was B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
I know people always get overly optimistic about the ability for decentralized systems to weaken our dependence upon or even displace major, for-profit centralized ones...
but gosh darn I hope Mastodon and the federation can do it!
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)
I hope we can continue to grow social communities outside of the predatory model of digital ad revenue, but to do this we must keep thinking about how to make these spaces available to and accessible by non-web-technical folks.
Apr 1, 2017 at 4:34pmWeb
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017

side note: I hate how "technical" has come to mean something super narrow.

If I say someone is technical, you're unlikely to think that they're a chemist or dancer or athlete, even though all these require strong technical acumen.

Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
Similarly, TECH folks (being technology industry folks) is also a constantly evolving but similarly exclusive term. I wish I had better ways to talk about the skills called for by these tools to be a host/provider.
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello a few years ago I would be skeptical but the infra and tech and prepackaged code is at the point where I wonder if it's really possible for this to be the first successful one
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
@five Gosh, I'm sure hoping so!
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello (yes, I'm an insufferable optimist)
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
@five It's lovely.
Bitcoin is still a bit like store credit, to me. While perhaps not centralized in a formal sense, the "governing body" that is bitcoin is probably smaller than, say, the authentication an enforcement of the US dollar.
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello oh definitely. It's wild that it's bigger than many countries now, but still super tiny vs USD or CNY or whatever. Or even $AAPL lol
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
@five Out of curiosity, do you know how big it is? I thought I had an estimate, but I'm now realizing that could be outdated and far off.
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello Bitcoin? Market cap is something like $16B I think? I'm guessing
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
@five No, in terms of active participants. The "value" is not important to me. Having one or a few people own an expensive thing is not a sign of a successful distributed system.
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello ah. Well because of the way it's designed these things are correlated, but -- right now there's drama bc the current transaction limit is reached, and people are arguing how to scale. So as of now it's, in a sense, so full it can't accept new users
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello perhaps counterintuitively, maxxing out like it is (in transactions per second) has the effect of supressing further rises in value. Which is why investors want the argument solved
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
@five It makes sense, given the technical constraints.
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello how into econ are you, are you familiar with Keynes' equation of exchange?
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
@five I studied Economics as my major in school
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello then I probably needn't say more!
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
@five Always good to brush up. It's been a minute ;)
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello I was just going to point out how it's straightforward in a system like Bitcoin with no obfuscated variables -- all else being the same, if Price is allowed to float freely, and you limit V (velocity, that is, of transactions), then V becomes a major bottleneck in further Price rises
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello sadly this isn't understood by plenty of those participating in the blocksize debate -- they don't realize advocating for keeping the current Tx limit will hurt them in the end. But it's OSS, they'll work it out in time
Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017
@five Yeah. The estimates I've seen are 1-2 million active users as an upper limit, where active is defined as wallets used within, say, the last two years.
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello existence of major aggregators like Coinbase make it super hard to track but that sounds like it's in the ballpark :)
Show threadJJ 🔇「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏴ⒶApr 1, 2017
@b_cavello looks like more like $17.5B. If you include a couple of the biggest alt-coins, the cryptocurrency market cap is >$25B
Show threadmkbApr 1, 2017

@b_cavello That was part of the motivation behind App.net: adverts place the company's interest in opposition to the users. By charging for the service their interest and the users' interest were aligned. Unfortunately not enough people shelled out, though I was a fan.

Of course charging users presents its own accessibility hurdle. Many cannot afford another bill.

What's the fix? Lower price? Freemium? Crowdfund? Grants? I sometimes joke that the US Gov't should nationalize Twitter.

Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Apr 1, 2017

@mkb Yeah, as long as we are in a system of capitalism, how to approach accessibility is an ongoing struggle. :(

Recommended donations can help, but it kinda relates to how easy it is for people to donate. (I confess: sometimes I am prepared to give until I see the donation form and all the info they ask for, and I'm like "nevermind!")