Blockchain for Professionals

5 in 5 | Major Studio 1 | MFADT

A 5-in-5 project means doing 5 projects in 5 days (one project each day). My 5 in 5 project involves explaining Blockchain to 5 different age groups, based on their level of understanding, and using the media they understand the most. Blockchain for Professionals is the fourth project from this 5 part series of explaining blockchain.

The target audience for this project (context) is professionals (age group 35-60).

In this project, I have explained the application of blockchain. The professionals have seen the world and they understand how it works. They are the industry leaders, the policymakers, and they have a say in shaping our future. My idea for this project is to explain the importance of blockchain (no, it is not Bitcoin – Bitcoin is like an app in the Blockchain App Store).

For this project, I have made an audio narrative in the form of a podcast. For professionals, I wanted to create something they can refer on the go.

This explanation is in its most clear form and I hope the listeners would find value in it.

 

The Future of Blockchain | Podcast | Episode 1

Transcript

Welcome to the first episode of The Future of Blockchain, a podcast where we talk about blockchain and the way it is shaping our world. I am your host, Akshansh Chaudhary.
On today’s show, I am going to talk about trust. What does it mean to trust someone?
As you go to work today, look around you. What do you see: several passengers in a crowded subway, a fruit vendor on the street, a bank branch on which you just opened your account, the cafe from where you buy your morning coffee? Do you recognize them? Do you trust them?
We, humans, have cultured ourselves to trust the society around us. We started with trusting other humans. Gradually, we started building our trust on institutions, like banks for storing our money and governments for validating our identity, media like newspapers and television for updating us about the world, tech companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon for storing our personal information, and most prominently, the internet, for telling us everything.

We are in an interesting phase right now. The world wants to create one platform for storing everything and wants everyone to be a part of it. To do that, the world requires us to create another leap of trust. It wants us to trust this platform to store our identity. This platform or technology is called blockchain.

Think of blockchain as a community of people and institutions. Everyone in this community is connected to each other. They are connected such that their identities are known to others in the community. So, if you are a part of that community, everyone knows you and you know everyone.

It doesn’t stop there. Not only do people know each other, they also know what others are doing. So, if you bought something from someone, the community would know. If you shared your personal information with someone, the community would know. Similarly, if someone else in the community bought something, you would know. So basically, no one can hide from each other.

The way this works is that no one in the community knows the details of the transaction taking place. They just verify the transaction because they know you and they trust you. It sounds a little odd in the beginning, but if you think about it, everyone is just trusting each other because they know they can’t hide.

Think of it this way. Why create such a platform?
Today, we are too used to saying, “We don’t know. This is how it works.”: we don’t know why a bank takes 3 days to process a wire transfer because this is how it works; we never know whether our vote was counted in the election because this is how it works; we don’t know whether the news we saw was real or fake because this is how it works; we don’t know why we must share the same document on different places to validate our identity because this is how it works; we don’t know whether the medicine we just bought from the chemist is real or fake because this is how it works.

Well, not anymore. We must know. It’s time.
So now, if the government and I are a part of this community, every time I vote, I would know that my vote was counted because I can see the government receiving my vote. If the person sharing the news is on the community, I would know whether the news is real or fake because I can track the origin of that news. If everyone from the manufacturer to the distributor of medicine is a part of this community, I would know that the medicine is not a fake because I can see the origin of that medicine. I can see everything. I know everything.

Now let’s go a step further.
If everyone in the community knows me and I know everyone, I don’t need someone else to prove my identity. The community knows me already. So, I don’t need a bank to verify a transaction because I know the other person and the other person knows me. I can directly send my money to them. And not just to someone I know, I can send my money to anyone in the community because I know their identities, and I know that no one can hide. This concept is revolutionary. This means that I don’t need third-party validations. No more middlemen!

Let’s look at another interesting finding.
Let’s say I attach my personal documents to my identity. Since everyone in the community knows me, they automatically know that these personal documents are mine. Suppose, if anyone in the community wants to validate my identity, I can simply show them the documents and the documents are automatically validated because the community knows me. This is interesting because unlike before, where I had to share the same document on multiple places, now I can just attach them to my identity and show them when needed. So, no more duplication!
A related application comes in a transfer of authority. Let’s say I own a property and I want to transfer it to my brother. All I need to do is attach the property document to my brother’s identity. Everyone in the community would see that and would know that now, they belong to my brother. I won’t need to get the document notarized from any authority. The community knows not just the owner of the document which would be my brother, but also the origin of that document which is me.

The key to creating this community is that you cannot centralize this. You cannot trust one person with the information about everyone. So, you save this information with everyone in the community. You trust each other.

The applications of blockchain are endless. It is still in the growing phase. Be the first one to develop an application that is relevant to your industry. Influence that change.

Say this out loud with me: I trust blockchain and will bring it to the world.
Once again: I trust blockchain and will bring it to the world.
Thank you for listening to the show. I am your host, Akshansh signing off.

See you on the blockchain!

 

 

THE PROCESS

This entire project was completed within 24 hours. Here is the process I followed:

1. Select the topic: Blockchain
2. Break the topic down in terms of the deliverables
3. Research the technical details of the blockchain
4. Research the potential applications of a blockchain
5. Simplify the technicality and relate it with the application
6. Write an audio narrative for the podcast
7. Record and edit the podcast
8. Document the entire process and the research done on the project

Here is my project brainstorming video:

SCOPE
This project is primarily about explaining the applications of the blockchain. I have intentionally left out the technical details of the working of the blockchain, as I understand that my target audience is more concerned about the potential use of the technology.

The idea from conceptualization to finalization took a series of steps. Since this is the fourth part of my five-part series of blockchain explanation, here are some images of the initial bits of brainstorming I had done on this project, to give it this shape. Note that some of the images reflect the work done on other age groups since I had to divide what part of the topic I wanted to cover for the professionals.

 

Special thanks to Mohini Dutta (MS1 faculty) who really helped me understand the assignment objective.

 

RESEARCH

Blogs and Websites

[1] Animal Ventures | https://animalventures.com/

This website documents the references of one of the researchers of blockchain – Bettina Warburg. Her research was the central resource through which I found other resources to read and understand blockchain. These included YouTube videos, blogs, and TED Talks.

[2] Blockchain Main Website | https://www.blockchain.com/

This website shows a live blockchain network. This helped me understand what blocks look like in a blockchain, how they function, and how Blockchain is an open ledger – everything verifying what I have been understanding through other blogs and videos.

[3] Thinking outside the blocks | BCG | https://www.bcg.com/blockchain/thinking-outside-the-blocks.html

This article explains the blockchain concept in detail with its focus on Bitcoin. I have used this as a reference for my fourth project of the Blockchain series – Blockchain for Professionals

YouTube

[4] Blockchain Expert Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED | https://youtu.be/hYip_Vuv8J0

This video and a series of other videos from Wired were my primary source of inspiration for this project. This video clearly breaks down the entire blockchain concepts in 5 fragments, based on the level of complexity of the audience. This video helped me structure my project as per the age groups and construct the content relevant to each age group.

[5] How does a blockchain work – Simply Explained | Simply Explained – Savjee | https://youtu.be/SSo_EIwHSd4

This video was one of the first videos I watched on the blockchain. The concepts presented in the video were fundamental to shape my understanding of blockchain and help me explore it further. The concept of cryptocurrency and hash function has been very well explained in this video. I included this understanding in my second project – Blockchain for Teenagers.

[6] Blockchains: how can they be used? | Simply Explained – Savjee | https://youtu.be/aQWflNQuP_o

This video talks about the applications of Blockchain. The concept of connecting everything online, and then distributing that information to everyone has a lot of applications. Since blockchain is the technology that is driving this distribution, it has a lot of applications. This understanding helped me better realize why the world is prioritizing this technology, and why are people seeing a future in this. This video is the basis of my fourth project (for working professionals) in which I have talked about the applications of blockchain and its relevance.

[7] Understand the Blockchain in Two Minutes | Institute for the Future (IFTF) | https://youtu.be/r43LhSUUGTQ

Before this video, I was understanding blockchain to be a decentralized network. After watching this video, I got to know that Blockchain is a distributed network and not a decentralized network. This conclusion helped me better understand the network of PCs on which Blockchain operates – how resources are shared between PCs and what mining means. More details are available on their website post, http://www.iftf.org/blockchainfutureslab/.

[8] What is Blockchain? | CNBC Explains| CNBC International | https://youtu.be/8o9QxMxhTp8

This video helped me understand the use of blockchain for low-income countries. Since blockchain is a digital resource, if the official documents are stored online, they can be verified through the blockchain technology and simultaneously be saved from natural disasters or accidental deletion. This further helped me understand the sharing of resources in a network.

[9] Ever wonder how Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) actually work? | 3Blue1Brown | https://youtu.be/bBC-nXj3Ng4

Grant Sanderson graphically explains the concept of cryptocurrency in this video. The technical concept of hash functions has been very well explained, and I have used this as a primary reference to explain blockchain in my third project, Blockchain for Graduates.

[10] How secure is 256 bit security? | 3Blue1Brown | https://youtu.be/S9JGmA5_unY

This video was fundamental in explaining that it is computationally impossible to cheat in a blockchain network. I was interested in the topic and to learn more about how secure blockchain actually is. This video really pushed the limits. The graphics are done very well and help explain the concept easily.

TED Talks

TED Talks focus on the impact of technology and trends around the world. I chose TED Talks to be one of my primary reference of information, mostly because the impact analysis and applications discussed on this stage help understand the topic better, and since I had to explain the topic from the perspective of different age groups, explaining through references was critical in making the viewers understand the technology.

[11] How the blockchain will radically transform the economy | Bettina Warburg | https://www.ted.com/talks/bettina_warburg_how_the_blockchain_will_radically_transform_the_economy

This talk explains the concepts of middlemen in our society and how we developed ourselves by trusting them for everyday operations. So, we started with people and gradually moved to institutions. This talk focuses on the idea of trusting technology. It was fundamental in my understanding of trust in technology and how people are evolving themselves to adjust to it. I have applied this understanding in all my projects.

[12] How Blockchain can transform India | Jaspreet Bindra | TEDxChennai | https://youtu.be/8fbhI1qVj0c

Through this TED Talk, I understood the difference between Blockchain and Bitcoin. This understanding made me realize that blockchain is the technology, and Bitcoin is just a tool on that technology, just as Google Maps is an App on the vast App Store, or Wikipedia.org is a website on the internet!

[13] Blockchain: Massively Simplified | Richie Etwaru | TEDxMorristown | https://youtu.be/k53LUZxUF50

Through this TED Talk, I understood what are blocks and how a series of blocks make a chain. I included this understanding in my second project – Blockchain for Teenagers.

[14] New Kids on the Blockchain | Lorne Lantz | TEDxHamburgSalon | https://youtu.be/A1Vbrxkqjwc

Through this talk, I learned several applications of blockchain in the banking system and the reason why international transfers are time-consuming. I included this understanding to prepare my third project – Blockchain for Graduates.

[15] Blockchain and Middlemen | TED Institute | https://www.ted.com/watch/ted-institute/ted-bcg/blockchain-and-the-middleman

This video explains how trust is the foundation of the blockchain. I understood that blockchain is basically trying to shift the trust of people from institutions (like banks, companies, government, etc) to technology. Trusting technology like this would be a major leap because we humans started our society with trusting other humans. This has gradually scaled up from trusting people we didn’t know, platforms we had not used, and networks we had not explored, to trusting technology we don’t know.

[16] The potential of Blockchain | BCG and TED | Mike Schwartz | https://www.ted.com/talks/mike_schwartz_the_potential_of_blockchain

This video explains bitcoin and smart contracts. I have utilized the understanding of these concepts in my fourth project – Blockchain for Professionals.

[17] We have stopped trusting institutions and started trusting strangers | Rachel Botsman | https://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_botsman_we_ve_stopped_trusting_institutions_and_started_trusting_strangers

This TED Talk explains the concept of trust by giving examples of technologies we trust today. The examples like Airbnb and Tinder make it relatable to my third age group, and I have quoted these in my third project, Blockchain for Graduates. I have also taken other references (Bla Bla Cars) quoted in this talk. The idea of taking a trust leap in today’s world is critical to the adoption of Blockchain technology, and Rachel explains it very well in her talk.

Harvard Business Review

[18] Blockchain – What you need to know | HBR  Podcast | https://hbr.org/ideacast/2017/06/blockchain-what-you-need-to-know

This HBR podcast discusses the basics of blockchain and how it works. The discussion taking place in the podcast helped me give an overview of the blockchain. Sarah Green Carmichael asked crisp and eye-opening questions during the show, which helped me understand the topic in a better way.

[19] The truth about blockchain | HBR | https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-truth-about-blockchain

This HBR article discusses the transition that has taken place in technology from TCP/ IP to blockchain. It helped me understand the evolution of human mindset and its adoption and transformation to the digital age.