Why Build on the Blockchain?

Recently, I’ve come to the realization that there’s nothing about my work that excites me anymore. I’ve seen my fair share of JS frameworks and I’ve built enough backend systems, and everything feels like I’m building some pretty form fields to hook up to some API and then saving it in a database. It’s just not fun anymore.

So what makes the blockchain any better?

I could go on for hours the reasons why one should or shouldn’t and there’d be good points on both sides, but what it’s really about for me is ownership, and enabling it in a way that was never possible before.

I used to play this game, Runescape, all day long. It was an RPG, you could do almost anything you wanted, whether it be fighting monsters, fishing, cutting wood, go on quests, and the lists goes on. And out of all the exciting things you could do in this world my favourite was mining. I’d spend weekends clicking on digital rocks, mining digital coal and iron to smelt digital steel bars, to then smith into various items I’d sell for digital coins.

If you played too then you know what I’m talking about. And if you didn’t, then just know that this was no isolated incident. Hundreds of thousands of kids played this game then, and millions more continue to play today in various other forms. These were NFTs before NFTs were a thing, and if we had NFTs and blockchain tech back then it would have changed everything.

Ultimately, what this kind of ownership means to me is that we don’t have to invest so much of our lives into doing jobs we’re apathetic about just to make a living. We could just be mining digital coal, or whatever floats your boat.

The shift has already started on platforms like Youtube, Twitch, and Tiktok where people own their channels and they can make a living creating content about what they enjoy, full-time. I think blockchain tech just takes this to the next level. The issue with current platforms is they own everything and you’re at their mercy. If your interests don’t align with theirs then they can shut down your account or demonetize you, and the only recourse you have is to stir up enough trouble on social media in hopes they’ll notice.

Build on the blockchain. Empower the next generation of creators. Own your digital assets and corporate interests will just be one less thing to worry about.