Today I read Joe Urgo's Medium article "Introducing the district0x Network" and I thought that I would share it with you because it's very interesting for a few reasons. However, before I delve into that, I'll tell you a little more about District0x.

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A collective of decentralized marketplaces and communities

You might be wondering "why the funny name?"; my guess is that the 0x at the end is a reference to all Ethereum addresses starting with 0x - pretty geeking and cool!

The genesis of District0x is Ethlance - a decentralised marketplace for hiring Ethereum developers; without the need for any middlemen taking a cut or selling anyone's data. The work is paid using Ether; so the developer receives the payment quickly and the employer can prove they have the funds.

Similarly to how @dan points out, that once you have a platform like EOS, it's possible to build all manner of decentralised applications: such as Steemit, Uber, Bitshares etc. Joe's vision is similar; to build a framework and provide some of the tools necessary to build decentralised marketplaces e.g AirBnB, Ebay, Craig's List, Ethlance etc. We'll probably start to see similar things appear on EOS in time, but as it stands Ethereum and District0x currently have a significant headstart.

In fact, the first application on District0x will be Ethlance - Joe is working with the creator of Ethlance to make this a reality. The next project to go live is tied in the Ethereum Naming Service; that will allow you to sell the domain names that you purchased as part of that auction.

Communities

Of course, just like we have a reputation based community here on Steemit - where all interactions are publically available and you have a provable track record and visible standing the community; the same will apply to the communities created using District0x.

Does this developer deliver his code on time? - let's check.
Does this employer pay on time and home up their end of the bargain? - let's check.

District0x's communities are designed to be governed solely by the members of the community in a completely autonomous and decentralised way - similar to how The DAO was meant to be.

Tokens

What Blockchain project these days wouldn't be complete without its own token and an ICO?!

District0x is no different. There will be a 'District0x Network Token' (DNT) that will have to be 'staked' in order to join a community and participate in the governance of that community. In return, you will receive a proportional number of votes on the community's decisions.

Creating districts/communities will be free.

ICO

Important ICO details

• Launches Tue, 18 Jul 2017.
• Distribution of 600 Mil DNT - participants will receive a proportion relative to the size of their investment.
• 'Soft Cap' 38400 ETH - when reached will trigger the 48 hour countdown to the end of the ICO.

District0x

So, if you have a business idea that requires some of or all of the following things then check out District0x

• Posting and listings
• Search and filtering
• Ranking and reputation
• Payments and invoicing

Why I'm excited about the project

• They're focusing on a framework that empowers users to easily make their business ideas a reality as a ÐApp.
• They are working with existing projects, like Aragon, to build the project - standing on the shoulders of giants / not reinventing the wheel.
• They're increasing the number of real-world, meaning applications using Ethereum / Smart Contracts - which is good for Ethereum and Blockchain technologies in general.

Resources

• White Paper
• Slack Channel
• Website
• ICO Ðapp