!
These are my ideas shaped by thoughts of how the future will look like if kids were to be systematically exposed to a blockchain-like hive at an early age through school.
