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Just a little feedback: as someone not deep in the blockchain world, I have no idea what Blockstack is, or why nothing happens when I click "sign in" or "start

Just a little feedback: as someone not deep in the blockchain world, I have no idea what Blockstack is, or why nothing happens when I click "sign in" or "start writing now". The page does a good job of describing the product benefits, but it doesn't cover square 1 and describe what I need in order to actually start using the product. Otherwise I know this was a fun project, but it always helps to hone in on your audience on the landing page. Answer, Who's going to appreciate this the most?

jhunter1016 8y ago
Thanks! This is really helpful. I'll make sure to get the landing page updated. Just so it's covered here, Blockstack is a decentralized application platform. It provides an authentication strategy that anchors your username/ID to the bitcoin blockchain. The benefit of this is not having to rely on a central authority for your username. Example: Google could terminate your access to your gmail account anytime they want. Graphite/Graphite Publishing can't do that with your Blockstack username. As for your question about who would appreciate this most, I think Graphite Publishing is probably going to benefit people already interested in decentralization the most initially. However, it really does provide a more secure solution than using something like Squarespace, for example. If we stick with the Squarespace example, your content (design and words) are stored in Squarespace's database. The content can be accessed and changed (or deleted) by Squarespace at any time. With Graphite Publishing, your content is stored either in the default storage hub provided by Blockstack and encrypted, or it's stored in your own custom storage hub if you so choose. In either case, the content can't be accessed by anyone other than the user creating that content. Again, thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it.
- qroshan 8y ago
  TL;DR Block-chain: Solving imaginary problems that nobody has -- and doing a terrible job at it
  - jhunter1016 8y ago
    The only use of blockchain in this app is the username creation. And that is pretty much hidden from the user experience.
    - harlanji 8y ago
      Is the system able to be used privately on networks without Internet access? I think offline use is mandatory (think: RasPi LAN party in Kenya). I’m approaching this space in another way (search: “iSpooge Live”). I have an RSS/ActivityPub-like feed and reader pair, with network address as identity, generated statically and exposed via CDN w/ long cache TTLs. Sovereignty is the m.o. of the stack.
      - jhunter1016 8y ago
        Graphite Publishing supports offline storage (not yet implemented but will be soon). But some level of network connectivity is required to at least create your username and sign in for the first time. After that, network connectivity is not necessary (after the offline storage feature is released. Great question!
  - burgerboy 8y ago
    You commented this on both of the top comments. Bias is showing.
- adamredwoods 8y ago
  That clarifies some questions for me: I didn't know that Blockstack stores the content. The Graphite site looks like it's a hosting platform. The marketing angle might rely on getting the platform to look like something different or new, that seems less centralized. I don't know what that is.
  - ac4tw 8y ago
    "Blockstack stores the content" -- today this is true in that you are provided with a default storage bucket by Blockstack that amounts to Microsoft Azure space. It's been Blockstack's vision that you could select your own cloud storage upon account configuration (i.e. your own S3/Dropbox/IPFS storage), thus decentralizing your data storage away from the App developer. If you're willing to get your hands dirty, you can theoretically spin up your own Blockstack GAIA node and store your data there instead of the provided defaults. More info here: https://github.com/blockstack/gaia https://github.com/blockstack/gaia
    - stdcli 8y ago
      By the end of this month we will have instructions on how to host your own gaia hub in DO spaces (on Digital Ocean) using the develop branch of gaia in our Blockstack docs located here: https://docs.blockstack.org/ https://docs.blockstack.org/ So stay tuned. I personally find Digital Ocean to be the most user friendly, so we are trying to lower barriers to make it as easy as possible to roll out gaia hubs by providing instructions for these kind of platforms. We are also rolling out instructions and images for the major cloud hosting platforms. If you have any preferences for a particular platform you would like supported or any other feedback, let me know. Currently on master branch, gaia supports the following drivers: Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, Local disk (you must set up static web-hosting to point at this driver), and Google Cloud Storage You can learn more about how to set up your own gaia hub here: https://github.com/blockstack/gaia/blob/master/hub/README.md https://github.com/blockstack/gaia/blob/master/hub/README.md
  - jhunter1016 8y ago
    Graphite never touches nor has access to any of the data you store. Choosing your own storage provider so you don't have to rely on Blockstack storing your data is quickly becoming much easier than it used to be. In fact, Graphite (the core product) and soon to be followed by Graphite Publishing will likely be one of, if not the, first apps to offer a simple option to plug in the storage provider of your choice.
- nicoburns 8y ago
  What advantage does this provide over hosting your own blog using something like WordPress or Hugo?
  - jhunter1016 8y ago
    I would say there are two main advantages: 1) Encryption. Your content is encrypted with keys that you and you alone control. If there was ever a breach of your self-hosted WordPress server, all of your content (in progress or not) would be freely readable. With Graphite Publishing, your in progress posts are encrypted and in the unlikely event of a breach of the storage provider of your choice, your private, in progress posts would not be readable. 2) The application is managed for you. No downloading. No deployment. No choosing hosting providers. Some people like all that. A lot of people don't. This is not to say Graphite Publishing is better than WordPress. WordPress has significantly more features at this stage, but I consider this the groundwork to creating something far better.
jhunter1016 8y ago
Oh! And as for the sign in issue, my guess is you're using Firefox or Safari on the desktop, is that right? Unfortunately, the Blockstack Browser (which is necessary for authentication) only works on those browsers if you download the local version here: https://blockstack.org/install https://blockstack.org/install That should be resolved very soon. All other browsers should not require that extra step.
- chrome_new_ie 8y ago
  Seems to work on Chrome. I've grown quite accustomed to having to rely on Chrome quite a lot because a lot of websites nowadays are not optimized for any other browser.
  - jhunter1016 8y ago
    I know Blockstack is working hard on a solution to make sure all browsers support authentication without having to download a local instance of the Blockstack Browser. But Chrome and any other browser based on Chrome's underlying technology (chromium) should work great!

jhunter1016 8y ago

Thanks! This is really helpful. I'll make sure to get the landing page updated. Just so it's covered here, Blockstack is a decentralized application platform. It provides an authentication strategy that anchors your username/ID to the bitcoin blockchain. The benefit of this is not having to rely on a central authority for your username. Example: Google could terminate your access to your gmail account anytime they want. Graphite/Graphite Publishing can't do that with your Blockstack username. As for your question about who would appreciate this most, I think Graphite Publishing is probably going to benefit people already interested in decentralization the most initially. However, it really does provide a more secure solution than using something like Squarespace, for example. If we stick with the Squarespace example, your content (design and words) are stored in Squarespace's database. The content can be accessed and changed (or deleted) by Squarespace at any time. With Graphite Publishing, your content is stored either in the default storage hub provided by Blockstack and encrypted, or it's stored in your own custom storage hub if you so choose. In either case, the content can't be accessed by anyone other than the user creating that content. Again, thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it.

qroshan 8y ago
TL;DR Block-chain: Solving imaginary problems that nobody has -- and doing a terrible job at it
- jhunter1016 8y ago
  The only use of blockchain in this app is the username creation. And that is pretty much hidden from the user experience.
  - harlanji 8y ago
    Is the system able to be used privately on networks without Internet access? I think offline use is mandatory (think: RasPi LAN party in Kenya). I’m approaching this space in another way (search: “iSpooge Live”). I have an RSS/ActivityPub-like feed and reader pair, with network address as identity, generated statically and exposed via CDN w/ long cache TTLs. Sovereignty is the m.o. of the stack.
    - jhunter1016 8y ago
      Graphite Publishing supports offline storage (not yet implemented but will be soon). But some level of network connectivity is required to at least create your username and sign in for the first time. After that, network connectivity is not necessary (after the offline storage feature is released. Great question!
- burgerboy 8y ago
  You commented this on both of the top comments. Bias is showing.
adamredwoods 8y ago
That clarifies some questions for me: I didn't know that Blockstack stores the content. The Graphite site looks like it's a hosting platform. The marketing angle might rely on getting the platform to look like something different or new, that seems less centralized. I don't know what that is.
- ac4tw 8y ago
  "Blockstack stores the content" -- today this is true in that you are provided with a default storage bucket by Blockstack that amounts to Microsoft Azure space. It's been Blockstack's vision that you could select your own cloud storage upon account configuration (i.e. your own S3/Dropbox/IPFS storage), thus decentralizing your data storage away from the App developer. If you're willing to get your hands dirty, you can theoretically spin up your own Blockstack GAIA node and store your data there instead of the provided defaults. More info here: https://github.com/blockstack/gaia https://github.com/blockstack/gaia
  - stdcli 8y ago
    By the end of this month we will have instructions on how to host your own gaia hub in DO spaces (on Digital Ocean) using the develop branch of gaia in our Blockstack docs located here: https://docs.blockstack.org/ https://docs.blockstack.org/ So stay tuned. I personally find Digital Ocean to be the most user friendly, so we are trying to lower barriers to make it as easy as possible to roll out gaia hubs by providing instructions for these kind of platforms. We are also rolling out instructions and images for the major cloud hosting platforms. If you have any preferences for a particular platform you would like supported or any other feedback, let me know. Currently on master branch, gaia supports the following drivers: Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, Local disk (you must set up static web-hosting to point at this driver), and Google Cloud Storage You can learn more about how to set up your own gaia hub here: https://github.com/blockstack/gaia/blob/master/hub/README.md https://github.com/blockstack/gaia/blob/master/hub/README.md
- jhunter1016 8y ago
  Graphite never touches nor has access to any of the data you store. Choosing your own storage provider so you don't have to rely on Blockstack storing your data is quickly becoming much easier than it used to be. In fact, Graphite (the core product) and soon to be followed by Graphite Publishing will likely be one of, if not the, first apps to offer a simple option to plug in the storage provider of your choice.
nicoburns 8y ago
What advantage does this provide over hosting your own blog using something like WordPress or Hugo?
- jhunter1016 8y ago
  I would say there are two main advantages: 1) Encryption. Your content is encrypted with keys that you and you alone control. If there was ever a breach of your self-hosted WordPress server, all of your content (in progress or not) would be freely readable. With Graphite Publishing, your in progress posts are encrypted and in the unlikely event of a breach of the storage provider of your choice, your private, in progress posts would not be readable. 2) The application is managed for you. No downloading. No deployment. No choosing hosting providers. Some people like all that. A lot of people don't. This is not to say Graphite Publishing is better than WordPress. WordPress has significantly more features at this stage, but I consider this the groundwork to creating something far better.

jhunter1016 8y ago

Oh! And as for the sign in issue, my guess is you're using Firefox or Safari on the desktop, is that right? Unfortunately, the Blockstack Browser (which is necessary for authentication) only works on those browsers if you download the local version here: https://blockstack.org/install https://blockstack.org/install That should be resolved very soon. All other browsers should not require that extra step.

chrome_new_ie 8y ago
Seems to work on Chrome. I've grown quite accustomed to having to rely on Chrome quite a lot because a lot of websites nowadays are not optimized for any other browser.
- jhunter1016 8y ago
  I know Blockstack is working hard on a solution to make sure all browsers support authentication without having to download a local instance of the Blockstack Browser. But Chrome and any other browser based on Chrome's underlying technology (chromium) should work great!