Blockchain – The Answer To An Inequitable Marketing Industry

More and more people are looking for online solutions and opportunities as they realize this is where it’s at when it comes to either creating an income or advertising their business. It can be overwhelming and a real challenge when getting started and the utter extent and scale of the types of marketing available ranging from SEO, search engine marketing (SEM), social media, Inbound marketing, email marketing to native advertising, otherwise known as paid ads or sponsored posts. 
It has become a real jungle out there, and the growth in online marketing over the last five years has been substantial. The statistics of what is trending say; 

• 61% of marketers believe growing SEO or organic presence is a high priority of inbound marketing. 
• Businesses earn an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Adwords. 
• Businesses that show up on the first page of search results get 92% of consumer traffic. 
• Google has a 92.78% search engine market share as of October 2019

 
Search Engine Optimization can be relatively cost-free, however, it produces lower-ranking results due to slow optimization. As more companies are vying to be in the first five of the first page in the search results, many of them are going to paid search options. With PPC (pay per click) there is an opportunity to get on the first page within a day as the strengths of paid search are its speed and expansiveness. The cost can reach into the thousands, especially if a professional firm is hired to manage it full time which arguably is the recommended way to go for optimized brand exposure.  
With more people opting for these services, there is more likely to be extreme risks involved. It’s opening the doors for more data breaches which are happening more often and with an increasing number of users’ records acquired by potentially dangerous and unscrupulous entities. Hackers are continuing to find new ways to access databases and the companies who manage these records display little confidence in their ability to protect first-party data. 

 
How Can Blockchain Help The Marketing Industry?

The online space, on the whole, is improving with the advent of Blockchain technology. Many industries are utilizing the blockchain to improve performance and align their objectives including marketing companies. Marketing strategies and entities like Google Ads, Facebook or any other ad companies for that matter are supposed to help businesses bring traffic and increase lead generation, however, a big issue is the black hat SEO practitioners have infiltrated the industry and have created ad frauds as a significant source of revenue. 

What’s The Difference Between White And Black Hat SEO?

White Hat and Black Hat SEO are both known elements of the SEO industry. These deliver services that are either the right side or the wrong side of what is considered to be ethical. White hat plays by the rules taking a slower, labor-intensive approach to boost search rankings. Black hat SEO companies often use shifty tactics to trick the search engines into providing higher rankings.

 

 

With blockchain technology comes transparency and immutability which eradicates ad fraud and the possibilities of fake click-through rates and bot-driven traffic. Synonymous with the reasons why we now have cryptocurrency, the important and vital advantage of blockchain is to bring transparency to the advertising world. The superiority of blockchain technology and the immutability or tamper-proof characteristic of the distributed ledger system will bring genuine players making an ecosystem of fairness and opportunity with the tools, counter black hat SEO techniques, and fake user eradication. Here are 4 attributes…

  

Market Transparency

The fact that Blockchain is an encrypted, decentralized database of distributed and interlaced nodes, it is suited and can be integrated into all forms of digital marketing. It can solve many issues that come with digital marketing, such as data privacy, security and content monetization. Companies cannot manipulate data so users can feel at ease as the Blockchain data is transparent. 
 

Consumers Regain Control Of Their Information

Marketing companies will no longer be able to extract customer’s information without their permission. It will be a case of earning their consent. There are some blockchain data companies now paying consumers for the use of their contact information and attention. Killi is one App that launched in May 2019 paying users for their data. Every transaction occurs through blockchain, which solves the compliance challenge inherent in regulation such as GDPR or California's Consumer Privacy Act with regards to securing data, the company says. Users, meanwhile, have a full record of who exactly has purchased their data. This gives the consumers full control of their information. 

Brandon Galindo, an account manager at eMarketer, says he downloaded the Killi app partly because of privacy concerns. "Right off the bat you're asked to insert your identity, phone number, allow persistent location and enable Advertising ID," he says regarding his experience in signing up. "Brands can reach out to you, but it is so much more transparent; I'm the one that is asking for this and I am the one who is allowing you to have my data."

 
Security Benefits And Data Protection

With meticulous data protection regulations like the GDPR, marketing companies can leverage blockchain technology to store huge volumes of client data securely. Furthermore, due to the regulatory agreement of the GDPR, it will require marketers to acquire consent which can also be managed on the blockchain. The integration of blockchain technology will change online marketing as it offers incomparable benefits for marketers in terms of performance, security, and transparency with enormous possibilities. End-users will have more control over what companies can send information to them and companies will more easily be held accountable for their actions and lack of transparency. 

 

The Marketing Intermediaries Eliminated

Without blockchain, if a company wants to offer banner advertisements on its website it has to do so through Google AdSense so that no unethical businesses will take over your ad space. This is where Google processes the transaction and charges a fee for its part in the deal. Companies won’t have the need to go through a third-party platform such as Google with the blockchain structure. That’s because blockchain users can be verified through their networks. People would know they’re getting what they’re paying for as opposed to potentially paying for clicks that aren’t genuine.

The other thing to consider is the rising percentage of zero-click searches on Google. That means Google is displaying the answers to many queries on the SERP so there is no need for a user to click on any displayed links, thereby reducing the traffic to other content or websites. Some have said, the rise in zero-click searches which was at 50.3% in June 2019, maybe another indicator of Google abusing its power as a huge portion of clicks are going to Google’s own sites. 

So basically, Google has gone from being everyone’s search engine to everyone’s competitor. If you’re a marketer that relies heavily on Google, there are still opportunities where you can pretty much bypass the search engines and grow your brand and presence outside of search.

 

Many marketers depend totally on SEO in their business so they need to be aware of the issues that may be causing the drops and lower-ranking, and what is now available to them, or they may well continue to lose traction. As more consumers become blockchain savvy and companies start to integrate it into their operations, it will change the digital marketing world as we know it. It will become less expensive achieving better results and the novice marketer and small business will be able to compete. 

Community Is Key

This is where a hybrid Market Network can take the reign and run with it. Markethive, with its new blockchain technology mixed with traditional Inbound Marketing, Commerce, Social Networking, and Digital Media, is not reliant on Google search engines or any other for that matter. SEO is a secondary consideration. It builds its own society and its traffic is contingent on the Markethive membership driving more traffic in, due to the nature of its platform, what it has to offer, the viral aspect and rewards system in place. Just one of the attractions is that Markethive is not dependent upon Google.

 

What Is Markethive? 

Markethive with its deep level linking dynamics is a multi-dimensional, social organizational integrated system. Integrating Vast Social networks reaches, internal social network connections, unlimited interconnected WordPress blogs, the vast API news sites like NBC, Wired Magazine, Bloomberg, Western journal, Mashable and 1000s of other news sites, that continue to expand due to the power of your own Markethive network and the collaboration of separate Markethive groups all working in union with each other. 

The ability to register and assign your many social networks into the Markethive matrix produces a reach literally into the billions. Markethive is an upcoming Market Media and Content Publisher offering Press Releases and Sponsored Articles at a negligible cost and with a reach well beyond existing social and market networks. After comparing 480 other news media sites with regards to their social reach and followers and Alexa ranking, Markethive sits within the top 5 with an Alexa ranking of 11,436 at the time of writing. This continues to drop daily as subscribers flock to join the Markethive network. 

Blockchain Technology and the cryptocurrency sphere have enabled businesses to align themselves with the users’ need and right to be in control of their data and how they use their time to monetize their efforts. Markethive, with their mandate being the rise of the entrepreneur and the fall of the tyrannies that plague society was created by a visionary who saw this coming and much needed to empower marketers, create equality and universal income to enrich society on every level. 

Visionary, Founder and CEO, Thomas Prendergast, says Markethive is…

 “Marketing that is so effective it’s like printing your own money.” 

 

 

Markethive has built a system on the Blockchain to empower the Entrepreneur, offering privacy, freedom of speech and importantly, autonomy.  With its valuable Inbound Marketing system, integrated within a Social media platform, loyalty and bounty programs, Banner Exchange & placement, with multiple Commerce portals, Storefronts, Blogging platform, and Digital Media Platforms offering Press Releases and Sponsored Articles. These tools and integrated platforms are either free to use or at a fraction of the cost of other companies.

All of this on a blockchain foundation, which above all the other benefits, allows Markethive to pay its members to engage on the platform. This includes free members as well as those who have upgraded to Entrepreneur 1.

Thanks to blockchain, the soon to be released Markethive wallet and cryptocurrency exchange will then allow Markethive members to either convert and withdraw their earnings or buy products and services offered by members within the Markethive ecosystem. 

 
Conclusion 

Markethive, 20 years in the making has had the forward-thinking and tenacity to integrate the latest technology to deliver a complete ecosystem for anybody aspiring to work online. With the precarious actions and monopolizing tactics we are now witnessing to what was a lucrative and fair system to gain traffic and exposure, it’s obvious we need to do things differently and bypass the monopolies. There are now genuine opportunities to make your mark online as well as reap rewards and prosper. 

What is being realized is the need for a community-driven ecosystem, with a collaborative mindset that offers a broad spectrum of services that cover all niches, and offers Universal Income for all. Anyone with a passion and looking for a presence online, and a fair and equitable opportunity to attain financial freedom and prosperity, be it commercial artists, writers, bloggers, vloggers, merchants, and entrepreneurs. In fact anyone from any background. Markethive is for the people and by the people. In essence, it gives the power back to the people.

 

 

 

 

David Ogden

A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

 

 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

BLOCKCHAIN EVOLUTION – 
A Global Revolution

It should be clear by now that the blockchain and distributed ledger technology will play a very important role in our future, but it’s not. Blockchain adoption statistics show that half a percent (0.05%)  of the human population is currently using blockchain technology, or somewhere around 40 million people. According to an HSBC survey, 59% of consumers have never heard of blockchain and 80% of those that have heard of blockchain don’t understand it. 

According to even the most conservative estimates, this number is expected to quadruple in 5 years, and in 10 years, 80% of the population will be involved with the blockchain technology in some form. It’s just a matter of education on a simple level where the mainstream community can grasp the concept and understand that this technology stands for freedom, privacy and equality on every level in every country worldwide.

 

WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN? How Would It Serve Us?? 

courtesy of Blockgeeks

Firstly, let’s take a historical look at how this all came about. Was it just a coincidence? Society has been indoctrinated for so long and tends to stay within the status quo or have become complacent putting up with the way things are. It’s time to educate ourselves and be ready for a major shift from the world as we know it. This will benefit our quality of life and the lives of every living soul on the planet. 

Do you know what fiat currency is? Many people do not or at least don’t understand what it means. Here is a short explanation of how it has become detrimental to the economic system we all rely on today;

 

What Is Fiat Money?

 Fiat money or paper money has been defined as any money declared by a government to be legal tender. State-issued money which is neither convertible by law to any other thing, nor fixed in value in terms of any objective standard. Intrinsically, it’s valueless money used as money because of government decree.

Throughout history, fiat currencies have had the order of rising and eventually collapsing, often due to devaluation. Initially, paper money gets introduced into an economy whereby it creates an economic boom. Over time, however, it gets overprinted, slowly building inflation and losing value.

Fiat money is a government-issued currency that isn't backed by a commodity such as gold. Essentially it gives governments' central banks greater control over the economy because they control how much currency is printed.

We all know that money is an entity that can be used in exchange for goods and services and then, of course, there is another system to keep track of its ownership and transactions?—?who owns what, who has what, and who owes how much to whom. 

Historically, it has been widely accepted we need a third-party trusted entity to keep track of money, to keep those transactions and deal with the conflicts, if applicable. But that trusted party being central banks and the Government comes with a cost in terms of efficiencies, the potential for corruption, extra fees and so forth.

The GFC Of 2008 – A Prime Example

In simple terms, let’s go back and see the money flow in a specific scenario in the USA during 2008 where the trust model did not work that well – 

People were earning more money and stored it with a central authority (i.e. banks).
The central authorities/banks started to facilitate risky loans to attract new customers and faced significant defaults on such loans. Due to the inability of the people to pay back the money, many banks collapsed and filed for bankruptcy.

Banks were also using people’s money to invest and lost all the money that the customers had trusted them with. In a nutshell, the banks lost the money that the customers deposited with them, leaving the customers no way of recovering their money.

With the banking system on the brink of collapse, the Government tried to save or bailout some institutions by offering the people’s money (i.e. tax revenue). That created extra expense and of course exceeded the Government’s budget or income, so to alleviate this, the Federal Reserve chose to print more money. There seems to be this trend of printing money to “fix” problems. Theoretically, there is no fixed limit to the amount of money a government can print. A couple billion here, a few hundred billion there, and pretty soon you have a real liquidity crisis; the kind where you are drowning in money, none of which is worth much of anything.

The Gold Standard Kept “Them” Honest

In the past, in the USA and many other countries, Gold was used as the standard where the authorities could not print more money than the gold reserves and it seemed to be a good way to ensure that we use our economy like debit cards so as to keep inflation in check. Basically, you can’t spend what you don’t have.  But now we have credit cards and can spend what we don’t have. Whatever the perceived intentions Roosevelt and Nixon had to cut ties with Gold initially, there have since been ramifications. So effectively, now the Government can print as much money as they want which brings a multitude of issues.

Primarily, with more money being printed, the value of money is reduced and the economy is impacted. As an example, if you have $100 and the country has a total of $ 1000, you own 10% of the money. If the Government prints an additional $1000, you only own 5% of the money and that decreases the value of your money. 

This is what happened in the crisis of 2008. Banks giving bad loans were the cause. Printing the money was a mitigation that helped in this specific case.

Central banking is immoral. Fiat money and its inevitable inflation are theft; the banking monopoly robs people of opportunity and prosperity; the punishment of financial dissenters, such as black marketeers, negates freedom by denying individuals the use of their own property. Central banking’s structure has become so transparently unstable and fraudulent that people have lost their confidence and sense of security in it.

Technology Rises To The Fore

Only six weeks after the crisis, on Nov 01, 2008, a new concept and technology came to light that will positively impact society, business and reshape the financial world. ?A person (or persons) by the name of  Satoshi Nakamoto created a decentralized cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin and pioneered Blockchain technology.  The idea was to create a world where no central authority can control all the money. 

“I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully
peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.”?—?Satoshi Nakamoto

So, What Is A Blockchain? 

Blockchain has been defined as a digital ledger in which transactions are recorded chronologically and publicly. Interestingly, Satoshi Nakamoto, who developed and released the first blockchain never actually used the word “blockchain”. Only the words block and chain. 

A blockchain consists of a number of blocks, hence the term. Each block is a record of transactions of specific data, which can contain anything from Cryptos to voting records to medical data. When one block is completed and can no longer be updated with new data, it is added to the chain and another, new block, is formed.

All the information on the blockchain is publicly available, as it’s a decentralized system. Decentralized literally means that the information is stored on many computers distributed around the globe, and there’s no specific party or authority to control it.

Visualizing Blockchain Technology

You could think of blockchain as the Google Docs service – this is a very clever metaphor from William Mougayar.

Do you still remember the good-old-times when people used to create separate Word documents, save them, and then forward them to others for editing? You might, and some of you may still be doing it.

These days, it’s much easier to use a Google Doc, which allows us to create, view, comment, and edit the information in a live document online, given that we have the link and know where it’s located.

In a similar way, blockchain allows for the distribution of information. So, there we have a Google Doc – a block – that is duplicated thousands of times across a large network of computers around the world – a chain of blocks. The network is set to update every single document or block as and when it changed.

Blockchain – More Than Crypto

The blockchain is an undeniably ingenious invention and has since evolved into something greater. Blockchain technology created the backbone of a new type of internet. Originally devised for the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, the tech community has now found other potential uses for the technology.  

Image Courtesy of Blockgeeks

 

The Problem with Centralized Infrastructure

Today on the Internet, we must constantly trust one another with sensitive data, transactions, and records. Most of our interactions on the Internet run on centralized web servers, and massive amounts of user data often exist in a single database. Current databases are designed to be controlled by “trusted” admins who can read, alter, block, and even delete data. The centralized architecture of the Internet today is not only inefficient but vulnerable to censorship and targeted attacks by both hackers and internal bad actors.

 

The Value of Decentralization

The decentralized architecture of a blockchain is a global network of computers simultaneously running the software and validating the chain of transactions is what ensures that the transaction record is never compromised. Decentralization is critical as an architectural principle. It makes a blockchain network less likely to fail, harder to attack, and harder for bad actors to game the system.

Conclusion

There are so many benefits to being on the blockchain and as more companies and industries adopt this technology the fairer, more honest and prosperous the world will become. The users of Social Media at this stage are particularly vulnerable to the issues that come with centralization being lack of privacy, data harvesting, fraud, and corruption to name a few. In the next article, we will go deeper into how the blockchain works, what industries are utilizing it and how it can positively impact social media and market networks. 

 

References: Blockgeeks Hackernoon

 

 

 

David Ogden

A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

 

 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Unilever, O2 and Sky Join Blockchain Pilot for Digital Ad Transparency

 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

                                 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

BLOCKCHAIN – Knowledge Is Power. Wisdom Is Power With A Purpose

“Quote” accredited to Solitaire Parke

Blockchain is defined as one of the most significant technological advances in modern history, potentially on a par with the internet, which has led to it being dubbed “The Internet 3.0”. Despite the incredible potential of blockchain to reshape the world as we know it, there is still little understanding of what it is, what it does and why it is so revolutionary. 

The Real Origin Of Blockchain

Blockchain was first conceptualized by Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta back in 1991, although they didn’t call it blockchain. They wrote a series of papers and patents. One, in particular, was How To Timestamp a Digital Document, published in 1991, which involved a cryptographically secured chain of blocks. This is what many consider to be the first incarnation of blockchain technology. Basically, they set out to create an immutable ledger. 

Stuart Haber and W.Scott Stornetta

As Stornetta stated in an interview,
“It’s unfortunate that so few people actually read all the papers and patents, because there are a few ideas that can be mined from there that some have since reinvented because they never read the papers.” 

Nevertheless, Stornetta is humbled by the fact that his 1991 paper about Timestamping ended up inspiring the whole blockchain movement. Interestingly, even after the “blockchain” work they did, the connection between it and money was overlooked. It was not until Satoshi released the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008 that the connection became a reality and a peer to peer monetary system was created. 

There were references made to Haber and Stornetta in Satoshi’s whitepaper, 3 in fact…

Blockchain 101

Blockchain technology is not a company or an app, but an entirely new way of documenting data on the internet. The technology can be used for social networks, messengers, games, exchanges, storage platforms, voting systems, prediction markets, online shops and much more. This can be seen as a new internet, which is why some have labeled it “The Internet 3.0”

The information recorded on a blockchain can assume any form, whether it be signifying a transfer of money, ownership, a transaction, someone’s identity, an agreement between two parties, even how much electricity a lightbulb has used. However, to do so would require a confirmation from several devices namely computers on the network. 

Once an agreement also acknowledged as a consensus is reached between these devices to store any data on a blockchain, it is unquestionably there. It cannot be disputed, removed or altered without the knowledge and permission of those that made that record as well as the wider community. 

Why Is It Called A Blockchain?

Blockchain owes its name to how it works and the manner in which it stores data, namely that the information is packaged into blocks, which link to form a chain with other blocks of similar information.

It is this act of linking blocks into a chain that makes the information stored on a blockchain so trustworthy. Once the data is recorded in a block it cannot be altered without having to change every block that came after it, making it impossible to do so without it being seen by the other participants on the network.

Distributed ledgers have 4 key attributes:

1. Recorded: stored information is timestamped.
2. Immutable: Nothing that is recorded can be changed.
3. Transparent: anyone can see the ledger of transactions
4. Decentralized: the ledger exists on multiple computers, often referred to as nodes.

Essentially, each block contains the data it is recording. For example, a transaction like 1 MHV coin being sent from Tom to Jerry, as well as timestamps of when that information was recorded. It will also include a digital signature linked to the account that made the recording and a unique identifying link, in the form of a hash (think of it as a digital fingerprint), to the previous block in the chain. It is this link that makes it impossible for any of the information to be altered or for a block to be inserted between two existing blocks. In order to do so, all the following blocks would need to be edited too.

As a result, each block strengthens the previous block and the security of the entire blockchain because it means more blocks would need to be changed to tamper with any information. When combined, all of these create unquestionable storage of information, one that cannot be disputed or declared to be untrue.  It is important to note to be absolutely sure where you are sending money. On a blockchain, once a transaction is sent it is sealed and cannot be reversed.

 

 

The Three Pillars Of Blockchain Technology

Let’s go into more depth about the three main properties of blockchain technology which are;

• Decentralization
• Transparency
• Immutability

Pillar #1: Decentralization

For decades now we have been subject to and use a centralized entity that stored all our data and we would have to interact solely with this entity to transact or acquire whatever information we required. 

A perfect example of a centralized system is the banks. They store all your money, and the only way that you can pay someone is by going through the bank.

When you google search for something, you send a query to the server who then gets back at you with the relevant information. That is called a simple client-server.

We have used centralized systems for many years, thinking all is well, however, they have several vulnerabilities.

• Firstly, because they are centralized, all the data is stored in one spot. This makes them easy target spots for potential hackers.
• If the centralized system were to go through a software upgrade, it would halt the entire system.
• What if the centralized entity somehow shuts down for whatever reason? That way nobody will be able to access the information that it possesses.
• Worst case scenario, what if this entity gets corrupted and malicious? If that happens then all the data that is there will be compromised.

So, what happens if we just take this centralized entity away?

In a decentralized system, the information is not stored by one single entity. In fact, everyone in the network owns the information.

In a decentralized network, if you wanted to interact or send money to someone, then you can do so directly without going through a third party. That was the main ideology behind Bitcoin and also the ideology of Markethive Coin. You and only you alone are in charge of your money. You can send your money to anyone you want without having to go through a bank.

 

Pillar # 2: Transparency

One of the most interesting and misunderstood concepts in blockchain technology is “transparency.” Some people say that blockchain gives you privacy while some say that it is transparent. Sounds contradictory, doesn’t it?

The simple fact is a person’s identity is hidden via complex cryptography and represented only by their public address. So, if you were to look up a person’s transaction history, you will not see “Tom sent 1 MHV” instead you will see “1MF1bhsFLkBzzz9vpFYEmvwT2TbyCt7NZJ sent 1 MHV”. This makes the person’s real identity secure and private while still being able to see all transactions that were done via their public address – transparency. 

This image shows what the blocks and transaction details of each public address on Blockchain Explorer

 

 

This level of transparency has never existed before within a financial system. It adds that extra, and much needed, level of accountability which is required by some of these biggest institutions.

Speaking purely from the cryptocurrency perspective, if you know the public address of one of these big companies, you can simply pop it in a blockchain explorer and look at all the transactions that they have engaged in. This forces them to be honest, something that they have never had to deal with before.

That’s of course if these companies integrate the blockchain. You can see why something like this can be very helpful for the finance industry right?

Pillar # 3: Immutability

Immutability, in the context of the blockchain, means that once something has been entered into the blockchain, it cannot be tampered with. Imagine how valuable this will be for financial institutes!
Imagine how many embezzlement cases can be nipped in the bud if people know that they can’t “work the books” and fiddle around with company accounts.

The reason why the blockchain gets this property is that of the cryptographic hash function. In simple terms, hashing means taking an input string of any length and giving out an output of a fixed length. In the context of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the transactions are taken as input and run through a hashing algorithm (Bitcoin uses SHA-256) which gives an output of a fixed length.

Let’s see how the hashing process works. We are going to put in certain inputs. For this exercise, we are going to use the SHA-256 (Secure Hashing Algorithm 256).

As you can see in the above image, in the case of SHA-256, no matter how big or small your input is, the output will always have a fixed 256-bits length. This becomes critical when you are dealing with a huge amount of data and transactions. So basically, instead of remembering the input data which could be huge, you can just remember the hash and keep track.

These hash functions make it ideal for cryptography. There are certain properties that a cryptographic hash function needs to have in order to be considered secure, however, there is just one property that we’ll focus on today. It is called the “Avalanche Effect.”

What this means is even if you make a small change in your input, the changes that will be reflected in the hash will be huge. Notice the change in the hash in the image below? Just because one letter was changed from a capital letter in the input hash, to lower case, it drastically affected the output hash. 

The blockchain is a linked list that contains data and a hash pointer that points to its previous block, hence creating the chain. What is a hash pointer? A hash pointer is similar to a pointer, but instead of just containing the address of the previous block it also contains the hash of the data inside the previous block.

This one small tweak is what makes blockchains so amazingly reliable and trailblazing.

Imagine this for a second, a hacker attacks block 3 and tries to change the data. Because of the properties of hash functions, a slight change in data will change the hash drastically. This means that any slight changes made in block 3, will change the hash which is stored in block 2, now that in turn will change the data and the hash of block 2 which will result in changes in block 1 and so on and so forth. This will completely change the chain, which is impossible. This is exactly how blockchains attain immutability.

 

Conclusion

With any disruptive idea, like the Internet was back in the day, not every company will benefit or embrace this new technology immediately. Banks are clearly in the path of the disruption of the blockchain, the Big Data social network systems, the online auction, and shopping centers are as well. And companies that resist blockchain will be left behind in the Internet 3.0.
 
Forward-looking companies that convert to the blockchain to improve the privacy and security of their data and create an environment that is unfettered from political and nefarious agendas, will be the winners on top. 

Just about every company that migrates to the blockchain and new companies launch built upon the blockchain, will prosper, as long as they deliver and make their prime agenda to benefit their customers.

In the next article, we’ll see what companies have already adopted blockchain technology including Social Media and Market Networks and how it proves to benefit the user. 
 

References: Lisk, Blockgeeks

 

 

 

David Ogden

A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden