Editorial | Wikipedia's Days Might Be Numbered Thanks To Everipedia And Blockchain Technology
Wikipedia is a behemoth in the free online encyclopedia category. As #6 on the list of most popular-websites on the internet, they enjoy a spot that has virtually no competitors. To even think that Wikipedia might one day be replaced is mind-blowing, in much the same way to think Amazon will disappear anytime soon due to blockchain.
Yet, as i've learned recently with AlphaZero crushing the top open source chess engine - an area where I didn't think there is much room for improvement - that the adage "there is always room for improvement" still rings very true.
Therefore, I've kept an open mind when I came across an article that Wikipedia's epistemological supremacy might be in danger from a company that I've never heard of: Everipedia (+1 for a cool name).
However, Wikipedia's place in the world doesn't really interest me. The most interesting aspect is that Everipedia plans to adopt blockchain technology around January 2018 to improve their service.
As far as I know, the method that they plan to use isn't new but the application to content might be. Here is how it will work (no reason to reinvent the wheel if someone else has already explained it):
"Everipedia already uses a points system where creating articles and approved edits amasses “IQ.” In January, when the site moves over to a blockchain, Everipedia will convert IQ scores to a token-based currency, giving all existing editors an allotment proportionate to their IQ—and giving them a real, financial stake in Everipedia. From then on, creating and curating articles will allow users to earn tokens, which act as virtual shares of the platform. To prevent bad actors from trying to cash in with ill-founded or deliberately false articles and edits, Everipedia will force users to put up a token of their own in order to submit. If their work is accepted, they get their token back, plus a little bit for their contribution; if not, they lose their token. The assumption is that other users, motivated by the desire to maintain the site’s value, will actively seek to prevent such efforts."
In other words, submitting shitty content will cost you. Game over - you don't deserve to own those tokens. Thank you for playing.
I'm not clear what individual or group will decide what is shitty content, but I don't think that is important as long as Everipedia has some sort of fair method (no need to comment below - if you don't like their rules then don't use their site).
Most of the time I read about companies leveraging cryptocurrency tokens as a payment and rewards incentive to encourage a type of behavior that is beneficial to their service. I view Everipedia idea as a another level to the payment and rewards method. They added the financial incentive component along with an added incentive to make damn sure your submission is worthy to publish or you will pay in the pocketbook.
Can this method be used in other areas? Can we fight internet trolling? Let's make people pay to make a comment. Ads and inappropriate comments will become a financial liability.
What about the proliferation of fake or low quality news? The Publiq network is trying to build a media outlet for fight fake news but their reward system does not include the cost component that Everpedia will adopt.
How about e-mail spam? Way back in 2004, Bill Gates proposed to fight spam using a few methods. He also wanted to make sending spam e-mail more costly by making everyone pay 1 cent to send an e-mail. For spammers that send millions of e-mails those cents will add up fast. A few people thought it was a grand idea and proposed CentMail. However, the idea to add a cost to e-mail didn't appeal to people that was getting something for "free" so the idea was never widely adopted.
However the underlying concept of adding rewards/costs to behaviors you want to do not want applies the same to the way companies leverage blockchain technology. In other words, much of what Bill Gates proposed way back in 2004 can be accomplished through - you guessed it - blockchain!
Again, the idea of putting your tokens where your mouth is isn't new. Augur uses precisely the same concept but towards a prediction market. With Augur, if you think you think you have clairvoyant powers you can wager your Augur token(s) towards one or more events.
Speaking of predicting the future, I don't claim to have any clairvoyant powers. However, if Augur created an event that Everipedia will become the de facto destination for online knowledge, I would be willing to wager some REP against Wikipedia. If for nothing else, to remind myself that there is always room for improvement and its dangerous to think that any monopoly will exist forever.
Kryptonaut
Interesting. Never heard of Everipedia. If we actually make people pay to make a comment, it would actually clean up a lot of the web. However, it also would at the same time make people less likely and willing to share their opinions/thoughts.
CFR= Council On Foreign Relations
Wikipedia can be helpful and has the ability to be an excellent resource, but it's a real suspect hit-and-miss as far as credibility and even intent of it's creators/controllers. It's just another entity of public opinion that's controlled by the elites/Establishment. I haven't researched it, but remember this article I haven't read in years:
http://www.banned-in-america.net/wikipedia-cia-answers-com.html
Wikipedia is a US Gov't Fraud -
How US Agents Can Embed in Wikipedia, Plant Propaganda,
Delete Facts, Deceive and Attack Citizens - Wikipedia and the CIA
What we are facing, is that Wikipedia may already be the ultimate Trojan horse of US government propaganda and intelligence operations. Via this one overwhelmingly dominant website, the thousands of nameless agents at CIA and NSA headquarters, can now deceive and defraud millions of US citizens and much of the rest of the world as well.
This is interesting in that Gary Allen and other researchers/writers said that the CIA, Central Intelligence Agency, was created and staffed by a Rockefeller cousin and that the CIA and NSA, National Security Agency, are some of the federal agencies/departments, along with the Secretaries of State, Defense and Treasury and often the President or Vice President, typically headed by an Establishment (CFR/Rockefeller) stooge. The entry for Nelson Rockefeller says he supported anti-Communist efforts. It's full of praise and absent any criticism, although voluminous criticism of Nelson, the Rockefellers and their allies exists - Gary Allen alone wrote several books and articles concerning Nelson and the Rockefellers. Likewise, the Wikipedia entry for Rockefeller Republicans says they're anti-socialist and fiercly anti-Communist. Gary Allen and other investigators couldn't disagree more:
https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/rockefeller_file/rockefeller03.htm#Chapter_Nine
The lavish praise and lack of important criticisms of Nelson and the Rockefellers on Rockefeller-/Establishment-controlled Wikipedia is quite reminiscent of what Gary Allen said about the Rockefeller-/CFR-controlled CBS TV network airing a "2-hour propaganda show on the Rockefellers":
Certainly no one was very surprised that CBS carried an almost unprecedented 2-hour propaganda show on "The Rockefellers- during prime viewing time on Friday, December 28, 1973. CBS used its star, Walter Cronkite, to narrate this spectacle, which was so sugary it must have sent thousands of diabetics scrambling for their insulin. Cronkite closed by saying that if any family had to have as much money and power as the Rockefellers, it was a good thing it was the Rockefellers! For a political candidate to buy that kind of television time would cost an astronomical sum. But Rocky has-friends. It didn't cost him a nickel.
https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/rockefeller_file/rockefeller02.htm#Chapter_Six
We need to make sure that Everipedia or similar Wikipedia competitors/replacements doesn't also become a propaganda/disinformation tool of the Establishment/ruling elites.
Note: Nelson Rockefeller
was clearly the creative inspiration for Bela (Boss) Okmyx
from the Star Trek TV series episode "A Piece of the Action." The reseblence is uncanny.
I made some gains on https://lunyr.com few months ago and sold while it was falling. have looked into it? They seem to have a head start when it comes to overtaking Wikipedia.
Thanks for the info BTW.
Lunyr was mentioned in the wired.com article where the author said:
"This isn’t the first time a company has proposed a decentralized blockchain-based encyclopedia; earlier this year, a company called Lunyr announced similar plans. However, judging from Lunyr’s most recent roadmap, Everipedia will beat it to market with room to spare."
Prior to the article and your flagging it, I wasn't aware of them. I wonder how well known they are in the crypto community. Marketing is usually a big piece of success. It's a shame when something good doesn't get noticed because they fail to market it.
The kind of marketing they need is unique and valuable information. Think about finance, research and top 10 facts you didn't know kind of information. steemit barely has any marketing but it thrives. They need to market themselves as a place where people can find rare and accurate information.
They could write about lesser known topics and advertise using related key words. The best marketing would an extensive database on all popular cryptos which is something wikipedia greatly lack. They could become a crypto-tech-crazy facts encyclopedia.
Unique and valuable sites are needed but I assume it's harder to raise money if the market isn't very large.
In regard to your example, perhaps they need to hire influencers/experts to target large and specific markets - as you said - perhaps cryptos. I'll argue that steemit and medium already act as a repository for crypto information - just not organized very well.
It sounds like we both agree that some sort of marketing needs to occur. I would like to see more line items for it in the plan for ICO funds use.
You got a 1.35% upvote from @upme requested by: @kryptonaut.
Send at least 1 SBD to @upme with a post link in the memo field to receive upvote next round.
To support our activity, please vote for my master @suggeelson, as a STEEM Witness
Hello,
Follow for 10 minutes and send a tip of 0.090 with your post link in a memo. Your get resteemed and upvoted with over 400k sp. Thank you.
Remember, a post can only be resteemed once.
This post has received gratitude of 0.76 % from @appreciator thanks to: @kryptonaut.
Resteemed by @resteembot! Good Luck!
Curious?
The @resteembot's introduction post
Get more from @resteembot with the #resteembotsentme initiative
Check out the great posts I already resteemed.
This post has received a 11.11% upvote from @msp-bidbot thanks to: @kryptonaut. Delegate SP to this public bot and get paid daily: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP Don't delegate so much that you have less than 50SP left on your account.
This post was resteemed by @steemvote and received a 32.24% Upvote