Francis Bacon, the 16th century philosopher and statesman, is quoted as saying, “A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.”
Bacon’s statement can mean a few different things. One of those is that a wise conversation comes from equal parts question and answer. In earlier times, people were known to gather in town centers to hear conversations among thought leaders revered for their cognitive abilities. Though the audience’s medium has changed dramatically, the need for business and political leaders, experts and specialists to have a conversation is still as necessary today.
One new blockchain-based project seeks to create a new digital ecosystem for discourse. ASK.fm, a popular social networking community, is now offering an online forum for users to ask and respond to questions openly and anonymously.
As an alternative information source to the fake news and overall noise currently happening within the mainstream media landscape, ASK.fm is tapping into a growing demand for robust discussions among thinkers, opinion leaders and other experts.
Headquartered in Dublin Ireland, the company has a worldwide social network that accommodates 49 languages across more than 70 countries. Through its 215 million users and 600 million questions asked each month, ASK.fm facilitates access to publicly available information with a “human touch.”
Recently, the next stage of the company’s project, ASK.fm 2.0, has been announced. ASk.fm 2.0 proposes the use of blockchain technology to further boost user-generated Q&A content across its social network.
ASK.fm looks to the blockchain’s value as a security protocol for its users, as well as an immutable ledger to track transactions, allowing users to withdraw and deposit currency through an escrow service.
This news indicates that ASK.fm could very well become the first incentivized and decentralized social network of its kind. The platform is powered by ASK.fm’s native cryptocurrency, the ASK token, which will give professionals, influencers and experts the ability to ask and answer questions and receive rewards based on the quality of their content.
Embracing the mantra “Your answer is an asset,” ASK.fm is on a path to digitally tokenize humanity’s universal need for intellectual inquiry and validation. Through this innovative project, users will have the opportunity to unlock the value of their knowledge on an unprecedented scale.
Technical Components Valuing Human Knowledge
ASK token runs on a plasma framework based on a hierarchical blockchain platform. On this platform, smart contracts distribute content rewards on an internal blockchain, while financial transactions with ASK tokens are run on a root blockchain. Only summarized commitments are periodically broadcast to the root blockchain (Ethereum) during non-faulty states. This allows this platform to be very scalable, low-cost and autonomous.
ASK.fm CEO Max Tsaryk said that advancement in blockchain technology will help foster more democratic environments, allowing self-regulated economic models governed by market-based tools and systems. He cites Ask.fm’s desire to create a massive open online (e-learning) course market as just one example of this. By way of example, parents would be invited to the platform to pay for online courses and training models that offer gamification-based learning and testing options for children.
“Modern times bring about change,” said Tsaryk. “There’s a new economy looming using the blockchain, where anything can obtain value. We believe human knowledge is the priority pick to get evaluated, and we have a plan.”
Tsaryk noted that with ASK.fm 2.0 the business model will be changed in order to give ASK.fm a new push forward.
“We are building a decentralized economy by tokenizing social interactions, and tokens are the lifeblood of the new system. That’s why we are introducing a new cryptocurrency token (ASK), not on a whim but out of conceptual necessity. For without it, the product wouldn’t be able to exist. We do not see the future for ASK.fm, technologies and social networks without blockchain [technology].”