ICOs and the World Wide Web - History Repeats Itself, Isn't It?
I've been fortunate enough to be in the digital world for almost 20 years. I remember I compiled my first Linux kernel (on a Slackware distribution, coming on two 1.44 floppy disks) in 1997. It was the beginning of a new era and nobody really knew what was going to happen and how it will unfold.
The Open Source Software revolution, led by Linux and then the Apache, PHP (which was just a tiny, scripting language at that time) and HTML, soon morphed into what we know today as being the World Wide Web.
But if you've been around that long, you remember that the connotation of the WWW wasn't always as positive (or, at best, neutral) as it is today. In its early years it was often associated with shadowy businesses and with theft.
Back then, software giants were selling ridiculously overpriced packages protected by the (in)famous serial numbers. Being open and available to everybody, the WWW became rapidly the go-to source for those who wanted to get free serial numbers, cutting from the sales of those giants. One of the most popular serial number websites at that time was astalavista.box.sk (which is now dedicated to IT security). So, the reaction of the software giants (most of them being extinct now) is easy to understand: the web is shady place, where people are stealing serial numbers.
But for the most part, the WWW was a giant innovation field, in which everybody could play. Creating your own website was a sign of advanced knowledge and prowess.
I clearly remember that "the web" was eventually perceived like a democratization of the software distribution (which eventually happened) and as a way to circumvent censorship by allowing free speech for everyone. It didn't work quite that way for the free speech, as we all know, but in the grand scheme of things, yes, the web revolutionized the way we create, distribute and digest information.
We're on the verge of something similar these days, but instead of information, we're looking at currencies. We're on the verge of democratizing the way we create, distribute and consume currencies. It's probably the biggest revolution in human economics and one of the symptoms of its magnitude is the reactions of the "establishment" towards it.
There seems to be a more and more radical faction of voices "on the side of fiat", from bankers to governments, which are downplaying the entire concept, mocking the early adopters and sometimes accusing upfront of fraud. That sounds a lot like the early "web police" warning potential adopters about the dangers of "being online". Again, if you weren't there these days you can't understand it, but as a witness of this situation I can almost identify the same words, the same approaches, the same "buttons" they push: the "web" must be stopped, or otherwise, our lives will never be the same. Guess what: the "web" wasn't stopped, and our lives are not the same. They're way, way, way better than before.
The most sensitive part of the entire cryptocurrency universe is the ICO. It's not even part of the crypto-universe, it's just a fancier name for getting upfront investment. As with the early days of web, many crypto actors are trying to game the rules and to get free money from naive investors. But that's not even remotely something pertaining only to crypto, it has been there for as long as we, humans, have been here on this Earth.
I already wrote my position about ICOs, specifically about China wanting to stop / regulate them, so feel free to browse that article.
What I want to add to this is that: what you resist, persists. The more resistance from the fiat world to the crypto world, the more momentum the latter will get. And yes, while ICOs (like astalavista.box.sk's of the early web) are still popping up each and every day, and while the danger of being screwed by people taking money upfront and never delivering is still there, this has nothing to do with the benefits of the distributed, decentralized ledger that started to power a new world.
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
If you're new to Steemit, you may find these articles relevant (that's also part of my witness activity to support new members of the platform):
"History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes" - Mark Twain
I can remember protesting at the state government house as part of the blue ribbon campaign in the mid 90s when the powers of the day were trying to pass a bill to censor and regulate the internet. They failed.
Same backward thinking and resistance to change as we have now. They will fail again.
Very nice article.
I think this is an opinion we all share and how most of us who are interested in crypto feel.
But I have not seen it out so eloquently put to words until now.
I'm sure I will be pointing poeple to this article when I try to explain the situation in the future.
Thanks
Great Great Great post. I. Liked the way you linked the evolution of the www and its critics who were obviously there for there own interests and not those of whom they were warning, with what we are experiencing in the crypto world today. Anytime crypto prices go down they tell us that the crash is coming but they are doing this because they want us to still keep our money in their banks so they can use it for their own good. I believe strongly that china's ban has some banking and government forces behind it. They thought they could kill crypto, but it only lasted for less than a week and now crypto is rising again. Like you said, what you resist just makes it more visible. Just like the www,the crypto train can never be stopped. It is here to stay. Tanx
China is a very good example of what happens in an overly centralized social system. Innovation is allowed to propagate into the system only to the level it doesn't disrupt it (which is what innovation usually does, it replaces an old thing with a new thing).
Exactly, and any society that tries to choke innovation is only heading for economic extinction and irrelevance. There might be some temporary gain for some big bosses, but the long term damage could be disastrous. I believe China has big big potential but they have to stop clipping the wings of innovation and new thinking, but allow it to fly high into the sky, pouring out its blessings on all men. Tanx
Great analogy, I never looked at it that way... Pioneers are always frowned upon, but eventually they bring revolution.
Great post man! You are one of the true whales, that bring good content here!
Which can't be said from all of them.
Thanks for the nice words, I'm not even a dolphin, but I like how you think :)
Great perspective man, I've been here two months or more but am still just getting my feet wet about understanding crypto past, present, future / peace
Companies eventually found a way to protect their software. And while everyone loves open source software, it doesn't pay. GiMP might be great, but it still isn't as good as Photoshop. Believe me, I would dump the Adobe if I could find a better solution, but there really isn't. So, open source, pushed Adobe off of buy and own into subscription services. Sure, we get updates all the time, but sometimes I wonder, is there really an update that is worth $600 a year.
I was there with you in 1997, installing and reinstalling Linux. It just had too many hurtles to get over. On the other side Microsoft's monopoly killed innovation, either directly or indirectly. As BetaMax story tells, the better product doesn't always win.
While I am tiptoeing in the cryptoworld, I am still leery. A lot about it still seems like a scam. That feeling is why I haven't put any really money into it.
As you clearly observed, the WWW transformed the entire software industry into a much more palatable bite. Sure, $600/year may not be what you want, but remember how it was when you had to pay for each and every update of the Microsoft operating system. SQL server was sold by client licenses, and if you wanted to have 3-4 clients accessing the db at the same time you had to pay a fortune. MySQL, Apache and all the gang really transformed the landscape.
Of course the landscape is not perfect and I do not expect the financial landscape to be perfect ten years from now, when crypto would really have made its impact, but it will be dramatically different from what we have now.
We are now used to pay banking fees like we were used to pay for Microsoft OS upgrades. These type of things will get obsolete very fast.
Or at least that's what I think :)
@dragosroua,
Wow you nicely managed to discuss about WWW to ICO! You are absolutely correct! This trend can't be stop by anyone else! But I hate scammers who is trying to make holes in crypto market by using ICOs!
Cheers~
Scammers are everywhere, not only in the crypto universe. They're also in banks or governments.
Exactly - arguably more so, just less transparency so they continue to get away with it.
Hence my faith in crypto!
Thanks to provide Great New and Useful Information
Very fascinating and informative post shared followed . @dragosroua Wish you the best with all your future endeavors.