Decentralized Internet

Decentralised Internet

“With great power, comes great responsibility.”  

                -Ben Parker 

The central idea, of any democratic institution has always been the 

decentralization of power. However, power can never be decentralized , 

without a proportionate decentralizion of responsibility . This dream 

of a true democracy has been stifled throughout history for millenia , 

ever since it was founded by ancient Greeks. Many have tried to kill it, 

through fearmongering, and spreading distrust among fellow humans , 

but the dream lived on, and continues to live on. 

This dream is finally being realized by the advent of a 

decentralized mode of interaction , the decentralized internet.

Let us compare the 3 broad phases(couldn't find a better word) of internet. 

Internet 1, was simply a read only medium. 

Magazines or newspapers could publish their articles online 

for audiences to view. That was the extent of it. Internet 2.0 , 

gave a lot more freedom to people. That was when they started creating 

their own content. It started as people simply writing posts or blogs, 

but quickly grew into people expressing themselves in many new forms, 

which in turn led to the explosion of multimedia content 

which is so readily available to us. 

However, this content too is mostly available in very few platforms , 

like Google and Twitter . Internet 3.0 is the first instance where 

people can create their assets and own them . The internet will still 

belong to big tech companies , but the creators will be compensated in 

crytpocurrencies for their assets. Every exchange between all members

 of that particular community is maintained by a ledger , unique to that network.

 This makes is decentralized, as even though the internet is owned 

by a handful companies, the interactions within the community are 

owned collectively by the members of the community, each member having

as much hold as his or her contribution.

Now  to the technology itself, blockchain. A blockchain can be interpreted

as many things , depending on the application and the user’s background.

I’ll be covering the simplest aspect, that of a decentralized ledger.

The most reliable government records, are tax records.

Al Capone, in spite of all the crimes he had committed , 

ultimately went to jail for tax evasion. Now that the importance of records 

have been established, let us look into the nature of this record. 

This decentralized ledger is unique, because it is not maintained 

by any one person, and it records transactions of all members involved.

To start with, each member contributes a certain sum say 50 bitcoin,

( any currency will do) , into the network. That is what the ledger has stored.

Now the members are free to withdraw from or deposit to from the common pool of money, and exchanges are noted in the ledger. 

The entire chain of transactions, whether the members interact directly 

with the common pool, or among themselves, is stored. 

In case of conflict, the longest chain is kept, as it has records of 

the most recent transactions. 

Thus people can interact with complete strangers, 

without really having to rely on one particular entity or institution , 

and yet are able to trust their peers. This has massive implications, 

as being seen all around the globe. Transactions are faster, much more reliable, 

and at much lower premiums than conventional transfers , example wire transfer.

 As an example let us say we want to aid victims of a flood or earthquake, 

if they are connected we can simply verify their location and transfer the money.

 Granted we need to take many more steps to improve , but it’s a start. 

In conclusion, I would like readers to think about the consequences of living 

in a truly decentralized network, where our rewards are fair, proportionate to 

our efforts, where systems are secure and our privacy is protected. Sounds 

utopian, but it’s happening. And it is our duty, our responsibility to ensure 

we exercise our gifts responsibly.