Over the last quarter or so of 2017, Blockstack announced the Blockstack Signature Fund — a $25 million dollar fund of used to help support teams to build applications for the new internet. Blockstack likens the Signature Bounties to contests where teams submit products and judges determine who wins the prize for the best product. Blockstack further explains bounties as follows:

“Bounties are a useful tool for building out important apps on the new internet because they leverage a global community of developers, designers, and other talented folks to work on bringing interesting ideas into reality. Since apps built using Blockstack don’t own their user’s data or identity, they can be expanded on or re-purposed by other teams as the basis for more complex apps that build out an ecosystem.”

December 20, 2017

$50,000 Signature Bounty to Decentralize Communication

• Build a Community Messaging App – Blockstack Signature Bounty:
  • Blockstack writes – “It has become clear over the past several months that Slack cannot be the permanent home for community communication for open source projects like Blockstack. Slack has taken a closed source approach to team chat, and that does not work for the decentralized community as a whole in order to defend attacks from bad actors or even store chat history in a reliable way. … The Blockstack Signature Fund will award $25,000 to the team with the best messaging app using Blockstack Auth and here.
    • Blockstack minimum application (dApp) requirements:
      • Must use Blockstack for identity and authentication
      • Must fork either Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, or Riot/Matrix
      • Must be available on both desktop and mobile
      • Must be able to handle communities of 10,000+ users
      • Must not reuse a submission for the Encrypted & Decentralized P2P Messaging Bounty
        • Date and Time 9:00am EST December 20th, 2017: – 11:59pm EST February 16th, 2018
          • Bounty is closed and all projects must be submitted via SUBMISSION FORM
            
            – February 21st, 2018: Winning project is announced.

Register for the bounty at Blockstack

• Build a P2P Encrypted Messaging App
  • Blockstack writes – “Encrypted messaging apps have gained significant use and traction in recent years, with popular offerings including Signal and WhatsApp. With Blockstack, users own their own identity and data, including any and all encrypted communication…. The Blockstack Signature Fund will award $25,000 to the team that creates the best P2P encrypted messaging app.
    
    • Blockstack’s minimum application (dApp) requirements:
      • Must use Blockstack for identity, storage, and encryption
      • Must not use a central server or database
      • May be a fork of a pre-existing P2P messaging app
      • Must not reuse a submission for the Team Messaging Bounty
      • The use of STUN/TURN servers is fine, however signaling servers should not be used, as signaling should be done over Gaia
        • Date and Time – Wed, Dec 20, 2017, 6:00 AM – Fri, Feb 16, 2018, 11:59 PM EST

Register for the bounty at Blockstack

Other Bounties announced so far (completed):

September 2017 –

• Encrypted Token Portfolio app as follows (September 2017):
  • private, encrypted Token Portfolio Management app that allows you the user to
    • (1) sign in with an identity you own, and
    • (2) gives you the privacy to input and view your cryptocurrency/token balances on your own encrypted cloud storage provider.

The the Community responded in force – app submissions here. And a screenshot of the latest blockstack browser homepage with all of functioning coin-portfolio applications:

Blockstack Signature bounties are open and waiting for the Community. Go to this link for more details from Blockstack re: $50,000 Signature Bounty.

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

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Update – 1.25.2018: Just off the Grid[dle]^TM – Team Graphite just pushed out an update for Windows users related to the multi-player storage functionality.  Now Windows users should be able to share documents and sheets.

UPDATE – 1.30.2018: Just off the Grid[dle]^TM– We heard that the developer of the multi-player storage dApp Graphite will be joining the Blockstack team in Berlin to exhibit the Graphite dApp during the show.  Great news for Graphite and Blockstack.

What is Graphite?  According to Graphite (screenshots from Graphite’s website), Graphite is the decentralized application (dApp) that empowers you to create and write something new (documents or sheets) without giving up your privacy (think of Graphite as a privacy-focused replacement for Google Docs—something that lets you own your writing).  The purpose of Graphite is to allow the user of the application on the blockstack internet architecture to create, store and share any document or sheet in a secure and decentralized way.

When a user creates documents or sheets with Graphite, the user:

• Owns its data

• Owns its documents

• Owns its workflow

• Can control access to its files (share (documents and sheets) at its discretion)

Graphite firmly believes that when you create something, the creator:

1. should own it
2. should be able to store it where the creator wants
3. should be able to access it when the creator wants to
4. should be able to use it how the creator wants to use it
5. should be able to share it (control on who to share it with).

And, when you use Graphite in connection with the Blockstack browser (provides the platform for encrypting (saving) and decrypting the data (loading it)), Graphite (or Blockstack):

1. never has access to your information (data is encrypted only for the user to see or share…)
   
2. does not store your data (this is done on the storage platform the user selected via blockstack browser)

Graphite lists some of the applications features including auto-save, preview, printing and many others.

To get started with Graphite, first make sure you have the Blockstack Browser installed and running (See Blockstack: Getting started… and *CAVEAT below).  Then, navigate to the Graphite login button (icon) which will start the application using the Blockstack browser on your local machine (screenshots may be slightly different depending on updates to blockstack browser).

Now, the user chooses to Login with Blockstack and is then redirected to the “Welcome” screen from Graphite in which the user has to approve the sign-in request.  At this juncture, the user is taken to the Graphite home page (redacted and may be appear a little different for the user):

Graphite home page for document and sheet creation (below) –

As shown below, we have created a couple of test documents and saved them only for our use (unless you want to give someone else access in order to share or collaborate – see multi-reader below and *Caveat).  For example, we created and saved a couple of encrypted files (e.g., GRT and Test of Graphite) to one of our chosen storage platforms (e.g., in this case we are using the default storage provided by Blockstack).  As shown below, the “Your Documents” page appears as follows with the above mentioned file(s).

Multi-Reader Access: Blockstack – via the blockstack browser – introduced/enabled the multi-reader storage capability which will allow users to share documents sheets with other users (e.g., user A may give access to its data to user B)(See this link from the developer of Graphite – Graphite too).

ONE *CAVEAT – YOU WILL NEED A BLOCKSTACK I.D. PURCHASED FROM THE BLOCKSTACK NAMING SYSTEM (BNS) IN ORDER TO USE THE SHARING FEATURE OF GRAPHITE AT THIS TIME…

Some screenshots of an example of multi-reader in action using Graphite:

• Right hand side – SHARED FILES in drop down menu

• Choose a file to share and then click the Edit button.  A pop-up will open up asking for the I.D. of the person – who is also using the Blockstack Browser – that you want to share the file with.  Enter the I.D. and select SHARE.  Now, that person with that I.D. on blockstack will be able to access the document, edit it etc.  Go try it out and begin creating and/or sharing your creations with others.

What a great dApp!  Graphite has brought the blockstack community the first working decentralized secure and encrypted word processing application (sheets too).  Go check out Graphite and try out the word processing application and begin creating and/or sharing your creations.

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

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The image above (featured image) is the home page for the blockstack browser after you have it installed, configured and running.

1. First you need to go to www.blockstack.org and install the appropriate version of the Blockstack browser (this is an install via Mac OS – Note Linux and Windows are available too):

2. Choose the appropriate version and install the Blockstack Browser.

3. Download and save the file – In this example we are using – Blockstack-for-macos-v0.21.4.dmg (FYI – the latest version is 0.22.1 – See Blockstack Browser Install.

4. Then, move the Blockstack.app into the appropriate folder (e.g., Applications folder in this instance).

5. Begin the install process: e.g., select ID, create password, write down key-chain phrase (DO NOT LOSE THIS ITEM – IMPORTANT), re-enter key-chain phrase … and login) Once installed, click on the blockstack application and the Blockstack Icon will appear in the top menu bar (see right corner – ):

Click on the Get Started tab –

6. Enter an e-mail address:

 

7. Choose a robust password:

8. IMPORTANT! – Write this phrase down and DO NOT LOSE IT if you want to be able to recover your installation (identification) in the instance that you lose it –

• this is important so write it down and keep it in a secure place for your access only:

9. Re-enter the key-chain phrase –

• verification to make sure it has been written down for key-chain recovery and do no show this to anyone else to make sure it is safe and secure (so you and only you can use it to access recovery of your account etc.)

10. Choose a Storage Provider –

• either the default or another storage provider available –
  • at the present time only the default storage provider is available (see next image):

 

 

11. Voila’ – you did it and you are not up and running with the Blockstack browser and can begin using the features presently offered –

• applications etc.:
  • add a username (this is where you can purchase a unique “.id” to use with Blockstack dApps)
    
  • add social site verification
  • use your wallet tied to this identification
  • and other things…
    

 

12. Then, click the Blockstack Icon and a menu will drop down –

• Home
• ID
• Wallet and
• Settings.

13. Click on Home and a new tab or window will open which will resolve to the Blockstack Browser home page.

• Note that the address line – localhost:8888 | Blockstack Browser –
  • which opens the browser to run on the local device – e.g., computer etc.
• On this page you find the various menu items –
  • Home, IDs (view your personal identification code)
  • Wallet (view your personal wallet associated with your unique ID)
  • Settings (various items –
    • storage provider selection
    • change password
    • backup keychain
    • api settings).

Video walk -through: In addition, another Blockstack community member took the time to prepare a great step-by-step video – Walk-through of the Blockstack Browser, December 2017.

Resources re: Blockstack and dApps

• Blockstack
• @blockstack
  • dApps on Blockstack
    • Graphite
    • @graphite

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

The post Blockstack: Getting started… appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

“A decentralized internet is one where users don’t need to trust any intermediaries or remote services. We envision a world where users control their own data, and power flows back to the users. Reducing the friction to deploying new Blockstack nodes is an important step towards that mission.”

In the present day centralized internet, web applications (or owners of the web applications) most likely own all of the user’s data from the use of the web application, control where the user’s data is stored and control the access to the user’s data.  It appears that the user of web applications do not have much if any control.  This is where Blockstack and its vision of a decentralized internet comes into view. Blockstack wants to help bring to fruition:

A decentralized internet free of:

• middlemen
• passwords (e.g., multiple passwords), and
• massive centralized data repositories that are susceptible to being breached.

A decentralized internet where the users:

• control their data;
  • own their data, not the application provider
  • control where their data is stored
  • control who can access their data
• applications (apps) run on the user’s device (not on the server of a third party);
• do not have services tracking them around the internet.

A decentralized internet where developers:

• use java-script to build a single-page application;
• do not plug into the front-end of a centralized API;
  • but can plug into an API run by the user;
• have a complete the step-by-step tutorial and libraries
  • e.g., blockstack.js;
• don’t have to worry about:
  • running servers;
  • maintaining databases; or
  • building out user management systems; and
    • the applications are server-less and decentralized.
    • users bring their own storage
    • use public-key cryptography for authentication
    • applications don’t have to store anything

A decentralized internet where Blockstack:

• includes a decentralized domain name system (DNS),
• includes a includes a decentralized public key distribution system,
• includes a registry for apps and user identities and
• includes a blockstack browser that allows the user to access the decentralized applications (dApps) that are used to access the blockstack decentralized internet
• tokens for use in the ecosystem (see Blockstack)

For more on the resources for developers, please visit:

1. Blockstack – tutorials
2. Blockstack.js.

With all of the above, Blockstack is forging ahead with the new internet for decentralized apps (dApps)(Web 3.0).  From the users perspective, Blockstack gives the user identity freedom and data autonomy.  From the developer’s perspective, things look simpler to build, easier to implement with reduced overhead in maintaining the application.

dApps available @Blockstack:  The latest dApp developed for the Blockstack ecosystem is Graphite (allows the user (with multi-reader storage capability) to write without giving up its privacy)(See our post on Graphite).  Here are the links you may want to check out:

• Blockstack
  • Twitter
• Graphite
  • Website
  • Twitter

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

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The grid above shows the inter-connected nodes or computers connecting to each other to form the decentralized internet network/grid to send/receive information or data in the early 1970’s.  The images below show how computers talk to one another (via the layer or protocol stack and packets). (See – “How The Internet Works?” – published on Stanford University’s website.)

TWO COMPUTERS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET

PROTOCOL STACKS AND PACKETS

Today, the modern internet (some 20+ years old from the introduction of “www”) is far more complex in its size and implementation.  Presently, some parts of the internet are decentralized (hardware, IP and TCP) while the application layer (stack) – in particular, has become more and more centralized (e.g., more data controlled by fewer and fewer companies – think social media, search, devices, online commerce, walled-gardens…). The current system with all of the good things is not completely fulfilling its original vision – full decentralization (i.e., we should own our data…). And, apparently, some other people and companies believe the same thing.

One company in particular – BlockStack, and the people involved with Blockstack – its team, its investors, its open source community of developers, its users and its open support community – appear to believe in a fully decentralized internet (read the Blockstack documents e.g., white paper…).

Basically, it appears that Blockstack wants to re-decentralize the internet, in particular – the application layer (stack) of the internet (e.g., see – Blockstack and its documents e.g., white paper…). Blockstack’s team and others, are working tirelessly to bring us new tools, infrastructure and applications – with a tie-in to the distributed ledger or blockchain.  And with these new tools, Blockstack enables the user to own his/her/its data and maintain and protect his/her/its privacy and security (e.g., encrypted decentralized storage, authentication & identity).  How is Blockstack doing this?  Well, not to go to far into the stack, Blockstack is developing key tools and infrastructure so that software developers and programmers (coders) can build single-page applications (dApps – (e.g., in javascript) in which the user controls not only his/her identity & authentication (e.g., think encrypted identification) but is also in control where and how his/her information (data) is stored on the decentralized internet.

So one might envision – one universal form of encrypted identification that is unique to the user that allows the user to securely participate in a decentralized internet and control his/her data that is generated from using the decentralized internet (e.g., imagine an internet with no middlemen, no passwords, and no massive centralized data repositories to breach).

Just imagine, if you have control (e.g., identity, data, storage and it is secure) and not the centralized companies, the possibilities appear to go on and on…  And, just like the early days of the network/internet (see above image from 1973), Blockstack is at the early stage of building the re-decentralized internet.

Please go see for yourself – visit Blockstack – and visit here again for updates and information on, among other things, Blockstack’s vision for the re-decentralization of the internet and the stack.

Here is a screenshot of Blockstack’s home page at www.blockstack.org.

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

^* Licklider 1960’s

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