~ Kelli Lee on November 27, 2016
Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, wrote an article outlining what is believed to be the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a technological revolution having the capacity to change almost everything as we know it today. Now, I know what you may be thinking, but no, this is not a Sci-Fi blog, the evidence exists, it's just a matter of finding and making sense of it. So we want to help with that.
.... Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. ~Klaus Schwab
Over the last few weeks we have provided several blogs on related topics, Blockstack, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Centralized vs Decentralized Social Media Platforms and today we will cover Synereo. Synereo is the name of a blockchain startup founded in 2014 by Dor Konforty and Greg Meredith.
We're fundamentally redesigning the way the Internet works - so that it works for everyone. ~Synereo
Synereo has a vision of building the Internet fueled by decentralization, powered by blockchain. Finding our way back to the roots of the Internet, with safety and security built in. While allowing anyone, such as you and I, to create decentralized applications (dApps) with relative ease. Why is this significant to you? There should be several reasons why this is significant but in order to really understand we should just start at the beginning:
- The age of the Internet dates back 40 years and throughout that time has undergone several makeovers.
- The number of computers connected to the internet continues to grow exponentially and now there are more than 3 billion internet users! Meaning, the networks reach is global and it wasn't until 1995 the internet was fully commercialized in the US.
- The internet was designed to be decentralized... which we have forgotten over the years.
- With the increasing popularity of the internet came many unforeseen and unintended consequences, such as, identity theft, fraud of every kind, centralized entities holding your data hostage, those pesky hackers, malicious software, scams, spam of all kinds... need we say more?
- Everything we own will soon be internet connected, likely all of the time.
This level of control over your information and communication is unprecedented, creating issues of privacy, data security, and information manipulation - not to mention freedom of expression. But, what if we could go back to the original, decentralized nature of the Internet?~ Synereo
Well what do you think? Can we go back to the original decentralized nature of the Internet? Can we all work together to make this dream a reality? Let's hope so, because our future depends on it! So what happened? Why did the Internet go from a decentralized to centralized design? Lets take a look at a few reasons:
- 1995-2001(ish) brought the dot-com bubble which gave new life to groups of highly motivated entrepreneurs who were inspired to bring the power of the internet to more and more people. There is nothing wrong with sharing!
- The result? Mainstream internet paved the way for centralized services to come in and "manage" all of your needs.
- Centralized systems were and are easier to make profits alongside being easier to control all aspects. After all, they are centralized.
- Do you realize that everyday while using a centralized service such as Facebook or Google, you're agreeing to giving up your data, relinquishing ownership over your data, allowing it to be sold to advertisers and selected individuals/ companies, authorizing targeted marketing and all for what?
- Do you see any of that profit in your bank account? Do you know when and where your data is shared, accessed, sold, traded.... all of the above?
- Did we choose convenience over decentralization? Did you even know we made a choice?
- Better yet, was a choice actually presented?
During this dawn of a new Internet era we currently have a choice. Many choices in fact, many very important choices. Right now and in the coming years blockchain technology has the power to bring us back to decentralized Internet. We have an opportunity to take back ownership and control over our data, whether it be medical records, music and artistry, photos and videos, emails, communication, social media, digital identities, you name it.
As the result of more than 6 years of development, and building on decades of academic research, our unparalleled tech stack - with a novel, next-gen blockchain technology at its core - allows anyone the chance to run their own distributed server software, right on their local machine, and join our free, egalitarian, secure and private network - or create one of their very own. ~ Synereo
Alongside Synereo are a variety of blockchain startups, for instance Ethereum, each having their differentiating factors. It is worth taking the time to read a few blogs or watch a few TED talks about this topic because this is just the beginning! For now, here are a few other blockchain proposals taking the world by storm:
- What if you had complete control over your medical records? Not just the ability to view your test results online or in a digital format, but you actually owned that data and could lend it out, rent it out or sell it to people who were interested in using that data? But the important factor here is that you have the control, instead of a centralized agency presenting options to you.
- Neha Narula: The future of money | TED Talk | TED.com
- Alex Tapscott: "Blockchain Revolution" | Talks at Google