Crypto Academy Week 9 - Homework Post for [@alphafx] Blockchain and Platforms

Hi @alphafx, my name is @allbert and this is my first assignment. I think the topic you taught in your class is fascinating and quite educational. This topic is the basis for what we will see in the next weeks.

I have decided to make the comparison between STEEMIT and SIA Blockchains Platforms. So let's get started.

I have spent the whole week thinking about how to make this presentation, and how to give it a special and different approach, in my style. So after a lot of thinking I have decided to present this comparison as if it were a Beauty Contest. A beauty contest called:

_{Image edited by me using Powerpoint.}

The Contestants are:

Steemit

It is the main platform of the STEEM blockchain (have you heard of it?). It was born in 2016 and has been designed as a decentralized Social Network, where people share free content about their lives and other topics of interest with the platform community.

Community building and interaction between members are also encouraged.

SIA

It is a blockchain platform born in 2015, which was designed to function as data storage. Community members can rent space on their computers to store other people's information.

But don't be fooled, these two blockchains are more than just a pretty face, they also have many other talents.

_{Miss Steemit and Miss SIA... who will be the winner?. Image edited by me and taken from the Source: https://es.wikihow.com/ser-una-reina-de-belleza}

Their attributes are:

Steemit

Social networks have changed the world in the last decade. An average person spends hours browsing social networks, sharing and viewing content. Steemit takes this reality to improve the world of social networks through Blockchain technology, offering a space where users can create and share content without the need of intermediaries or being subject to unfair economic schemes.

In traditional social networks, original content is taken by large advertising companies to profit, leaving a small profit to the content creators instead.

This problem does not exist in Steemit, since blockchain technology establishes a peer-to-peer network, where no third parties are profiting from other people's content. In fact, the content is rewarded directly by other members of the community through their upvotes.

_{Steemit Logo, taken from Steemit website. Source: https://steemit.com/}

In summary, we can say that Steemit is a platform created for those people with the soul of a blogger, writer, and photographer, who wish to share their vision with the world and receive something in return. An additional point we should give to Steemit is that it works as a teaching and education platform, through which experienced members can share their experience with a specific audience and receive better rewards than they would receive in another social network. Case in point, Steemit Crypto Academy.

SIA

Cloud data storage services are part of our daily lives. What would our society be without cloud storage, or rather what would our mobile devices be without cloud storage?

What would you think if I told you that this wonderful concept could be even better thanks to blockchain technology?

This is where SIA comes in, which overturns two major problems of the traditional cloud storage system:

1- Data security and backup.

2- Incentive.

Traditional storage platforms work by storing user information on central servers. These central servers are easy targets for hackers, and on the other hand, they have the risk that if they fail, all the information is lost. We all have heard many cases where intimate photos of celebrities being stolen from their accounts by hackers who breach the security of these traditional storage platforms.

This problem is solved by SIA, which offers the storage capacity of the platform members' computers to provide such a service, forming a decentralized distributed storage network. In other words, there is no central server but the information is shared in a block of different servers (which are more difficult to hack), and on the other hand in case of a server failure, the client still has the opportunity to recover its data.

_{SIA Logo, taken from SIA website. Source: https://sia.tech/}

Secondly, for companies that offer cloud storage services, the only beneficiary is the company. There is no incentive to the public. However, at SIA, anyone with room space on their computer can host third-party data and be paid for it.

So far, both contestants go head to head.

Payment

Both manage their own cryptocurrencies, in the case of SIA, it is the Siacoins (approx=0.03USD according to coinmarket cap) Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/es/currencies/siacoin/. And in the case of Steemit it is the famous Steem (approx= 1.2USD), SP, and SBD (approx=9.0USD) according to coinmarket cap) Source: https://coinmarketcap.com.

_{Siacoin, Steem, and SBD. Symbols taken from Coinmarket cap website. Source: https://coinmarketcap.com.}

In the case of Steemit, the payments or rewards are through the curations that each member receives for their posts. The payment is variable because it depends on the quality of the posts and their acceptance in the community.

In the case of SIA, the payment comes as a reward for providing the storage service. Unlike Steemit, the payment is fixed: $2 per terabyte of storage.

As you can see, both contestants have a very good chance of generates profit.

Let's get technical

Another point of comparison between the two blockchains is their algorithms. In the case of SIA, it uses the Proof-of-Work (PoW) Consensus; and uses Reed-Solomon encryption, which allows redundancy of information.

On the other hand, Steemit employs a system known as Proof-of-Brain (PoB), which means that members are rewarded through the use of their creativity and knowledge in the creation of content.

On the other hand, SIA also uses smart contracts to add security to the network.

Through these contracts, payment is assured to the people whose computers store the information. On the other hand, if the storage criteria are not met, or worse, the information is lost, payments are not generated.

Benefits

It is natural to think that at this point in the competition, both blockchains are tied, as both present multiple features and benefits.

Among some benefits are:

1- Economic incentive for providing services: In the case of SIA the service is data storage. In the case of Steemit, it is education and information to the public.

2- Decentralized: There is a direct relationship between members without the need for a third party. In the case of SIA, the direct relationship is between the owner of the server and the owner of the information. In the case of Steemit, the relationship is between the content creator and the consumer.

3- Greater data security.

And the winner is...!

We have reached the climax of the evening when our Miss Blockchain will be elected.

However, it would be unfair to declare only one winner, because in the blockchain universe there is no one better than another.

All of them are important and winners because each one fulfills a function and provides a special service to people.

For this reason, I believe it's appropriate to declare a Tie, as both platforms are wonderful and benefit the lives of thousands of people around the world.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I did writing it. Good night and see you in the next edition of Miss Blockchain... or rather, in our next assignment. :-D