Why We Dimmed The Lights On Check-In
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A Blockchain Project to Incentivize Independent Research
The Birth of Check-In
On a chilly night in my cozy Airbnb rental nestled in the heart of Bogotá, Colombia, I could hear the lively chatter of fellow guests filtering through the walls.
The vibrant energy of the co-living space, filled with tourists & exchange students, buzzed around me as I unpacked for my month-long adventure.
After an exhausting ten-hour bus ride from Medellín to Bogotá, my body was weary, yet my spirit soared. The aroma of fresh flowers wafted through the common area, mingling with laughter & animated conversations.
As I settled into this new corner of the world, I felt a thrilling sense of possibility. Each moment here promised to be an adventure waiting to unfold & I was eager to dive into the vibrant culture that surrounded me. This was more than just a trip; it felt like a homecoming to a place I had yet to discover fully.
The night I arrived I was soaking wet from the rain, yet I felt a strong sense of accomplishment. It could’ve also been the Whisky Cappuccino I had at the Bogota North Transit Station.
Finally a few hours after unpacking & doing a few intros with other guests, I laid down on my bed and had an epiphany — I knew I had just gave birth to not only a Unicorn product but it also helped uncover some of blockchain most pressing questions.
I had already been working on (what we can call sections) of this puzzle for some time. The puzzle is designed as follows: Imagine a simple mind-map for a moment. Grab a piece of paper & a pen. In the middle of the paper draw a circle and in text write the word problem.
Either on the corner of the paper or in a ledger style table-boxes you can write an explanation of what the word inside of the different circles mean. For example in the middle of the paper you have one circle and inside of this one circle is one word in text.
That word is problem.
On the corner of the paper or inside of your ledger whichever you choose — write how you would define that problem. The problem located in the middle of your piece of paper — not one you randomly choose.
Since we’re referring to the project Check-In we will only be discussing topics that are related to this project. However, you can use this information on practically any mind map you choose to create.
Getting back to the topic in the center of the page. Here we will define the problem from our Check-In project.
A little historical background:
Combined there are over 1 billion users on social media today. It is common to post about everyday scenarios such as our favorite foods, relationship status, milestones achieved or just to connect with our fellow friends, family and colleagues.
What about the folks who post educational content, trending news or up-to-date research?
Some may inform the public or their networks for a variety of reasons such as awareness, develop interest based social connections or to stand out as an industry voice on subject matter.
Regardless, at Check-In we believe that EVERYONE contributing on social platforms should be incentivized for information that has been seen, read & interacted with especially when there are metrics that suggest it is their content that finalized a purchase, moved a client up a pipeline or brought new visitors to a product or service.
SOCIAL MEDIA PROBLEM
You’ve guessed it! The problem in the middle of your paper is defined here as a social media problem. The primary driver of revenue for these Fortune 500 companies with the world’s largest social networks (such as, Meta (Formerly Facebook) with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp. YouTube has a revenue sharing model yet is mostly based on viewing hours versus content reach. Others include TikTok, Snapchat & the Federated folks over at Mastodon which I have to admit I am a big fan of Mastodon.
I was so incredibly infused by the idea (laying in bed that night) that the first thing that came out was the new version made up of the compilation of the sections I had been tweaking for some time prior to this revelation. Both the front & back end had already been built out. It had gone through several testing rounds prior to pinpointing what exactly needed mediation and which aspects needed to be eliminated.
I had been toying with this idea since 2018, but honestly the people in my circles then felt limiting to the kind of technology that I was using at the time versus what I wanted to explore with no immediate monetary gain.
I understood their perspective, yet I think it would’ve become a hot topic today. The way GPT’s took search, Check-In has the ability to take social media because it solves the most pressing problem; which is users being incentivized for their contributions no matter its size.
The Medium platform that you are reading this story on also has a revenue sharing model and one of the best considering it is hard to measure these kinds of metrics despite utilizing advanced tech like AI.
More and more, platforms are moving in this direction and you may not yet know — that users getting paid for their contributions is becoming a trend.
The main reason is that if people are not profiting from their contributions, someone else is and this is not just injustice, it can also be considered inhumane since so many creators whether as a side hustle or for full time income — seem to struggle.
Check-In was built from the ground up using state-of-the-art resources, built by yours truly. It was a prove it to myself type of project that I could do it as a self taught compiler sort of cleaner rather than a hard core coder.
Now going back to the problem in the center of our page we know that to solve for this problem we would have to find a way to incentivize these contributors; which we call Independent Researchers. All contributors are considered Independent Researchers once they begin posting educational or insightful content.
How would one do this?
Check-in was built on the Polkadot Network. It has an incentive mechanism that enables users & developers to create & build user interfaces that allows content to be monetized at several different layers.
Think of a modern day MySpace where your pages are a bunch of modules you can get paid for.
My original LinkedIn post read as follows:
Exciting Opportunity in the Blockchain Space! 🚀
Hello LinkedIn community!
I’m thrilled to announce that I am scouting for talented individuals across the globe to join an upcoming innovative and lucrative project centered around #BlockchainTechnology.
Our mission is to incentivize independent research that maximizes visibility & profitability in this field.
We are particularly interested in connecting with professionals who have a strong familiarity with Blockchain & the Polkadot ecosystem.
If you are passionate about Blockchain, the Polkadot ecosystem & eager to contribute to a project that aims to push the boundaries of what’s possible, we want to hear from you!
What We’re Looking For:
- Experience in Blockchain technology.
- - Familiarity with the #Polkadot ecosystem
- - A passion for research and innovation
Why Join Us?
- Be part of a groundbreaking project that values your expertise
- Collaborate with like-minded professionals from around the world
- Opportunity for growth and lucrative incentives
If you or someone you know fits this description, please reach out!
Let’s connect and explore how we can shape the future of Blockchain & independent research together.
Looking forward to connecting with you!
#Blockchain #Polkadot #Innovation #Research #Opportunity #JoinUs
Future Innovations in Public Pool Revenue
Not just currency should be seen as a revenue generating model. A future version, I envision to have agents — agents would monetize these models on each user interface on auto pilot.
Public pool revenue is the source where the funds originate and are distributed amongst its contributors.
Proof-of-work creates a decentralized consensus mechanism that requires significant computational effort to validate transactions on a blockchain, ensuring security & preventing double-spending.
Brief Overview of Polkadot
Polkadot is a blockchain network designed to connect independent blockchains.
It uses a sharded architecture with a central Relay Chain that ensures security & consensus across the network.
The native token, DOT, is used for governance, staking & bonding. Polkadot employs a Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS) consensus mechanism, which enhances scalability & security by allowing parallel processing of transactions across parachains. This innovative approach aims to solve scalability issues & promote collaboration among diverse blockchain projects, making it a versatile platform for Web3 d’Apps.
How does Polkadot’s Consensus Mechanism Differ from Proof-of-Work
Polkadot’s consensus mechanism, Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS), differs from Proof-of-Work (PoW) in several ways. While PoW requires miners to solve complex mathematical puzzles using significant computational power & energy to validate transactions, NPoS selects validators based on their staked tokens. This reduces energy consumption and allows for faster transaction processing. In NPoS, validators are incentivized to act honestly by staking their cryptocurrency, which they risk losing if they validate fraudulent transactions. This makes NPoS more energy-efficient and scalable compared to PoW.
Using Polkadot Network to Incentivize Research Contributions
Overview
- Intro to Polkadot network and its capabilities
- Importance of incentivizing research contributions.
Polkadot’s Architecture
- Explanation of the Relay Chain and parachains.
- Role of DOT tokens in governance and staking.
Consensus Mechanism
- Overview of Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS).
- Comparison with traditional Proof-of-Work.
Incentive Model for Research Contributions
- Use of DOT tokens to reward research contributors
- Mechanism for evaluating and validating contributions
Implementation Strategy
- Integration of research evaluation systems within parachains.
- Use of smart contracts for automated reward distribution.
Benefits & Challenges
- Enhanced collaboration and innovation across blockchains.
- Potential challenges in implementation and scalability.
With this summary of how Polkadot supports a decentralized research ecosystem your project is equipped.
The reason why we pulled the final plug on Check-In was because we realized as a team that it required an entirely new architecture that doesn’t exist today because of the way the Internet is layered with TCP/IP.
The decision to discontinue the Check-In project stemmed from our realization that implementing it effectively would require an entirely new architecture, one that is currently unsupported by the existing TCP/IP model. The TCP/IP model, which underpins internet communication, consists of four layers: Link, Internet, Transport, and Application. While it efficiently manages data transmission, certain modern applications — like those demanding real-time processing or enhanced security — might require capabilities beyond what TCP/IP can offer without significant modifications. This limitation highlighted the need for developing new protocols or architectures to meet these advanced requirements.
Maybe a better explanation or continuation will be published one day — till then…
This led down a road to self-care — a long awaited — much needed — healing ❤️🩹 journey. Instead of worrying, let’s invest our time equipping ourself with gratitude & the knowledge & skills that will provide the quickest upgrade our lives so generously deserves.
To your success! 🚀
Thank you, for reading. 🙏
❤️ Rah Tech Wiz
About the Author
Susan Rodriguez is an Independent Tech Researcher at SQIFI.
Connect with her on LinkedIn.
