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I recently read about a decentralized alternative to YouTube called DTube. https://d.tube/ https://d.tube/ https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2018/3/7/17087

I recently read about a decentralized alternative to YouTube called DTube. https://d.tube/ https://d.tube/ https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2018/3/7/17087668/steemit-dtube-bitchute-youtube-purge https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2018/3/7/17087668/steem... It’s built on STEEM and IPFS. > DTube is an application fully written in javascript, that runs in the browser, that allows you to upload and watch videos on top of the IPFS Network. Moreover, it uses STEEM as a database and enables earning [...] https://steemkr.com/video/@heimindanger/introducing-dtube-a-decentralized-video-platform-using-steem-and-ipfs https://steemkr.com/video/@heimindanger/introducing-dtube-a-...

allthenews 9y ago
There is also lbry, a decentralized media hosting platform based on cryptocurrency. Although I'm still not convinced that the crypto is necessary here...
- abritinthebay 9y ago
  It’s rarely necessary
- geofft 9y ago
  Depends what "cryptocurrency" means. If it's proof-of-work, it's only meaningful if there's an actual double-spend problem in the problem domain, otherwise it's just waste and buzzword. If it doesn't solve proof-of-work, it could make sense—there are lots of production systems that use technologies also used in cryptocurrencies, like Merkle trees for Certificate Transparency and for Chrome OS image signing—but "cryptocurrency" is misleading.
  - abritinthebay 9y ago
    A lot of places use blockchain as some kind of "all you have is a hammer" solution to hashing. Which... I mean in some (rare) cases is a good thing but is usually - as far as I can see - just a way to get VC money or buzz by saying "we use crypto".
    - geofft 9y ago
      Right, and it's also usually significantly more inefficient than just using normal cryptography, so it seems like it's a long-term negative. For lbry itself it looks like they're using coins for actual payments to creators, which seems like it's a worthwhile project (and definitely has the double-spend problem), but it's not clear to me that it needs to be connected with the content distribution problem.
- kauffj 9y ago
  A blockchain is necessary because there is no other method of having a shared, distributed database of digital content that is not owned or controlled by a single party.
jandrese 9y ago
Honestly, that sounds a lot like the slow and tremendously unreliable P2P services that used to be popular before BitTorrent came out. Gnutella for web 2.0.
- bringtheaction 9y ago
  I thought so too originally but if you go to the site it’s actually acceptably fast IMO.

allthenews 9y ago

There is also lbry, a decentralized media hosting platform based on cryptocurrency. Although I'm still not convinced that the crypto is necessary here...

abritinthebay 9y ago
It’s rarely necessary
geofft 9y ago
Depends what "cryptocurrency" means. If it's proof-of-work, it's only meaningful if there's an actual double-spend problem in the problem domain, otherwise it's just waste and buzzword. If it doesn't solve proof-of-work, it could make sense—there are lots of production systems that use technologies also used in cryptocurrencies, like Merkle trees for Certificate Transparency and for Chrome OS image signing—but "cryptocurrency" is misleading.
- abritinthebay 9y ago
  A lot of places use blockchain as some kind of "all you have is a hammer" solution to hashing. Which... I mean in some (rare) cases is a good thing but is usually - as far as I can see - just a way to get VC money or buzz by saying "we use crypto".
  - geofft 9y ago
    Right, and it's also usually significantly more inefficient than just using normal cryptography, so it seems like it's a long-term negative. For lbry itself it looks like they're using coins for actual payments to creators, which seems like it's a worthwhile project (and definitely has the double-spend problem), but it's not clear to me that it needs to be connected with the content distribution problem.
kauffj 9y ago
A blockchain is necessary because there is no other method of having a shared, distributed database of digital content that is not owned or controlled by a single party.

jandrese 9y ago

Honestly, that sounds a lot like the slow and tremendously unreliable P2P services that used to be popular before BitTorrent came out. Gnutella for web 2.0.

bringtheaction 9y ago
I thought so too originally but if you go to the site it’s actually acceptably fast IMO.