“Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.
– Arthur M. Schlesinger, historian
Introduction
Digital Disrupt is going to take a look at how Bitcoin is slowly revolutionizing the way we purchase commodities. Granted, this technology is still in development and has faced a lot of backlashes in the media. Nevertheless companies such as Microsoft and Steam are accepting bitcoins as a payment. The following text includes short audio clips from a Skype interview that I did with Justin Drake.
Duo Search is closely linked to OpenBazaar, a fully decentralized marketplace using cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The service is free to use and doesn’t have any restrictions. OpenBazaar’s ethos is all about putting the power into its users’ hands. One of the core values of OpenBazaar is trust between its users. The selling process is different compared to other marketplaces (for example Ebay). The new version of OpenBazaar will utilize Tor technology. This means that the tracking of the users’ (buyers, sellers, and moderators) details will be virtually impossible. Hence the increased stress on the word “trust”. I’ll let Mr. Drake explain what his project is about.
The Interview
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It’s a technical challenge yes, but it’s also a challenge to make OpenBazaar reputable and legitimate way to do business between its users. And not only that but it is a quest to make Bitcoin a reputable payment method. I think the dominant media narrative around Bitcoin has been negative, popularized by the likes of SilkRoad, a darknet marketplace which sold illegal drugs. Slowly but surely the popularity of Bitcoin has grown and is now seen as a legitimate investment opportunity.
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As a communication student, I already started to think about how OpenBazaar could position themselves in the P2P markets. The communication strategy should be very informative and persuasive since most likely a normal consumer hasn’t even heard about OpenBazaar and Bitcoin. It’s a massive challenge, but Justin had a few interesting ideas already in his mind.
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Discussion:
Bitcoin may well have “geeky” connotations attached to it and the computational background may not catalyze mainstream adoption, but there’s no denying that Bitcoin isn’t a credible currency. Major companies have already taken the virtual currency as a valid payment method. It seems, that bitcoin at the moment is still adopted by cyber enthusiasts and people that have an appetite for new ways to pay for their goods.
The real social issue is how it should be controlled as a financial instrument by major insitutions or by goverments, for that matter. Bank of England has already released policy reports on digital currencies, and Bitcoin startups have been reportedly seen to gather major investments. Without diving too much in to the lingo, it is not just Bitcoin that’s marginally disrupting the markets, but blockchain technology that propels the actual currency. Pay-Per-Click advertising industry has recently seen innovations that have the possibility to offer a fresh market approach. It is worth to remember, that the innovations that we see here are not going to change the industry anytime soon, but they offer valuable information on how P2P markets work. We should carefully craft the next versions of financial policies to not only include these technologies but dive in to them and research how decentralized models work and behave and how they have the capabilities to disrupt existing markets.
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