Internet is full of possibilities, but possibilities are usually obscured by fear, the fear of getting your identity stolen, or your credit card, or payment information. Our data is very important and we want to make sure is secured. If you are worried about data security I want to invite you to discover blockchain technology and find out how it has improved web monetization and crowdfunding, providing more security against counterfeit and phishing.

Blockchain ensures trust

You want to be able to tell when a dataset has changed and you need proof (if the case) that it has not been changed. Transparency is like a very valuable mineral nowadays, a medicine that cannot be found just everywhere. You may be one of those people that don't easily give in to make business partners because the world has taught you not to trust. For data to be visible to everyone in a more equal and secure way that can establish the trust that you need.

Even more when your money is on risk, none wants to put their money everywhere, you want to be sure that if you help someone in his/her crowdfunding campaign, for example, your money is really reaching that person, in the time you expected and the full amount. And of course, you want to make sure that these people are really who they say they are. So how do we get from an insecure, centralized information model to a decentralized authentication model like how we interact in the real world? The answer is a combination of cryptographic hashing and blockchain technology.

If you are here is probably because you have heard that blockchain may be the solution to the lack of trust, and I believe this is true. Having lived in a centralized society where one person or institution holds control over the finances as well as information on thousands of people, we’ve come to dream with decentralization, a system where there is no central authority that may succumb to corruption in the blink of an eye. Were we can hand the control over the data to the network because we just can't trust the parties involved!

Time-stamping true information

One of the most amazing things about blockchain technology is that every time information (data) is saved in any block it is timestamped, which means that no one, in particular, can edit the information on their own will without the network noticing such changes. Since the blockchain is a chain of blocks that have a very unique hash (alongside the hash of the previous block) any changes in the block, like a tampering intent, can be easily tracked down and be confirmed or rejected by the p2p network. If the block does not comply with the requirements of the network the whole chain is invalidated.

This is amazing, even though everyone can see what is happening in the network and has access to it, the blocks will remain untouched unless all of them agree to validate the given information. Blockchain is decentralized, transparent and open, but you can move encrypted data in a manner that is accountable. While the structure relies on hundreds, or even thousands of verifiers, in some ways it is much more private than regular systems.

To be able to save our data in such a way, where we don't rely on humans that can be so easily corrupted, is indeed the change many of us have been waiting for. Blockchain can, and will, change the way in which we interact with each other by enhancing trust among people. The worlds of accepted facts and actual truth might come closer together, and the infrastructure that supports deep, systemic corruption might fade.

For example, by signing in to blockchain-based platforms for crowdfunding like mintMe, you are then participating in a platform where one of the top priorities is to give the users a place where they can find legitimate information that they can verify. MintMe wants to change crowdfunding by allowing people to interact with each other and get to know their ideas and projects, helping each other within the trust that blockchain provides.

Eliminating the human factor.

But blockchain does not only change popular web monetization methods like crowdfunding but many other life matters not you may have never thought about before. Matters like voting systems, for example. How many times have you heard people complain because the voting system can’t be trusted? In countries like Venezuela, it is usual to see news with people declaring to have appeared in votings lists when they didn’t even go to vote, or even disease people getting their identities stolen for the same purposes. Only seeing it from this point of view the prospect of low-corruption future elections is enough to excite 99% of the world’s citizenry. These possibilities can manifest everywhere.

In a digital system like Bitcoin or MintMe, there is always consistency. Transactions obey the rules of the software no matter what, and there are no exceptions. Since no human feelings motivate actions, nor selfishness or personal benefit. In the real world, there are often exceptions, since every person is usually tempted to pull to their own side. Gold bars are stolen, houses burn down, music samples turn out not to be properly licensed, diamonds fail to be delivered. Why? Because humans sometimes don’t obey the rules.

When it comes to crowdfunding once more we found ourselves worried about trust. I’m pretty sure that you'd like to know if the person who is asking for help does really need It and that the purpose that person declared to have is at least verified by others. This is why blockchain even in the world of crowdfunding is so important and a factor of change.

But why is it so important?

The more advancements we make in technology, the more diligent we need to be to have control of our data and the privacy around our personal information. The internet is full of it and sometimes it is even frightening. To think that some enterprises have such delicate information, they know where you work, where you are, social accounts, they know your family and they can even know what kind of things you like.

Giving up that control shouldn't be a prerequisite to using the majority of online platforms and services. Blockchain innovation represents a new wave of development that will allow people to take back control of their privacy and personal data.

We have grown tired of data mislead and identity falsification and It’s true that the hand of the law is always after this kind of crime, but isn’t it too late? Wouldn’t we prefer to avoid/ prevent this kind of case instead of trying to fix them later on? Many have been cases of people who even fake their professions/ certificates and go as far as to be a doctor and deal with people’s health. If this is not an urgent matter for us then maybe we have to start checking our priorities.

Have you ever been the victim of identity theft? It is an ugly experience. Calling up credit card companies to change all your cards and dispute charges. Resetting passwords to all of your applications. Always worrying whether someone may have access to your personal phone, or even molest your loved ones, even if you were being diligent and using two-factor authentication.

The blockchain offers solace

Communication, money transactions, personal information, lower fees and instantaneous coupled with the protection of our privacy is the best of both worlds. Decentralization may be the answer to allow users to take back control of their privacy and personal data. Blockchain technology could be used to revolutionize the way people interact with each other, the way they create business contracts, even the way in which they help others, supporting crowdfunding initiatives, buying and selling tokens or just the way in which we store our data.

By Mary Schwartz