The people who create that content — video artists, writers, graphic designers and so on — are responsible for the main reason many of us visit the internet at all. They’re a crucial part of the web, but they aren’t rewarded nearly well enough for their efforts.
That’s an issue for all sorts of reasons, and it’s frustrating for the people who can see a real market for their content but struggle to make a living from it. For example, people — and yet most YouTubers don’t make good money from their videos.
The good news is that could be about to change, with the help of budding technologies like blockchain. Before we get into that, it’s important to take a look at exactly why the content creators and educators of the web are so underpaid.
An Unfair Ecosystem
The problems with creating content and educational materials online come from the platforms that dominate this marketplace.
Basically, huge sites like Facebook and YouTube are so powerful that they’ve become gatekeepers to the world of content sharing. If you want to share a video, you have almost no choice but to use YouTube if you want anyone to see it.
These platforms come with their own ready-made audience of millions, allowing contributors to pull in huge numbers of views. The fact that they’re so centralized is a big advantage here.
Unfortunately, that centralization comes with some major downsides for content creators and educators. Facebook and YouTube, along with educational platforms, tend to take fairly sizeable cuts of whatever profit is made from sharing content on their site.
The reason these companies have grown so powerful is by making money off the work of their users. Creators toil for hours to make something worth sharing, only for the host platform to take a chunk of the profits that they did little to earn.
Getting paid for that content is a hurdle in itself. Current popular payment methods like PayPal take at least in fees. Not a huge deal for one-off payments, but something that adds up when your entire income works this way.
It boils down to the fact that online educators and content publishers find it hard to reach their audience directly. Their only real choice right now is to go via a third-party giant platform, with all the drawbacks that brings.
So how can blockchain help put things right?
Blockchain to the Rescue
Blockchain is a great solution to the problems of centralization, because it can be used to build networks that are decentralized, with no third party in control. This idea forms the basis of many companies, like .
They’re trying to build a platform where content publishers can interact directly with their audience and fanbase, without having to go through an expensive platform.
Fans and followers use the platform’s own crypto token (AC3) to pay for the materials they want to see, and the creators of that material are paid directly. This also gets around the issue with PayPal fees, as content creators get more of the money they’ve earned.
These coins can be exchanged for fiat money or used within the AC3 platform itself to buy courses in things like programming or graphic design. AC3 can be bought and traded on a .
For AC3, things are looking promising. They’ve already had over 100,000 blockchain exchanges, and are on track to forge connections with hundreds of content creators and tens of thousands of users.
The team behind the project are themselves content creators with an enormous follower base, so they understand the ups and downs of that lifestyle better than most. Instead of using an ICO to raise funds, they self-funded in order to spend more time focusing on building a solid blockchain platform.
Blockchain is constantly showing its potential in new ways, and the world of content sharing is one area that could especially benefit from more decentralization. Removing the middlemen could bring benefits to almost everyone involved and really change the way we use the internet for education and entertainment.
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Telegram’s initial coin offering has been the catalyst of confusion among Iran’s leadership, with conflicting statements regarding a potential ban on Telegram being made by officials. A few days ago, Iranian parliamentarian, Alaeddin Boroujerdi told media that Iran’s “highest level” officials wish to ban Telegram by April 20 due to the app’s monopoly position within the country and concerns that Telegram’s cryptocurrency may “undermine the national currency” in Iran. Despite M. Boroujerdi’s comments, the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, has spoken against the rumored ban.
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Iranian Minister Calls for Telegram Ban
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, has called for a ban on popular messenger app, .
Mr. Boroujerdi claimed that the decision to ban Telegram was “made at the highest levels,” adding that “Telegram will be replaced by a domestic app.” The app in question, Soroush, currently has a user base of approximately 3 million users – less than 10% of Telegram’s 40 million Iranian users.
The proposed ban has received support from Hassan Firouzabadi, the secretary of Iran’s High Council for Cyberspace, who stated that “Telegram never [agreed] to have an office in Iran and refused to work with the private sector [in Iran] and it is an enemy of the private sector.” Mr. Firouzabadi added that “Telegram is not a dominant messenger in any country except for Iran. […] Telegram has officially announced that it will be used as an economic platform and Telegram will undermine the national currency of Iran. We cannot allow [Telegram’s virtual] currency enter the country.”
In addition to the concerns pertaining to Telegram’s ICO, many analysts are arguing that Iran’s government is targeting Telegram due to its adoption as an organizational tool in staging popular demonstrations throughout Iran in 2017.
Mr. Firouzabadi predicted that the lifetime of the cryptocurrency phenomena will last approximately “10 years,” adding “during this period, approximately $50 billion [USD] will be withdrawn from the country. But if the price […] declines overnight, people will protest why there wasn’t any monitoring of it.”
Parliamentarians Push Back Against Proposed Ban
Mr. Boroujerdi’s proposed Telegram ban garnered immediate pushback from other Iranian parliamentarians.
Iranian reformist, Bahram Parsaei, has described suggested ban as a means to “create the groundwork” for a further reaching crackdown on the use of foreign messaging services. Mr. Parsaei also alleged that members of Iran’s parliament had convened for a closed-door session covering the topics of “cyberspace and domestic messaging services.” Mr. Parsaei added that “[They] tried to satisfy the members of parliament for such an action, but their arguments were not satisfying. I did not see approval of this issue among the majority of members.
The head of Iran’s parliamentary judicial commission, Jalili Rahimi Jahanabadi, has denied Mr. Parsaei’s assertion that a prohibition on Telegram was discussed during the parliamentary session. Mr. Jahanabadi defended the right of communication for the people, arguing that one “cannot ignore the inalienable right of people for communication.”
Parliamentarian Tayebeh Siavoshi also told media that he “asked the minister of communications about the rumors of the blocking of Telegram,” to which he was informed “‘It is possible, but I’m vehemently against blocking as the only solution.’”
In response to the criticism, Mr. Boroujerdi has argued “When England, as an example of a Western country, whose prime minister says that Telegram is the [home] of terrorists, and countries like China and Pakistan block Telegram, it shows that this is an important reality, that Telegram was designed in a way with behind-the-scenes complexities, that it is essentially a security threat to the Islamic Republic.” The minister went as far as to claim that Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, is closely tied to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Rouhani Weighs In
In recent days, President has addressed the Telegram controversy, stating “Having strong, secure and cheaply priced Iranian messaging applications that can solve people’s needs and problems will surely make everyone proud.”
Mr. Rouhani added, however, that “The goal of creating and enhancing Iranian software and messaging apps should not be blocking access [to other apps], but should be the elimination of monopolies,” suggesting his desire to allow competition between messing applications, and reluctance to take prohibitive action.
Iranian parliamentarian, Jalal Mirzaei, has supported the Mr. Rouhani’s position, stating “The president said that we shouldn’t make society anxious by these types of actions, and if there is any problem, we should solve it prudently. […] We shouldn’t forget that 200,000 job opportunities will be lost by blocking telegram.” Mr. Mirzaei also quoted the president as stating “Nobody is opposed to breaking Telegram’s monopoly [in Iran], but blocking Telegram is not the solution for creating […] local messaging applications.”
What is your response to the contradictory positions held by Iranian officials with regards to banning Telegram? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock
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