You may be wondering about why decentralization (and the use of blockchain to do this) is important and why blockchain matters. I did. I pretty much thought that since companies provided what I needed via a centralized product, I was fine, I didn't need decentralization.
One note to think about through this is that blockchain represents decentralization. No single government or business entity controls the product. It's out there, on a public ledger, and controlled by its users. If you think about it, that's a very deep thought.
Even though I was a privacy advocate for most of my adult life, I didn't walk the talk. My privacy advocacy was against government, not big corporations. I let Google control everything (and Facebook) - email (how I communicated), calendar (how I scheduled my events), YouTube (what I watched), analytics (what websites I visited and how they tracked me), Facebook (what I read and consumed) and I'm sure there is much more I am not thinking about that they knew about me. And then there is Twitter and Instagram and TikTok and every social media site and on and on and on.
If you ever watched the "The Social Dilemma", you would know that if you don't know what the product is that they are selling, it is you. It just so happens it is big moneyed corporations doing this and not an overly intrusive government. I would argue that they are both just as bad.
In my mind, decentralization protects against both entities whether you are aware of it being a problem or not. Using crypto currency protects against the evils of fiat currency (the mighty US Dollar) where the government prints money ad infinitum with no restraint and no worry that inflation will rear its ugly head and bite us. The dollar has not historically held its value. It has been on a downward trend in value. It has been manipulated by government bureaucracy, elected officials, niche lobbyists wanting to protect their clients and industries, etc,,, Oh yeah, don't forget the banks that "are too big to fail", They play a role here also.
Crypto currency on the other hand is purely market driven. Its value is based on scarcity economics (and sometimes by limited pump and dump schemes), not manipulation by the Fed and big business interests (which could also be argued to be pump and dump schemes - just legalized). Crypto value is driven by what other people value it to be worth. As of this writing on February 19, 2021, Bitcoin is at $56,075.47. Damn. In 24 hours, its low was $50,998.71. That's a 10% swing in valuation in 24 hours. About one year ago, it was worth about $9,000. That was not due to government intervention manipulating the price through interest rate manipulation and printing more currency. It was due to what people would pay for the coin. Then in September 2020, Bitcoin started skyrocketing in value to where it is today. And that is based on the value that people (decentralized by the way) who have bought into Bitcoin determining what its value is, not a centralized government determining its value. The Bitcoin blockchain just happens to be the way to track all the buys and sells of the coin to create trust in it. You aren't going to find counterfeit Bitcoin on the blockchain.
Using decentralized blockchain technology protects you from the intrusiveness of big business using you as the product to pad their bottom line. If you are using a free product, you are also the product. Nothing is free. You are giving something to Google or Yahoo or Facebook or whomever to get that free email account, that free video, that Like from a friend. While the service provided may work really well and is embedded very tightly with all the free tools, you are giving up your privacy in return. This matters.
Sadly, in the US, we've been taught (or indoctrinated) since the 1940's through federal mandated education standards that the herd is what matters, that the individual is overrated. This is counter to how the country was founded. The individual was cherished. The individual provided insight and ideas that were outside and contrary to the herd mentality. This individuality gave strength through diversity to the herd.
Blockchain provides individualism through decentralization. It allows the individual to use products that are every way as good as free ones but allows you to be an anonymous user - without assuming that you are out for bad and nefarious intent. And you may have to pay for it using an altcoin such as Genaro (look it up). Anonymous does not mean that you are out to destabilize the government. It doesn't mean you want anarchy. I would also argue that the VAST majority of people aren't out to do wrong to another or have evil intent. They are just trying to get through their day to put food on the table, a roof over their head and support their family, and hang out on the 'net. What's wrong with that?
In the coming weeks, I will give real-life examples of practical uses of blockchain. Some will be everyday solutions of decentralized email and storage, but others will be financial from instantaneous banking (sending money around the world in seconds without the middlemen taking a bite), and trading crypto currencies (remember that value is what someone will pay for a product), to NFT (non-fungible transactions) where people are buying and selling one of a kind digital artwork. If you can imagine it, it will be done on blockchain.
See you soon,
DougM - altcoinmashup.com
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