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Why does this need to have anything to do with blockchain technology? What do you gain over a central intermediary?

zitterbewegung 9y ago
Free marketing , ability to sound hip, and also a way to cheat and steal from your users . Also an completely automated bug bounty system
- themadryaner 9y ago
  The last part is not true. Blockchains are used for currencies like Bitcoin precisely because no one, not even the creators, can steal from someone once the money has been transferred, unless the new owner does not secure it properly.
- orange8 9y ago
  > a way to cheat and steal from your users So using a distributed blockchain database makes it easier for you to steal from your users than if you had a centrally controlled database. Really?
  - zitterbewegung 9y ago
    New tech always has security problems especially when it first comes out and the blockchain is no different. Then you can claim you had a security problem and act like you have been hacked. Wait for your "company" to die. Then run with the money.
king07828 9y ago
A properly traded cryptocurrency allows anyone to trade at anytime (so long as miners are still going), whereas a central intermediary may not be as liquid. Thus, the cryptocurrency route may include a liquidity premium
- mulmen 9y ago
  Is there any cryptocurrency that is more liquid than the US Dollar? What cryptocurrency is optimized for liquidity?
  - king07828 9y ago
    Wasn't comparing to US dollars, was comparing to other types of assets that YouNow could have sold (e.g., stocks or bonds) that each require something more than a crypto wallet to exchange making them possibly less liquid than the cryptocurrency
alexasmyths 9y ago
Blockchain is hip. Don't underestimate the value of buzz. In a meeting last week, with middle aged consultants who are work with IBM and the like - they ware all 'block chain this that'. Those buzzwords help companies like IBM and other consultants generate business, and make them look like they are on top of the trends. Nobody seemed to really understand it or it's implications - those 'pesky details' are for the Engineers!
ChuckMcM 9y ago
Operationally the use of a distributed ledger for transaction data where people can be both consumers and producers helps make managing the system more efficient operationally. I expect it would also help defend against some internal threats such as embezzling or artificially inflating viewership or payments.
indubitable 9y ago
Trust. Or the lack thereof. Bitcoin today has a market cap of $162 billion. If it was "managed" by a central intermediary, what are the odds that they wouldn't turn to exploitative behavior? Whatever those odds are, they're infinitely greater than the 0% you get from a decentralized system. And longevity. So long as any group of people has interest in Bitcoin (and there is no digital apocalypse) it will continue to exist -- as will any decentralized currency. By contrast companies, and even nations, come and go rapidly. If a coin is deemed a viable commodity then it can, and likely will, outlast the original creator of it. Anything dependent upon a centralized system tends to die when that centralized system does.
CryptoPunk 9y ago
You get interoperability with trustless trading tools like EtherDelta and 0x, and ERC20-compatible wallets like MEW and Jibrel.

Free marketing , ability to sound hip, and also a way to cheat and steal from your users . Also an completely automated bug bounty system

themadryaner 9y ago
The last part is not true. Blockchains are used for currencies like Bitcoin precisely because no one, not even the creators, can steal from someone once the money has been transferred, unless the new owner does not secure it properly.
orange8 9y ago
> a way to cheat and steal from your users So using a distributed blockchain database makes it easier for you to steal from your users than if you had a centrally controlled database. Really?
- zitterbewegung 9y ago
  New tech always has security problems especially when it first comes out and the blockchain is no different. Then you can claim you had a security problem and act like you have been hacked. Wait for your "company" to die. Then run with the money.

king07828 9y ago

A properly traded cryptocurrency allows anyone to trade at anytime (so long as miners are still going), whereas a central intermediary may not be as liquid. Thus, the cryptocurrency route may include a liquidity premium

mulmen 9y ago
Is there any cryptocurrency that is more liquid than the US Dollar? What cryptocurrency is optimized for liquidity?
- king07828 9y ago
  Wasn't comparing to US dollars, was comparing to other types of assets that YouNow could have sold (e.g., stocks or bonds) that each require something more than a crypto wallet to exchange making them possibly less liquid than the cryptocurrency

alexasmyths 9y ago

Blockchain is hip. Don't underestimate the value of buzz. In a meeting last week, with middle aged consultants who are work with IBM and the like - they ware all 'block chain this that'. Those buzzwords help companies like IBM and other consultants generate business, and make them look like they are on top of the trends. Nobody seemed to really understand it or it's implications - those 'pesky details' are for the Engineers!

ChuckMcM 9y ago

Operationally the use of a distributed ledger for transaction data where people can be both consumers and producers helps make managing the system more efficient operationally. I expect it would also help defend against some internal threats such as embezzling or artificially inflating viewership or payments.

indubitable 9y ago

Trust. Or the lack thereof. Bitcoin today has a market cap of $162 billion. If it was "managed" by a central intermediary, what are the odds that they wouldn't turn to exploitative behavior? Whatever those odds are, they're infinitely greater than the 0% you get from a decentralized system. And longevity. So long as any group of people has interest in Bitcoin (and there is no digital apocalypse) it will continue to exist -- as will any decentralized currency. By contrast companies, and even nations, come and go rapidly. If a coin is deemed a viable commodity then it can, and likely will, outlast the original creator of it. Anything dependent upon a centralized system tends to die when that centralized system does.

CryptoPunk 9y ago

You get interoperability with trustless trading tools like EtherDelta and 0x, and ERC20-compatible wallets like MEW and Jibrel.