3 ms·

It’s been 10 years. When do we stop taking about potential and start talking about failure.

fastball 8y ago
Remind me again when the internet first started? And how long after that did Facebook / Google / Amazon become some of the most valuable companies on earth?
- spookthesunset 8y ago
  It was obvious the internet had value and potential. It took a while for technology and society to catch up but the use cases were pretty clear. What are the use cases for a data-structure like the blockchain? I can't name a single one.
  - fastball 8y ago
    I can't think of good uses for blockchain technology therefore there aren't any. Yeahhh, pretty sure that's not how it works.
  - davidwparker 8y ago
    Clear to who? Not world renowned economists! P. Krugman 1998, “The growth of the Internet will slow drastically, as the flaw in ‘Metcalfe’s law' becomes apparent: most people have nothing to say to each other! By 2005, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s” I personally say it's too early to tell. And anyone who says yes or not to potential value doesn't actually have a clue.
    - spookthesunset 8y ago
      Give me something. Anything. Surely you can name a single use for The Blockchain. Its had 10 years. Its had enough time.
      - fastball 8y ago
        "It was obvious that the internet had great potential from the start" > Actually, many people thought the internet had very limited potential "PROVE THAT BLOCKCHAIN HAS POTENTIAL." Seems like your argument is a bit inconsistent. But I can give you a handful of hugely interesting applications for blockchain technology off the top of my head. - Borderless currency that relies on no nation-state. - Complex financial instruments which require no 3rd party to make them possible (the MakerDAO project is very interesting, for example). - Storing any type of record where it is important to have an immutable log of those records. Property ownership is a big one, as is any other kind of title (cars, boats, etc). Another good one is transparent supply chains that can be fudged for one reason or another. - Censorship-resistant web applications (social media, news, forums). - Provably fair gambling - Interesting gaming applications, such as in-game merchandise that can be used across different games created by different people / companies without needing to rely on the solvency of a particular provider.
- theamk 8y ago
  Internet was invented in 1983. Even before that, newsgroups already existed as UUCP. When internet appeared, UUCP was adapted to the internet right away. So on year 1, internet provided unique and useful functionality -- one could exchange information with thousands of people all around the world very quickly. This was pretty revolutionary, there really was no similar services. (fun sample articles: http://www.eightyeightynine.com/culture/80susenet.html http://www.eightyeightynine.com/culture/80susenet.html )
seibelj 8y ago
It’s 1988. When will these personal computers do anything useful? It’s been a decade!
- nopriorarrests 8y ago
  Oh please. In 1988, "Battle Chess", "King's Quest IV" and "Dangerous Dave" were released. For us kids it was a lot of usefulness.
- perl4ever 8y ago
  In 1978, people predicted personal computers would take over the world. By 1988 they clearly were.

Remind me again when the internet first started? And how long after that did Facebook / Google / Amazon become some of the most valuable companies on earth?

spookthesunset 8y ago
It was obvious the internet had value and potential. It took a while for technology and society to catch up but the use cases were pretty clear. What are the use cases for a data-structure like the blockchain? I can't name a single one.
- fastball 8y ago
  I can't think of good uses for blockchain technology therefore there aren't any. Yeahhh, pretty sure that's not how it works.
- davidwparker 8y ago
  Clear to who? Not world renowned economists! P. Krugman 1998, “The growth of the Internet will slow drastically, as the flaw in ‘Metcalfe’s law' becomes apparent: most people have nothing to say to each other! By 2005, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s” I personally say it's too early to tell. And anyone who says yes or not to potential value doesn't actually have a clue.
  - spookthesunset 8y ago
    Give me something. Anything. Surely you can name a single use for The Blockchain. Its had 10 years. Its had enough time.
    - fastball 8y ago
      "It was obvious that the internet had great potential from the start" > Actually, many people thought the internet had very limited potential "PROVE THAT BLOCKCHAIN HAS POTENTIAL." Seems like your argument is a bit inconsistent. But I can give you a handful of hugely interesting applications for blockchain technology off the top of my head. - Borderless currency that relies on no nation-state. - Complex financial instruments which require no 3rd party to make them possible (the MakerDAO project is very interesting, for example). - Storing any type of record where it is important to have an immutable log of those records. Property ownership is a big one, as is any other kind of title (cars, boats, etc). Another good one is transparent supply chains that can be fudged for one reason or another. - Censorship-resistant web applications (social media, news, forums). - Provably fair gambling - Interesting gaming applications, such as in-game merchandise that can be used across different games created by different people / companies without needing to rely on the solvency of a particular provider.
theamk 8y ago
Internet was invented in 1983. Even before that, newsgroups already existed as UUCP. When internet appeared, UUCP was adapted to the internet right away. So on year 1, internet provided unique and useful functionality -- one could exchange information with thousands of people all around the world very quickly. This was pretty revolutionary, there really was no similar services. (fun sample articles: http://www.eightyeightynine.com/culture/80susenet.html http://www.eightyeightynine.com/culture/80susenet.html )

seibelj 8y ago

It’s 1988. When will these personal computers do anything useful? It’s been a decade!

nopriorarrests 8y ago
Oh please. In 1988, "Battle Chess", "King's Quest IV" and "Dangerous Dave" were released. For us kids it was a lot of usefulness.
perl4ever 8y ago
In 1978, people predicted personal computers would take over the world. By 1988 they clearly were.