bbs.marketIntroducing BBS NetworkToday is a very special day for me. We are finally announcing BBS, a project I’ve been working on for more than a year, but really dreaming of for much longer. Before I got into the space, I spent 13 years building an online social network and a media sharing service (Contact.com 1998-2001, Metacafe.com 2003-2010). During all these years, it was quite clear that I’m playing in winner-takes-all games, where all network effects are monopolized by only one player in each segment. These zero-sum games never end well in real life, since the winner becomes a de facto (albeit sector-specific) monopoly, which limits user choice and therefore stifles innovation while overcharging customers. And of course, the “losers” don’t fare well either ;) I simply figured back then that if someone’s gotta win, it might as well be me - though it ultimately turned out to be Facebook and YouTube. In one of those life cliches, I’m quite pleased it turned out this way -- allowing me to understand the mechanics behind centralization at such a deep level, and take an even deeper dive into Bitcoin in 2011. BBS Network is the solution to the false dichotomy I faced: That you must turn out either a loser or a super-successful-evil-monopoly in any given industry you are trying to add value to. Some (few) of you may be as old as I am to remember the BBS era. A pre-Internet decentralized network of PCs running software that allowed anyone to dial-up to your computer, and through a text-based (ANSI) UX, enabled you to post messages, download/upload files (images, games, utilities, dev tools, and even the original BBS software itself, propelling organic growth) and to use cross BBS messaging systems that strung all the various instances into a networked product, a sum greater than its parts.The modern BBS Network is similar in that it is an online message-board service that is made of any number of independent providers - much like email (or the once dominant “newsgroups”) - however, there is a striking difference. Every BBS in the BBS network uses a public database (blockchain) to store all critical information - user accounts, posts, replies, reactions, revenues, etc. This means that while the network has many “owners”, the user can benefit from the network effect of all the message boards combined.Content creators also benefit as each post is actually an NFT that can be purchased and bid on, rewarding the content creator, as well as the curators and moderators related to it. Ad space on a post can also be “leased” to sponsors, creating additional revenue stream possibilities for whoever owns the post at a given time. Of course, thanks to blockchain and token technology, this can all be handled transparently, dynamically, and in real-time.BBS is also aiming to demonstrate how fully distributed online consumer services can be built, where users might have no idea what a blockchain even is. A good example is the first BBS, Starwarstheory.com, where literally all new traffic arrives from the popular YouTube Star Wars fan channel of the same name (3M subs and counting), unaware they are using a blockchain-based system. They only experience the advantages it has to offer:Innovation is centralized, so it should be no wonder that the first computer platforms, computer networks, and popular software stacks all came from private, proprietary technology corporations. But as soon as any given innovation is commoditized, standards begin to emerge such as the PC, Internet, and even open-source software. Online platform monopolies have explored and demonstrated exciting new ways for us to communicate and collaborate with each other, and have benefited tremendously from bringing these innovations to market. However, this doesn’t mean that we need to keep using their proprietary private networks forever. That time is now. The decentralized herd is coming. #LFG #deWeb
