IoT conference Malm? 2018: Blockchain - what we learnt

Last Thursday (26th April) I had the amazing opportunity to come along for the IoT Conference in Malm? (Sweden). I was very excited to meet people, talk about the OAX Project and learn more about Blockchain. The talks varied from Smart Cities to AI and Blockchain. I was particularly interested in the Blockchain talks, and they didn’t disappoint.

The first on the stage was Xavier Decuyper with a very didactic and yet entertaining talk on the basics of Blockchain. Xavier is a YouTube influencer and his channel Simply Explained became well-known for his simple and clear way educated the masses on Blockchain and its diverses applications. It’s was great to hear him talk and clarify some misconceptions (Blockchain isn’t Bitcoin for example) for those who were still not familiar with the technology yet.

After on stage was Christine Mohan on Sustainable Journalism with Blockchain. She talked about her project Civil, a decentralized marketplace for sustainable journalism and how Blockchain enabled this decentralization. I also had a pleasure to catch up with Christine afterwards and talk about the OAX project. We both agreed that decentralization is the way forward for many industries.

Last on the day was Hampus Jakobsson with “Blockchain: The good, the bad and the ugly”. Hampus is an angel investor and well-known figure on the Blockchain scene. He started by explaining how the world economy moved from financial capital (fiat money, centralized banks, one dimensional) to a more decentralized economy. Also, he called the time we live now “the age of attention” - our attention is a new asset for social media channels (Facebook, Instagram etc) and by controlling our attention it’s how they make money. His talk was more philosophical rather than purely about Blockchain, but an eye-opener nonetheless. In his words: “Freedom is the ability to control your own attention”. Some food for thought here.

Watch this space for more on the OAX Project soon.

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