Discussion on Distributed Messaging Platform

Apps
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I was pointed by David to this awesome forum. I am currently working on a proof of work for a messaging services that uses distributed data. First off, I have no technical background, only a decent knowledge about cryptocurrencies and experience as a concept writer. I believe that the concept that I am currently working on could be a very suitable use-case for SAFE and would like to discuss the possibility of a technical implementation with interested people. I already made some sketches that may be shared with interested peers.

Basic idea

The basic idea is a Messaging Service that is very comparable to Twitter. The main difference between a Twitter-like service and my proof of concept is:

  1. It is decentralized.
  2. It allows to share data
  3. Posting, retweeting, following, opening files costs “money”
  4. It rewards active nodes that with an internal currency
  5. Content can be controlled by allowing users to define a timeframe to remain in the system (much like the feature in SnapChat)

There is a project (Twister) that uses a blockchain to run a Twitter clone, however I am looking for something that allows to store large data and MaidSafe appearently allows both storing and sharing (with different people).

What is this concept about?

I originally started with working on a concept for a crowdfunding platform that allows cultural creatives (CC) (journalists, researchers, activists), to generate revenue on a regular basis for their engagement and activities (working title: supportR, the concept paper can be found here) comparable to services like Patreon or Flattr. (Please consider that this is not the proof of work that I am currently working on, but a prior, much different version).

While the original core of the concept was distribution of funds and communication the stuff that happens around, I realized that it is quite the opposite: Social networks already serve as the main generator to allow people “consuming” the products of cultural creatives.

ATM Twitter and other comparable services “reward” content generators for their activity with the chance to get attention. A lot of professional sectors, especially journalists and artists, but also activists and even scientists base their activities on this highly volatile currency that doesn’t pay you with anything than the chance to have higher income through advertisement or a better chance to get a paid job. There are several solutions to support these target groups with a regular income for their work (Patreon, Flattr) or with project funding (Kickstarter, IndieGogo, etc), however the platforms take quite a large cut, can deny you access to the system and are effectively unnecessary when you can integrate payments into a decentralized platform.

Also, the idea of “free services” is closely connected to the monetization of money by third parties. There is a growing awareness that services like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram “cost” you something, but most mainstream users see the alternatives.

I became intrigued by the idea that users are requested to pay for their activity within the network, but at the same time can earn by contributing to network stability. The basic idea, however, was a different one, that is: rewarding content creators based on the usage of their content.

Whenever users duplicate posts, refer to it, follow etc. a certain sum of the internatl currency is sent to the creator. This way additional to farming (sharing storage) users could generate value through posting content and profit through virality.

The idea is bit more complex and if someone is interested I can elaborate on that. This just as a start for interested folks to chime-in.

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I will dig deeper later, but I wanted to say I really like your style. Your concept writer experience really shows. Keep up the creating! It appears SAFE is perfect for you:)

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“Concept Creator” that’s a new one. How much do you get paid for that and where do I sign up?

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Will definitely read more of it but so far so good. The concept is solid and its nice your able to put your idea into paper. Safe would work perfectly for you with a little tweaks as to how the platform will operate. I think after the DEV bundle 1 on the roadmap is complete you can start to form a team of developers who can contribute to the technical aspect of your Concept :thumbsup:

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Was this idea formed with the knowledge that the Network rewards content providers directly and automatically.

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Actually Concept Creators/Writers are everywhere when it comes to management (in my case: research management). Our pay scale is regulated, so you can even look it up on the net if you wish :wink:

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No, not at all. I wrote this concept in the context of a use-case competition by Techemy and it´s pretty drafty as you can see. I created it months ago. Then I came up with Twister and really liked the idea to have a Twitter-like service on a blockchain. I didn´t think about the possibility that “farmers” could provide the data directly, so when I came up with SAFE I thought this could be a perfect platform.

However, as far as I understand SAFE rewards the provision of storage, not the provision of “good content”. Of course, there is no way to evaluate “good” in an absolute way. Here services like Twitter are really useful at evaluating social “meaning” by allowing users to interact with data. In Twitter good content is rewarded with Retweets and Favourites - in my concept they are rewarded with real money (much like Flattr, but in a different and imho much more simple way). Also with Twitter it is possible to “steal” from content creators by simply linking good content and then get the full “reward” (attention). Of course, being a multiplicator is also an important “work” in social networks, but it depends on the original content. With the proposed idea users wouldn´t have to link to the file as with Twitter, they could just upload the file or a whole repositorium of files. + they would have unique identificators that can serve as proof of existence which is particularly interesting for researchers.

So basically this would need to make a difference between contributing to the network by “farming”/providing storage and by providing good content.

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SAFE does in fact plan to reward good content and apps, or rather their creators. Search the forum for “app rewards”, “watermark”, “watermarked” or “content creators” and you’ll find some discussions on this. The final mechanism is subject to evaluation during the testnets, but last I heard it was planned to be a simple reward - effectively a cut of the farming reward generated on retrieval of data (content or app). So not a measure of content goodness, but popularity, and without a way of trying to adjust for the differences between content types.

I think its good to have something simple and robust built in, and I also think it will not work in all areas, so there will be opportunities for other models such as app stores, portals, or creator/developer collectives, sponsorship, and crowdfunding. And no doubt new models we’ve not seen yet, enabled by the openness of the space, and the new capabilities afforded on this technology with a built in scalable cryptocurrency that will be the first truly inclusive micropayment platform.

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I’m taking the piss mate.

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Don’t worry I didn’t take you serious.

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Haha, the irony is killing me!

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“This is a forum.
The very definition of forum is a place of discussion”

What was your point again?

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Yeah… I don’t think you get it…