Cryptocurrency runs on blockchain technology, which is revolutionizing the way we trade, innovate, run governance, and basically run our lives. There have been few concepts that have been as disruptive as blockchain will be in the coming years. We are at the threshold of a whole new chapter in technological evolution.
When you look at it closely, blockchain technology is such an apt and beautiful carrier of the future. Given the current problems we face with governments and the leaders who represent us, it’s clearly what you would LIKE to expect in the future – a system that is essentially decentralized and governed by the people who use it.
These platforms have matured over the years and are capable of delivering creative avenues to reward people through tokens. It has come to the point where you see a pattern of “proof of time” concepts wherein you can actually monetize every second of your day doing exactly what you’re good at from anywhere you want.
It’s not far-fetched to think of a community of people who make a steady income just watching YouTube videos, reading interesting articles online, or just playing video games. The reason why we say it’s not far-fetched is that it’s actually happening right now!
Here we take a look at some of the cryptocurrency platforms that are based on this “proof of time” concept where users literally make the most of their time.
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Stream
Making videos cost money. Making awesome videos that inspire cost a great deal more. For sure, all those silly videos you just click and entertain yourself with on the go are created by individuals who have spent time and money making them. The YouTuber community is pretty strong and they have a focused goal – Followers. If your YouTube account has more than 7 million subscribers, you COULD make a good deal that runs into several hundred thousand dollars with a video partnership.
The sad part is that it’s not always the case. There’s no guarantee as to whether you could actually make any revenue out of your YouTube content even if you have millions of followers. When you consider the time and effort that is invested in making quality video content that garners thousands, if not millions of viewers, this is actually pretty discouraging.
This is where “Stream” aims to change the flow of things. Stream is a new video uploading platform where video creators can be rewarded for the amazing videos they make. When you contribute a video to Stream, you are automatically credited with freshly minted cryptocurrency that can be exchanged for conventional currency anywhere in the world.
This essentially means that video creators can actually get paid for their content in real-time without having to pass on the cost to the viewer and better without having to depend on irritating brand endorsements. Users who wish to live stream their content can also collect payments from their audience base worldwide at exceptionally low transaction charges.
What it all boils down to is a system where creators get their due, viewers get high-quality content at a substantially low cost, and the system as a whole does not have to rely on noisy advertising from big fat brands just to float the boat. Basically, everybody wins!
Mytime
The amount of time that users spend on video sites like YouTube as well as other service apps are staggering. YouTube users alone clock in a dumbfounding one billion hours every day. Take into account the other service apps that help users pay bills, shop, book shows, travel, and do a lot of other things, and you have a substantial amount of “app time” being spent by tens of thousands of users on a daily basis.
Now, these platforms are undoubtedly reaping the benefits of their apps while the actual users who spend a significant part of their lives on these apps are not incentivized in any way. This is where “Mytime” comes into the picture.
This spanking new cryptocurrency platform is working towards turning the existing app business ecosystem on its head. The platform rewards users for the time spent to access a service through an app with cryptocurrency tokens called MYTC.
MYTC tokens can be spent on additional services from the provider or from other service providers who are linked to the Mytime platform. Users also have the option of converting the cryptocurrency tokens to the currency of their choice.
Blockchain technology monitors the time a user spends on the service and prevents users from logging in the same time span for more than one app or service. The platform also records the rewards given out by the participating service providers. Both users and service providers are
In a nutshell, everybody who participates gets rewarded in their own way. The concept of monetizing time is real and definitely yields benefits to everybody involved on the platform.
BAT
In the current scenario, the time spent by an average individual browsing the internet almost equals breathing time. You’re basically connected 24×7. One of the contributing factors towards the time spent on your browser is the wave of ads that keep popping up during a session online.
As a solution to this problem, Brave was the brainchild of Brendan Eich, one of the founders of the hugely popular and revolutionary tech company, Mozilla. Brave essentially blocked all ads and ad trackers and replaced them with an ad of their own browser. When enough people started using the browser, Brave distributed the revenue gleaned from ads among the users as well as content creators.
It looked like a successful model for a while with payments being made to website publishers through Bitcoin while Brave took a 5% fee from each of the user wallets. Later on, the concept received flak from online publishers who claimed that it was in violation of federal laws. Obviously Brave had to innovate at this point.
Subsequently, Brave took the blockchain route and launched a new platform known as BAT or “Basic Attention Token.” This was designed as a legitimate way to replace Brave Payments. The concept is aimed at rewarding end users for the time they spend viewing ads. To implement this, BATs are traded in between advertisers, publishers, and the users who volunteer for watching ads.
Essentially, the advertisers pay publishers with BATs in proportion to the response the ads get from users. The users who volunteered are also paid in BATs, which they can use for services available on the platform. Again… everybody wins!
STEEM
Another popular cryptocurrency on the rise, Steem is currently known to process a higher number of transactions in comparison to established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The blockchain carries no fees and provides almost instant settlement.
An SMT or Smart Media Content is essentially a native digital asset that is not very different from the ERC-20 tokens from Ethereum. What makes it different is the ‘Proof-of-Brain’ properties that have been incorporated into it for the digital content market.
On this platform, writers can gain rewards in the form of SMTs for contributing content for a website. Meanwhile, subscribers can also earn SMTs by commenting on the articles.
These are just some instances where cryptocurrencies have been put into practice to monetize the time a user devotes to accessing a product or service on a platform. The blockchain phenomenon is yet to achieve full bloom.
In the coming years, we can expect to see a proliferation of similar platforms giving the internet new structure and form. It is also the way forward to a society that is essentially “decentralized.” It creates an environment where the basic user, the content creator, and businesses can all make substantial earnings without restrictions and therefore achieve their highest potential while enjoying the process. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
