Blockchain for the Elderly

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 the Elderly is the fifth and final project from this 5 part series of explaining blockchain.

The target audience for this project (context) is the elderly (age group 60 and above).

In this project, I have explained the application of blockchain focusing on the pharma sector. Right medicine intake is critical in the lives of the elderly. Taking that into account, I have explained the problem of fake drugs which exists today and the way blockchain can solve that.

For this project, I have made a digital paper and given it a fictional title, The Senior Citizen Times. For the elderly, retired people (the senior citizens), I wanted to create something they can refer. A newspaper is the primary form of their information intake since they are not very used to technology.

Here is my final project:

The Senior Citizen Times | Issue 1 | Pharma Edition

Download the eNewsPaper for this special edition of The Senior Citizen Times
The Senior Citizen Times Issue 1: Digital Version

 

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 blockchain’s application to solve the problem of fake drugs
5. Simplify the technicality and relate it with the application
6. Write a news article relating to the senior citizens
7. Design a digital paper in an old style
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 one application of the blockchain – prevent fake drugs. 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 my final project of my five-part series of blockchain explanation, I have included 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 elderly.

 

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.