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Blockchain scalability solutions to drive user adoption

Post author By Francois Devillez
Post date 14/03/2019
No Comments on Blockchain scalability solutions to drive user adoption

Blockchain technology is a marvelous thing, it has brought major advancements, created economic value, and may even change the way we do business. However, any seasoned technologist knows that it’s more complicated than that. As entrepreneurs come up with new ideas, developers are hard at work finding blockchain scalability solutions.

In this article, I’ll talk more specifically about blockchain scalability solutions that improve user experience and drive user adoption. I’ll brush off the common misconceptions and mistakes that people who want to start a blockchain project make and offer alternatives.

Blockchain scalability solutions: on-chain vs off-chain

Many blockchain entrepreneurs want to put as much data on the chain as possible. They argue that it makes their project more decentralized. But this is not the best idea on several levels. There are several things to avoid when you’re starting a dApp development project.
First, blockchains facilitate the storage and transmission of value. They’re optimized for that. However, by pushing non-financial application data on the blockchain, you clutter the network and have to pay unnecessary transaction fees as a result. This reduces blockchain scalability by making it more expensive to run a dApp and slowing it down.
Blockchain scalability is a lingering concern for developers and entrepreneurs alike. However, blockchain scalability solutions exist with existing technology. State channels and side-chains, for example, allow users to store non-financial application specific data either on a secondary blockchain or in a database. Our developers recently implemented state channels in decentralized derivatives trading platform, CloseCross.
These solutions allow free microtransactions to occur parallel to the main blockchain. Only when you need to verify a result or record changes will the transaction write to the main network.
This phenomenon — also known as clearing — isn’t specific to the crypto industry and is commonly used in finance. Very often banking transfers and exchange order books are batched and executed at the end of a certain period of time, all in one transaction.
The same mechanism works in blockchain projects, allowing linear scaling in terms of fees and speed. This improves blockchain scalability by saving money, electricity, and time.

Blockchain scalability solutions in practice

Let’s say we’re creating a decentralized poker application. Maximalists might argue that each interaction should write to the blockchain.
They may design a project that would try to put everything on-chain — from card generation logic to a big smart contract containing all the game’s logic. Each players’ move would require gas transaction fees that fluctuate depending on network traffic. Few users would currently tolerate a fully decentralized poker game.
However, a more pragmatic blockchain project could use side-chains or state channels to record the stats of every game and only commit final results. These blockchain scalability solutions not only keep the game engaging but also keep fees low.

Focus on product development

In addition to trying to put everything on-chain, some blockchain projects lack product development. Let’s take a real blockchain startup Crowdwiz as an example. The company aims to “shift power away from intermediaries and centralized control and place it back in the hands of investors, who will benefit from financial services in a new, transparent way, with no middlemen and no hefty fees.”
Although the description of this project looks very salesy, the project succeeded in raising more than $7,000,000 in November 2017. More than a year and a half later, the project has little to show.
Recently, CrowdWiz released a Beta version of one of their products. Needless to say, the engagement is quite low (fewer than two users on the platform). Moreover, the price of the token decreased by 99% compared to the ICO price. Despite the fact that the project looked very promising, the product release took a lot of time and lost momentum.
Tech entrepreneurs must be aware of the fact that timing is everything. You want to catch the right momentum. I recommend the Blitzscaling approach popularized in Richard Hoffman and Chris Yeh’s book on startup growth. They lay out a path that can help develop your product in rapid iterations according to the needs of your users in record time.
Don’t take one year to release a perfect product. If your Beta looks very clean, it’s probably because you launched it too late. Investing a lot in product development and tech is the first step of any successful project.

Put users first

When we deal with new technology, user adoption, and user experience is key. Apple’s iPod is an excellent example of why a well thought design is crucial to the success of a product. MP3s and audio players were available at the time when the first iPod came out.
There was nothing really new in terms of technology. What really won the crowd is the convenient way to go through thousands of songs that the iPod had to offer. Same goes for the first Macs.
People are generally not tech savvy. However, almost all blockchain projects require users to generate and the store a private/public key pair, as well as understand blockchain specific concepts such as gas, ram, cpu….etc.
One of the main challenges of today’s blockchain industry is to make the interaction with the blockchain as fluid and as transparent as possible. As a reminder, in order to be able to use the first computers, users needed a good grasp of programming.
Nowadays, you can use a computer without any remote knowledge of programming or computer architecture. As such, user interaction should be the main focus to boost blockchain user adoption.

Forge partnerships

After the right timing, the second pillar of success is the right partnerships. The lightning success of ICOs has led to a proliferation of ICO websites and software templates promising an all-in-one solution for your project.
We think that every job needs the right tools, the more optimized your tools, the better the odds of success.
Don’t fall into the cheap trap of saving money where you really shouldn’t. Strong and secure foundations are important for any crypto project because they have a financial dimension.
We at Espeo, have a long experience building custom tools that offer blockchain scalability solutions for various projects. From side-chains to state channels, we can advise and get your project off the ground.

Conclusion

Poor user experience caused by low blockchain scalability hinders widespread user adoption. In order to make a good blockchain project, it is important to grasp the importance of existing blockchain scalability solutions such as side-chains and state channels.
Develop a realistic project that users want to use and interact with. It’s 2019! the only way to attract people to your platform is to make sure that they have as smooth as frictionless an experience as possible.

Media Apps: How media companies use web and mobile apps

Post author By Espeo Crew
Post date 19/10/2018
No Comments on Media Apps: How media companies use web and mobile apps

In days gone by, media was synonymous with a crisp morning paper and the aroma of ink. “Hot off the press” is still a common phrase for fresh news. Of course, this world has changed dramatically. The main source of revenue was paper sales and ads. This process was a staple of modern society and provided a focal point of news. The next revolution came in the form of the television, as media now became available at home. Instead of running down to the local store to pick up today’s newspaper, one simply had to tune into the morning and evening news bulletins.

Finally, the introduction of the internet has opened up new and exciting ways for the media to reach their target audience. Such is the nature of the medium that new and innovative measures have been made available to both the consumer and media corporations. The media conglomerates have benefited from a new wave of revenue, which explained further with four real-life examples.

CNN

A TV-based business model

Perhaps one of the most famous brands within the media industry, CNN is famous for its comprehensive coverage of international and American events. Of late, the network has been criticized for its political bias. However, that has not stopped the global powerhouse from obtaining a tremendous amount of market share within the international news and media market. In terms of revenue, CNN has developed a multi-layered stream that caters to its consumers around the globe. The CNN network achieves most of its revenue from the sale of television rights, as television organizations around the globe see its presence on cable and satellite packages as a drawcard.

Apps to help the growth

CNN has also made an attempt to keep up with the trends of the day, as they seek to enlarge their online presence through alternative media streams that differ from the traditional pen, paper, and television. Currently the CNN App is available on almost every mobile device. Its user-friendly design is primed to allow users to stay in the loop with current news events, both domestic and international. This has been developed as a new stream of revenue, as it serves to attract a market that is consistently connected to the web instead of a television screen or bookstore. They derive their revenue from advertising, as the attraction of traffic is a useful marketing tool for other entities.

CNN has introduced a new web-based forum that delivers content specially designed for high school age groups. Thus, the network has developed a user-friendly platform that is geared towards deriving future growth. Interestingly, the company seems to be willing to run the platform at a loss, as there are no adverts or other means of achieving an income. It seems to be an investment for the long run.

The development of a website that is linked with all the major social media sites is also a strategic segment of CNN’s business model. The idea is simple: draw enough traffic to the CNN website and achieve revenue from the advertising.

The Guardian

From ad-driven philosophy to the reader contribution model

A well-trusted media source that attempts to cater to the newsfeed needs of society, The Guardian has lived through the advent of both television-based media and the current online craze. As such, it seeks to engage with its consumers in increasingly meaningful ways. The Guardian has changed its revenue strategy and succeeded in building a new business model, in which reader revenue from web and print subscriptions surpasses that of ad revenue. The Guardian was primarily ad-driven and wasn’t very open for a paywall model because of the belief journalism should be widely accessible. Now, half of the revenue comes from advertising, one-third from individual contributions and the rest from philanthropic donations. Advertising continues to grow, driven by programmatic and native ads, but reader revenue is expected to surpass advertising in the next several months.

Customized apps: Looking for niches

The Guardian business development strategy includes opening up for new target groups and new activities and support them with dedicated web and mobile applications.
An example of this kind of approach was The Guardian Soulmates platform. Soulmates app was an online dating web application with a mobile app version. Our Espeo developers had a pleasure to work with The Guardian colleagues on creating this application. The Guardian’s goal while building the Soulmates application was to extend brand awareness and increase its profits.

Lately, The Guardian has also developed, in partnership with Espeo, a dedicated web application that provides teachers with key information, such as finding lesson plans, work schemes, presentations, student activities, and assessments. Espeo took on the responsibility of updating the platform, one that implemented larger storage and increased capacity for traffic. Moreover, as it enjoys a reputable brand that has stood the test of time, The Guardian also boasts a favorable presence within the social media sphere, as attractions such as football news often go viral. Again, this leads to increased traffic on the site and revenue derived from advertising organizations.

The Daily Wire

A Unique Content Approach

Alternative media that takes advantage of the information age, the Daily Wire is a nod to what can be achieved with successful e-marketing campaigns and the presence of unique content. The network leverages on the individual fame of its employees in order to create a focal point of conservative media. Staying true to its new and edgy feel, the Daily Wire’s business model is also in tune with the demands of the current day. Weekly podcasts are offered by at least three of the more famous representatives, drawing a tremendous amount of following from individuals tuning in with the use of mobile devices. Moreover, they obtain revenue from advertising from within the content.

Personal brands and viral marketing

Social media pages and channels have also been a core part of the Daily Wire’s business model. The company uses YouTube to target a younger demographic and the content is shared on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This is another stream of advertising-based revenue that is the result of drawing traffic to thought-provoking content.

As with most news outlets, the Daily Wire runs a video and article-based website that is designed to function with social media plugins and the strength of its brand. Interestingly, most of the traffic is derived from the strength of the personal brands of its employees and partners. The network has achieved a new and exciting revenue stream through viral marketing. This revolution is more conceptual in nature (as opposed to innovative tech) but the results of having employees act as promotional assets allows the business to perform well above its expected income. This can be seen in the link between Ben Shapiro’s Twitter account and the influx of traffic to the site.

ESPN

The Power of sport-based news

Despite the fact that the company is primarily involved in the live coverage of sports – American sports in particular – the company is a major stakeholder in the sports media market, as it is the host to a variety of sports-based coverage and news. Digital adverts make up a substantial proportion of the company’s multi-billion-dollar revenue stream, and this is derived mainly from news coverage. Therefore, it is safe to place ESPN within the media category, and its media-based revenue may be summarized thusly.

Mobile App and Live-streaming

Media Revolution: How media companies utilize web and mobile apps

ESPN uses a website as a focal point that provides updates of sports news by the minute. This encourages traffic and translates into revenue from advertising. Moreover, they also have a presence on social media, with many millions of followers on a variety of platforms. Advertising is also achieved through a mobile app.

ESPN has been voted the most innovative company in 2017, an achievement that is largely due to the way the network interacts with its online audience. Moreover, the company spent more than 1 billion dollars in order to add a live-streaming option to their list of subsidiaries. Thus, through a platform that encourages an online migration, the company continues to open an international client base with the acquisition of subscription-based revenue.

Media Apps and their impact

The internet is nearly endless in the number of possibilities it provides for a variety of industries. As media continue to move away from traditional paper-based revenue streams, the internet is turning into a haven for the distribution of media content. With the new and innovative ways to increase revenue, which seem to spring out of nowhere, one almost gets the sense that media have just scraped the surface of internet-based potential: perhaps the best is yet to come.

Blockchain Financial Services Other

Smart contract use cases: commodity trading (tiqpit)

Post author By Natalia Brzozowska
Post date 26/02/2018
No Comments on Smart contract use cases: commodity trading (tiqpit)

Tiqpit’s idea to move commodity trading to the blockchain is one of our most recent smart contract use cases. As co-founder Mike Ziemkendorf said, tiqpit was born out of the move to Malta: the confrontation with the situation on the small island, paired with the founders’ insider knowledge of how commodity trading works. See how tiqpit aims to solve trading problems and how Espeo is helping them to achieve that with blockchain.

How did you get the idea for tiqpit?

The final idea came from a necessity, I guess. Bitcoin and the blockchain idea went mainstream in 2011. Malta, our company location, is a very small island. Seeing the everyday struggles people have there to buy goods made us wonder. We’re 90 kilometers from Sicily and still, everything is so expensive. As traders in different markets and financial instruments, we know what that reality looks like as well. The highest price makes the profit, wetting and speculating… adding to the everyday costs of the end-consumers and leaving the producers with very small margins. Everything is overcomplicated. The confrontation with the local situation, paired with our knowledge about how the end price is set, was the final push for the tiqpit idea to take form.

Since “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” (Albert Einstein) blockchain gives us an opportunity to employ a different kind of thinking to solve the problems we created in the past.

So what exactly needed fixing in commodity trading?

TIQPIT - TRADING PLATFORM OVER BLOCKCHAIN FOR COMMODITY MARKETS

Commodity trading is very speculative, centralized, and in the hands of very few market players. It’s a very unfair system. This is exactly what we’re trying to change. We created a vulnerable trading environment, with proprietary matching engines and multiple proprietary protocols. Orders aren’t handled equally and fairly between market participants. This can lead to price manipulation. The system is inefficient and serves only a chosen few. Opportunistic information sharing and intermediary fees add costs and complexity. Of course, the end-consumer suffers.

How is your solution different?

eXAMPLES OF PROJECTS WORKING WITH BLOCKCHAIN SOLUTION IN THE ENERGY AND COMMODITY SECTOR

I know there are other projects and trading-related smart contract use cases. However, almost all of them are mostly based on private blockchain solutions. They’re led by major energy traders, in cooperation with exchanges and banks. Therefore, the projects are kept in-house and for their own use. Everything happens without the involvement of current and future end-customers, producers, suppliers and consumers. br>Tiqpit Solutions applies blockchain technology to create an easy-to-use and inter-operable b>trading, insurance, finance, reporting and risk management platform for all kinds of tradable commodity and energy products. But this time, we created it on an open-source blockchain solution. In one platform, we combine modules for each kind of participant involved in a commodity trade. That’s unique. Our tiqpit platform has no potential conflict of interest against any network participant. It’s tailored to the participants’ needs, with the aim to open the commodity and energy market for everyone.

So, blockchain was the best option?

At this moment, we see blockchain technology as the best solution to decentralize commodity trading. In short, commodity and energy supply contracts can be carried out automatically. They can be performed directly between producers and consumers (peer-to-peer). All other solutions, like cloud based services, will always have the ‘centralized touch’ with some control over trade matching, information flow or settlement.

Blockchain technology is the best way to connect all market participants (small and large producers, suppliers, consumers, authorities and auditors) in a direct and efficient way. Also, it allows participants to take control, by providing instant, real time information flow. At the same time, it offers significant cost reductions – by more than 30% per contract.

In your opinion, what are the challenges for blockchain adoption? Will we be seeing more smart contract use cases?

The technology is still emerging – it’s relatively new, and people tend to be skeptical about new things. Compare it with the evolving Internet in the early 90’s. New technology always has its faults, but, at the same time, it’s very exciting and offers lots of opportunities.

We currently lack a common set of standards for blockchain transactions. We hope that this will be addressed in the near future.
I hope we’ll be able to standardize the wide variety of uses for blockchain and form some guidelines. This would help new products, smart contract use cases and services based on the blockchain evolve.
Although auditability and transparency are the benefits of blockchain, highly regulated industries may need to develop new rules. Blockchain’s distributed ledger transactions are likely to necessitate changes to industry regulations governing financial reporting, auditing processes or information-sharing regulations.
Also, laws will need to be made to govern blockchain’s smart contracts.
Of course, let’s not forget the security, vulnerability and validation of the transactions.

But all this will be addressed in the near future, in line with the current developments in the technology and as blockchain business ideas mature in the industry.

How did you come across Espeo, and what have we done for you?

We were searching for someone who would understand our needs from a technical perspective. Espeo provided just that, with your expertise in web design and smart contract development for our upcoming Token Generation Event (TGE).
Espeo coded the smart contract (Solidity, Truffle, web3.js), including KYC mechanisms (AWS S3, Lambda) and implemented the Ethereum and Bitcoin payment module for the ICO. We also designed and developed the landing page (React.js). Tiqpit could start an ICO and proceed with their plan to revolutionize the commodities market.

Where do you see tiqpit in 5 years? What are your plans for the future?

In 5 years, with a 3.0 platform! But we would like to concentrate on the here and now, and create a great commodity trading platform based on the blockchain. See what we’re up to at www.tiqpit.com!