This is a network that rewards physical actions verifying truth or some physical reality.
Lets give an example. Lets say you're in China and want to buy a house in the middle of Missouri. You need someone to verify its existence and general condition. You ask the network to verify it, putting up $100 of coin. Someone claims the offer, goes out and says: yes it is there and looks as described by the seller. Later the seller rates and confirms the claim.
Guaranteeing Verification
A friend argued that such a network would not work, because there is no way to verify that someone is telling you the truth. I, at first, argued the same thing, then switched sides, believing that an hierarchy of verification can happen, such that disputes become worth more money to solve. Anyone falsifying information will soon be reported when discovered, causing higher ranked more trusted verifiers to confirm the facts.
In the worst case, many accounts combine together to falsify information. How can you tell the true chain of facts from the false? My friend argued there is a difficult problem here. One method is to begin by verifying identity, maybe even using a trusted 3rd-party, such as a bank. I said to my friend, that this is a possibility, but if those beginning and advertising the network are trusted they can insure that all goes well, quickly sending verifiers to settle discrepancies or disputes.
Social Network of Local Trust
This is a network of people you known personally that can be branched out to those you don't know. Basically this is a separate but all my friend's idea, where you can put up money for those you trust as a kind of collateral. I think it makes more sense to assign trust points to friends from which lenders can pull information, rather than putting up actual money. But it is an interesting idea. Then those on the network can borrow money generally and if they do not pay it back, their friends suffer. But it can also allow inexpensive borrowing without relying on present credit systems.
It allows those far away, also, to believe someone they are only slightly connected to.
Blockchain
These ideas are related to Steem although they were discussed before Steem. How do you know you can trust someone? You come to know them or their style of writing. You verify people in person. You check facts and images. All these ideas can contribute to this fact-network as well.
Building trust and recording it, is important to verifying facts. The more one is trusted the more they can be paid for their work. Maybe they will even fly to Missouri if there is a big enough dispute, and then everyone can assume the given facts. And those falsifying facts and those connected with them will lose influence and any hibernated money, acting as collateral on that verification.
Conclusion
This could be a good way to make money and decrease costs of many jobs that are now performed in somewhat monopolistic entities. Like when buying a home, someone must verify its existence or appraise its value. Sometimes multiple people go for varying reasons and it can be expensive. Often government must be involved which also costs someone.
Knowing facts and being able to trust and rate verifiers is very important. Such a system could decrease fraud and simplify many difficult tasks worldwide.