We like to think of Steemit and DTube as decentralized because STEEM is a cryptocurrency, but is it? If the servers that support each website were to be pulled would Steemit survive and would DTube be possible? I don’t think so as the way it stands but can we make it that way? I think with proper, advanced technology, that we can. Here is my thesis. If each of us can host a certain amount of encrypted data on home PC’s, ad-hoc servers and maybe even other “always on devices” like a router with attached USB storage, we COULD truly decentralize the entire platform and make it a P2P system, maintaining the true decentralization doctrine we so want to support.
If users were able to open an app on their computers we could move all data to redundant, decentralized spaces filled by the users themselves and making the platform immune from server fallout. If Steemit.com went down we would always have the blockchain and the encrypted data to keep it afloat. I believe this is the only way to guarantee decentralization.
The crypto will still be able to be traded only if we are able to have separate STEEM wallets capable of trading STEEM and SBD. If not are we not at the mercy of those central Steemit.com hosting servers?
We are part of something great and I truly believe the future of free speech will be places like Steemit where we don’t have to fear the spectre of speech-police like Google and YouTube, but let us not believe we cannot be crushed if we do not continue to work on pushing towards more and more P2P and a community supported ecosystem.
For example I have an Intel i7-6800k with 6 cores and 12 threads @ 4Ghz (soon to be replaced by something newer), 32Gb of DDR4 and easily 4TB of spinning disks that are sitting there unused, all wired to a 100/100 fiber-optic network, so I could easily store some data for Steemit/DTube and make STEEM doing so, if we set it up that way. But what if I go offline? Redundant data like a RAID, spread out among many users and collect data to see who is a reliable host for that data, increasing their reputation score and furthering the P2P, decentralized idea we strive for.
Now my technical ability ends at HTML coding and the ability to build a PC and install some backed games however, I know we have some geniuses on here that have the technical knowledge to know if this is possible or not so is it? Could we make an ad-hoc network and move Steemit.com to a torrent-like indexing site of multiple hosting PC’s? If we all had a wallet could we not somehow use it to set aside some compute power to run the ecosystem, much like a BTC wallet and/or coin mining is what helps manage the transactions and trades?
I want a way to take the internet back and I think the decentralization of ideas and information, the decentralization of hosting data and the cryptocurrency are all vital pieces to doing so, so is this possible? Could each/most/some of us run our PC’s 24/7 and make it so Steemit and DTube are hosted by many servers, spread out among users? We would not only be “minding” our STEEM but through this process perhaps “mining” STEEM by hosting data to further the need for complete decentralization, save ISP’s.
Could this be pulled off and furthermore, if it isn’t are we truly decentralized? We not only need to spread the STEEM but also the centralization of the information through a distributed blockchain and data hosting through redundant arrays of multiple user servers through an application. Can we do this? Is this one of the goals? Or are we always going to be at the mercy of a server somewhere we don’t know, liable to be shut down if we start to challenge the centralized internet?
I think as Steemit grows and as more and more people look to the platform for free speech the threat of a takedown grows and grows so what are we doing to make that central authority and power less? Can we make Steemit a truly weblike ecosystem? I hope we can and change the world as we know it.
Image Courtesy of Steemit.com