Appregator

appregator

The Android operating system is actively used in over 190 countries in the world, with over 1 billion users. Google Play Store is the largest application store globally, home to over 3 million android applications. With its large user base, hosting apps on Google Play Store is one of the best ways to generate income as an Android developer. There may be some issues with hosting that affect your app and your relationship with Google Play. In this article, we will walk you through the process of adding apps to Google Play. We will also discuss possible problems when publishing applications and their prevention, one of which is the popular problem of an application or account getting banned. How to Add an App to the Google Play Store You can create a Google developer account, using an already existing Google account or setting up a new one. Once you have signed in with your Google account, proceed to accept the terms. It usually takes 48 hours for a developer account to be approved. Create a Google Developer Account: Link Your Google Merchant Account: If you will be making purchases and payments in your app, you need a merchant account. This account will enable you to track sales and other metrics. : Go to your Google Developer page. On the page, click on “Create Application”. Add your language and a brief description before clicking on “Create”. Create Your Application : The next step is store-listing your application. To do this, you need to provide information about your application (its name, multiple and long descriptions, application icon, etc).  The specification for each item is stated in the guidelines. Store List Your Application : Passing a rating questionnaire is important to avoid being flagged as an unrated app. Make sure to provide accurate information about your app when answering the questionnaire. Any details that do not match what your app offers, might lead to removal from the Google Play Store. Answer the questions and click on “Save Questionnaire”. Follow this by clicking on “Calculate Rating”, this will provide you with a rating. Complete this step by clicking on “Apply Rating” to complete the content rating. Content Rating : Pricing your application is straightforward. Simply answer the questions that are provided. Pricing : To submit your application, you need to upload it in ABB or APK format. Your application should not exceed 100MB in size. Submit in Alpha, Beta, or Production mode, which will be followed by a Google review. The application review typically takes up to 7 days, after which your app is published. Submit Your Application for Publishing Common Issues That Come With Publishing Apps on the Google Play Store Some developers have difficulty publishing their apps on Google Play for the following reasons. : The goal of Google Play is to provide users with only the best products. Therefore, applications with broken features are often rejected by the store. Before publishing, it is always worth checking that all the features of your app work correctly. Broken Functionality : A buggy app is a user’s nightmare. Bugs and errors are known to make applications crash, thereby affecting the overall user experience. Naturally, Google rejects applications with such violations. You should always check your applications for bugs and errors before publishing. Bugs and Errors Uniqueness is the main criterion for approving applications on the Google Play Store. Similarities between code, design, and concept can result in your app being marked as spam and subsequently banned. The best way to deal with this problem is to create a unique code for your applications. Uniqueness: Creating Unique Applications with AppRefactoring In the process of writing applications, developers can borrow code from their old programs and this is normal. Old code helps when there is a shortage of resources that are not enough to create a new one, or when you need to rewrite the system from scratch, the developer can simply integrate the old code into the new application. In addition, by creating similar applications (for example, two versions of the photo editor), the developer can use the same source code to write them. This is done to make your job easier. But, as a result, such actions lead to code duplication, which Google Play can easily mark as "non-unique" code, and this leads to a ban on the application/account. To avoid such problems on Google Play, it is still worth creating unique applications. It is better to spend time on a unique code than to deal with a ban from Google Play. If time is still your priority, you can use a special tool that helps you create a unique source code. AppRefactoring analyzes the downloaded code and gives recommendations for its uniqueness. With the help of refactoring and obfuscation, you can create code in a couple of clicks that can avoid getting banned from Google Play. The AppRefactoring tool will compare your codebase, showing any intersections. This ensures that you will be able to host unique and functional applications approved by Google Play. Conclusion Now you know how to submit your product to the Android app store and what information is needed to do so. You also know that there are a number of problems (functionality violation, presence of bugs and errors, uniqueness problem) that lead to difficulties in working on Google Play, and the “uniqueness” problem can lead your application or account to be banned. For this reason, it is worth creating unique applications that will be protected from the Google Play ban. To create a unique code, the AppRefactoring tool will help you, which will simplify your work and show great results in a short time. The tool will analyze the code, compare it with your entire/team database, and make recommendations for creating unique code. All these processes accelerate the development and release of applications to the site. Let me know, in the comments, what your experience is with placing applications on the Android platform.

Useful Tips for Adding an App to the Google Play Store 

HOW I BECAME A LONDON STUDENT AND WENT ASTRAY

Essays in Experimental Logic, by John Dewey is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Chapter IX: NAÏVE REALISM VS. PRESENTATIVE REALISM IX. NAÏVE REALISM VS. PRESENTATIVE REALISM I In spite of the elucidations of contemporary realists, a number of idealists continue to adduce in behalf of idealism certain facts having an obvious physical nature and explanation. The visible convergence of the railway tracks, for example, is cited as evidence that what is seen is a mental "content." Yet this convergence follows from the physical properties of light and a lens, and is physically demonstrated in a camera. Is the photograph, then, to be conceived as a psychical somewhat? That the time of the visibility of a light does not coincide with the time at which a distant body emitted the light is employed to support a similar idealistic conclusion, in spite of the fact that the exact difference in time may be deduced from a physical property of light—its rate. The dislocation in space of the light seen and the astronomical star is used as evidence of the mental nature of the former, though the exact angular difference is a matter of simple computation from purely physical data. The doubling of images of, say, the finger when the eyeball is pressed, is frequently proffered as a clincher. Yet it is a simple matter to take any body that reflects light, and by a suitable arrangement of lenses to produce not only two but many images, projected into space. If the fact that under definite physical conditions (misplacement of lenses), a finger yields two images proves the psychical character of the latter, then the fact that under certain conditions a sounding body yields one or more echoes is, by parity of reasoning, proof that the echo is made of mental stuff. If, once more, the differences in form and color of a table to different observers, occupying different physical positions, is proof that what each sees is a psychical, private, isolated somewhat, then the fact that one and the same physical body has different effects upon, or relations with, different physical media is proof of the mental nature of these effects. Take a lump of wax and subject it to the same heat, located at different positions; now the wax is solid, now liquid—it might even be gaseous. How "psychical" these phenomena! It almost seems as if the transformation of the physical into the mental in the cases cited exemplifies an interesting psychological phenomenon. In each case the beginning is with a real and physical existence. Taking "the real object," the astronomical star, on the basis of its physical reality, the idealist concludes to a psychical object, radically different! Taking the single object, the finger, from the premise of its real singleness, he concludes to a double mental content, which then takes the place of the original single thing! Taking one-and-the-same-object, the table, presenting its different surfaces and reflections of light to different real organisms, he eliminates the one-table-in-its-different-relations in behalf of a multiplicity of totally separate psychical tables! The logic reminds us of the story of the countryman who, after gazing at the giraffe, remarked, "There ain't no such animal." It almost seems, I repeat, as if this self-contradiction in the argument creates in some minds the impression that the object—not the argument—is undergoing the extraordinary reversal of form. However this may be, the problem indicated in the foregoing cases is simply the good old problem of the many in one, or, less cryptically, the problem of the maintenance of a continuity of process throughout differences. I do not pretend that this situation, though the most familiar thing in life, is wholly without difficulties. But its difficulty is not one of epistemology, that is, of the relation of known to a knower; to take it as such, and then to use it as proof of the psychical nature of a final term, is also to prove that the trail the rocket stick leaves behind is psychical, or that the flower which comes in a continuity of process from a seed is mental. II Contemporary realists have so frequently and clearly expounded the physical explanation of such cases as have been cited that one is at a loss as to why idealists go on repeating the cases without even alluding to the realistic explanation. One is moved to wonder whether this neglect is just one of those circumstances which persistently dog philosophical discussions, or whether something in the realistic position gives ground (from at least an ad hominem point of view) for the neglect. There is a reason for adopting the latter alternative. Many realists, in offering the type of explanation adduced above, have treated the cases of seen light, doubled imagery, as perception in a way that ascribes to perception an inherent cognitive status. They have treated the perceptions as cases of knowledge, instead of as simply natural events having, in themselves (apart from a use that may be made of them), no more knowledge status or worth than, say, a shower or a fever. What I intend to show is that if "perceptions" are regarded as cases of knowledge, the gate is opened to the idealistic interpretation. The physical explanation holds of them as long as they are regarded simply as natural events—a doctrine I shall call naïve realism; it does not hold of them considered as cases of knowledge—the view I call presentative realism. The idealists attribute to the realists the doctrine that "the perceived object is the real object." Please note the wording; it assumes that there is the real object, something which stands in a contrasting relation with objects not real or else less real. Since it is easily demonstrable that there is a numerical duplicity between the astronomical star and its effect of visible light, between the single finger and the doubled images, the latter evidently, when the former is dubbed "the" real object, stands in disparaging contrast to its reality. If it is a case of knowledge, the knowledge refers to the star; and yet not the star, but something more or less unreal (that is, if the star be "the" real object), is known. Consider how simply the matter stands in what I have called naïve realism. The astronomical star is a real object, but not "the" real object; the visible light is another real object, found, when knowledge supervenes, to be an occurrence standing in a process continuous with the star. Since the seen light is an event within a continuous process, there is no point of view from which its "reality" contrasts with that of the star. But suppose that the realist accepts the traditionary psychology according to which every event in the way of a perception is also a case of knowing something. Is the way out now so simple? In the case of the doubled fingers or the seen light, the thing known in perception contrasts with the physical source and cause of the knowledge. There is a numerical duplicity. Moreover the thing known by perception is by this hypothesis in relation to a knower, while the physical cause is not. Is not the most plausible account of the difference between the physical cause of the perceptive knowledge and what the latter presents precisely this latter difference—namely, presentation to a knower? If perception is a case of knowing, it must be a case of knowing the star; but since the "real" star is not known in the perception, the knowledge relation must somehow have changed the "object" into a "content." Thus when the realist conceives the perceptual occurrence as an intrinsic case of knowledge or of presentation to a mind or knower, he lets the nose of the idealist camel into the tent. He has then no great cause for surprise when the camel comes in—and devours the tent. Perhaps it will seem as if in this last paragraph I had gone back on what I said earlier regarding the physical explanation of the difference between the visible light and the astronomical star. On the contrary, my point is that this explanation, though wholly adequate as long as we conceive the perception to be itself simply a natural event, is not at all available when we conceive it to be an attempt at knowing its cause. In the former case, we are dealing with a relation between natural events. In the latter case, we are dealing with the difference between an object as a cause of knowledge and an object as known, and hence in relation to mind. By the "method of difference" the sole explanation of the difference between the two objects is then the absence or presence of relation to a knower. In the case of the seen light, reference to the velocity of light is quite adequate to account for its time and space differences from the star. But viewed as a case of what is known (on the supposition that perception is knowing), reference to it only increases the contrast between the real object and the object known in perception. For, being just as much a part of the object that causes the perception as is the star itself, it (the velocity of light) ought logically to be part of what is known in the perception, while it is not. Since the velocity of light is a constituent element in the star, it should be known in the perception; since it is not so known, reference to it only increases the discrepancy between the object of the perception—the seen light—and the real, astronomical star. The same is true of any physical condition that might be referred to: The very things that, from the standpoint of perception as a natural event, are conditions that account for its happening are, from the standpoint of perception as a case of knowledge, part of the object which, if knowledge is to be valid, ought to be known, but is not. In this fact we have, perhaps, the ground of the idealist's disregard of the oft-proffered physical explanation of the difference between the perceptual event and the (so-called) real object. And it is quite possible that some realists who read these lines will feel that in my last paragraphs I have been making a covert argument for idealism. Not so, I repeat; they are an argument for a truly naïve realism. The presentative realist, in his appeal to "common-sense" and the "plain man," first sophisticates the umpire and then appeals. He stops a good way short of a genuine naïveté. The plain man, for a surety, does not regard noises heard, lights seen, etc., as mental existences; but neither does he regard them as things known. That they are just things is good enough for him. That they are in relation to mind, or in relation to mind as their "knower," no more occurs to him than that they are mental. By this I mean much more than that the formulae of epistemology are foreign to him; I mean that his attitude to these things as things involves their not being in relation to him as a mind or a knower. He is in the attitude of a liker or hater, a doer or an appreciator. When he takes the attitude of a knower he begins to inquire. Once depart from thorough naïveté, and substitute for it the psychological theory that perception is a cognitive presentation to a mind of a causal object, and the first step is taken on the road which ends in an idealistic system. III For simplicity's sake, I have written as if my main problem were to show how, in the face of a supposed difficulty, a strictly realistic theory of the perceptual event may be maintained. But my interest is primarily in the facts, and in the theory only because of the facts it formulates. The significance of the facts of the case may, perhaps, be indicated by a consideration which has thus far been ignored. In regarding a perception as a case of knowledge, the presentative realist does more than shove into it a relation to mind which then, naturally and inevitably, becomes the explanation of any differences that exist between its subject-matter and some causal object with which it contrasts. In many cases—very important cases, too, in the physical sciences—the contrasting "real object" becomes known by a logical process, by inference—as the contemporary position of the star is determined by calculations from data, not by perception. This, then, is the situation of the presentative realist: If perception is knowledge of its cause, it stands in unfavorable contrast with another indirect mode of knowledge; its object is less valid than the object of inference. I do not adduce these considerations as showing that the case is hopeless for the presentative realist; I am willing to concede he can find a satisfactory way out. But the difficulty exists; and in existing it calls emphatic attention to a case which is certainly and indisputably a case of knowledge—namely, propositions arrived at through inference, judgments as logical assertions. With relation to the unquestionable case of knowledge, the logical or inferential case, perceptions occupy a unique status, one which readily accounts for their being regarded as cases of knowledge, although in themselves they are natural events. (1) They are the sole ultimate data, the sole media, of inference to all natural objects and processes. While we do not, in any intelligible or verifiable sense, know them, we know all things that we do know with or by them. They furnish the only ultimate evidence of the existence and nature of the objects which we infer, and they are the sole ultimate checks and tests of the inferences. The visible light is a necessary part of the evidence on the basis of which we infer the existence, place, and structure of the astronomical star, and some other perception is the verifying check on the value of the inference. Because of this characteristic use of perceptions, the perceptions themselves acquire, by "second intention," a knowledge status. They become objects of minute, accurate, and experimental scrutiny. Since the body of propositions that forms natural science hangs upon them, for scientific purposes their nature as evidence, as signs, entirely overshadows their natural status, that of being simply natural events. The scientific man, as scientific, cares for perceptions not in themselves, but as they throw light upon the nature of some object reached by evidence. And since every such inference tries to terminate in a further perception (as its test of validity), the value of inferential knowing depends on perception. (2) Independently of science, daily life uses perceptions as signs of other perceptions. When a perception of a certain kind frequently recurs and is constantly used as evidence of some other impending perceptual event, the function of habit (a natural function, be it noted, not a psychical or epistemological function) often brings it about that the perception loses its original quality in acquiring a sign-value. Language is, of course, the typical case. Noises, in themselves mere natural events, through habitual use as signs of other natural events become integrated with what they mean. What they stand for is telescoped, as it were, into what they are. This happens also with other natural events, colors, tastes, etc. Thus, for practical purposes, many perceptual events are cases of knowledge; that is, they have been used as such so often that the habit of so using them is established or automatic. In this brief reference to facts that are perfectly familiar, I have tried to suggest three points of crucial importance for a naïve realism: first, that inferential or evidential knowledge (that involving logical relation) is in the field as an obvious and undisputed case of knowledge; second, that this function, although embodying the logical relation, is itself a natural and specifically detectable process among natural things—it is not a non-natural or epistemological relation; third, that the use, practical and scientific, of perceptual events in the evidential or inferential function is such as to make them become objects of inquiry and limits of knowledge, and to such a degree that this acquired characteristic quite overshadows, in many cases, their primary nature. If we add to what has been said the fact that, like every natural function, the inferential function turns out better in some cases and worse in others, we get a naturalistic or naïvely realistic conception of the "problem of knowledge": Control of the conditions of inference—the only type of knowledge detectable in direct existence—so as to guide it toward better conclusions. IV I do not flatter myself that I will receive much gratitude from realists for attempting to rescue them from that error of fact which exposes their doctrine to an idealistic interpretation. The superstition, growing up in a false physics and physiology and perpetuated by psychology, that sensations-perceptions are cases of knowledge, is too ingrained. But—crede experto—let them try the experiment of conceiving perceptions as pure natural events, not as cases of awareness or apprehension, and they will be surprised to see how little they miss—save the burden of carrying traditionary problems. Meantime, while philosophic argument, such as this, will do little to change the state of belief regarding perceptions, the development of biology and the refinement of physiology will, in due season, do the work. In concluding my article, I ought to refer, in order to guard against misapprehension, to a reply that the presentative realist might make to my objection. He might say that while the seen light is a case of knowledge or presentative awareness, it is not a case of knowledge of the star, but simply of the seen light, just as it is. In this case the appeal to the physical explanations of the difference of the seen light from its objective source is quite legitimate. At first sight, such a position seems innocent and tenable. Even if innocent, it would, however, be ungrounded, since there is no evidence of the existence of a knower, and of its relation to the seen light. But further consideration will reveal that there is a most fundamental objection. If the notion of perception as a case of adequate knowledge of its own object-matter be accepted, the knowledge relation is absolutely ubiquitous; it is an all-inclusive net. The "ego-centric predicament" is inevitable. This result of making perception a case of knowing will now occupy us. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Dewey, John. 2012. Essays in Experimental Logic. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved May 2022 from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40794/40794-h/40794-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

NAÏVE REALISM VS. PRESENTATIVE REALISM

About nine years ago in 2013, an art exhibition in Portugal (itself one of the most underrated countries with a vibrant artist community) set tongues wagging in modern art circles. All because of the subject: human anuses. It’s one thing for a state-sponsored exhibition at the Serralves Museum in Porto to shock and awe but it seemed like quite another feat when you take in the fact that took public funds to look for scores of people willing to bare their behinds for the close-ups. " " Ojo del culo It didn’t take too long for people to warm up to the at-first uncomfortable subject matter -- after all, it was about time that the hidden visage of the naked human body joined the pantheons of nudity in art. Asses Becoming an Art Trend As it usually does in art, it only takes one famous event to set off other artists, and this seemed to happen with the anus. Belgium a year later opened up the Anus Hotel. Hugely unpopular, according to the Geert Verbeke, owner of the Verbeke Foundation, which maintains the hotel, who , quite artistically: “It is meant as an indictment against consumer society. But at the same time, it’s also a good joke.” explained to Vice A year later, in 2015, British artists started taking in commissions to make bronze casts of the very same body part. Initially having a decade-long career in making chocolate candles of asses (branded as Edible Asses), found that people were willing to pay roughly $1,900 to have their asses cast in metal. Magnus Irvin Of course, he couldn’t have predicted that digital asses would start to cost even more and become even more popular only a few years later… when asses invariably made their way to the non-fungible token (NFT) art scene. When Asses Landed on the NFT Art Scene Ironically, NFTs did no enter asses. Rather, asses entered NFTs. Yeah, okay, that’s being a bit cheeky, but it’s accurate. In an age where almost everything has already been “made into an NFT” in the name of modern art and collectibles, we are now witnessing a proliferation of butts and asses in the NFT realm. Of course, most are pretty harmless and borderline safe for work. Like the , which was just a collection of 455 randomly generated “booties” with hand-drawn traits. With a floor price of just about 0.046 ETH (just below $180), it’s one of the more affordable ass NFTs around. Ass Club If you prefer the more old-school NFT art reminiscent of CryptoPunks -- you know, with exaggerated pixels to lend it some authentic NFT feel -- then you might prefer to scout around for , which has just a slightly higher floor price of 0.06 ETH. CryptoAsses If, however, you’ve decided that you’re a bit more of a cultured person and fine appreciator of the aesthetics of the buttocks, then you might travel all the way back to the origin of it all, Portugal, to buy an NFT or famous asses, like this one dubbed “the most famous ass in Portugal” sold by . I’ve certainly never heard of Diana Cu de Melancia, but apparently, she’s just one of the 2,000-odd porn stars who’ll NFT their anus in a public minting to be announced soon. La Galerie des NFT Ass Spin-Off NFTs And in case you’re still a bit more sensible and prefer more conservative undertones of the fleshiest area of the human body, then you might want to check out NFTs of toilet paper instead. Perhaps inspired by the original panic-buy of the Covid-19 pandemic, these digital tokens are merely unique variations of toilet paper… they’re so cool and modern you even get to mint and stake them for a DeFi twist. Oh, and they’re also very hiply launched on Solana. WipeMyAss Of course, like every trendy sector, there are always downstream commercial activities, as popular reality star cum influencer Stephanie Matto demonstrates. After making a $200,000 fortune from selling her own farts bottled up in a jar, she’s now decided to sell those jars… as NFTs. are merely shy of $130 a pop. Because, why not, right, NFT people? Fart Jars NFTs If you’ve been following my writing, you’ll know I’m a supporter of NFTs and blockchain technologies. You’ll also know I don’t mind calling out the scams and shams. Call me an uncultured technologist and NFT art critic, but wouldn’t you agree that the number of ass-themed NFTs is too high?

I Don't Like Big Butt NFTs and I Cannot Lie

In 2021, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) simply exploded into popularity. And one of the most popular among them has been , whose value rose in tandem with their traction. CryptoPunks We have been seeing how museum-quality art has been crazy expensive on the back of the fame of the artists and the exclusive ownership of an artwork. And, now, as the world goes digital, so has the art. NFTs offer a unique and non-fungible piece of artwork that also provides a certificate of authenticity or proof of ownership. Amidst the ongoing craze around NFTs, they are being sold for millions of dollars. It was Beeple’s $69 million NFT sales that really grabbed the mainstream headlines, and from there, it has been only on an upward trajectory. are one of the most expensive NFTs out there. It actually makes up 3 out of the top 5 most expensive NFTs ever sold. In March, an ultra-rare alien punk was sold for 4,200 ETH ($7.58 million) and is currently on sale by its owner for 35,000 ETH ($142.4 million). CryptoPunks As of the time of writing this, the lowest price punk that you can buy is 61.95 ETH, worth more than $250,000. What Exactly is CryptoPunks? In 2017, John Watkinson and Matt Hall released a total of 10,000 punks which were algorithmically generated. Their proof of ownership is recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. CryptoPunks are 24x24 pixel art images that are mostly punky-looking guys and girls with a few rarer types mixed in, such as apes, zombies, and aliens. Watkinson and Hall created these pixelated characters CryptoPunks, with different hairstyles, hats, and glasses, and since then, they launched another project called Autoglyphs, which is generative art. They have also built up a Larva Labs company around their various projects. Until now, CryptoPunks had a small but passionate community. This year, as everyone from Silicon Valley, YouTubers, poker stars, and celebrities joined crypto in their appreciation of punks, so did the mainstream enthusiasts. YouTuber Logan Paul showed off his CryptoPunk, which he bought for $170k in his video in March. The CryptoPunks platform has seen nearly $2 billion worth of transaction volume since its launch, up from $200 million in April this year and just $11,500 in June 2017, according to the NFT tracking site . CryptoSlam While currently they are being sold for 6-7 figures, at the time of their launch, CryptoPunks were claimed for . That's right if only one has had interest or conviction in them ahead of their time. free Now, as prices surge, owning a CryptoPunk has become a “ ” due to there being only a limited number of them. Several of their owners have also taken to flaunting them by using their punks as an avatar on social media sites like Twitter. digital flex Valuation of a CryptoPunk Much like physical art, beauty is in the beholder's eye, and every art has different value to different appreciators. There is also, of course, hedonic value when it comes to valuing any art, including NFTs, meaning just how much enjoyment one gets out of their art. When it comes to CryptoPunks, there are other factors as well that are taken into consideration when valuing the NFT. Scarcity First and foremost, limited quality. Just like there would only ever be 21 million Bitcoin and not a single more, there will only ever be 10,000 CryptoPunks. It is up to the NFT creator if they want to have a rare collectible or have several versions of their NFT. Still, in both cases, the authenticity of the NFT is verifiable through their unique IDs and metadata. In CryptoPunks, no two punks are the same. Some have a headband, some have caps, others have small shades, and many are wearing gold chains. Each punk has different attributes, and some are rarer than others. Simply put, the rarer an item, the higher its value. Popularity Popularity is another factor that plays a pivotal role in the valuation of an NFT. Up until September 2020, CryptoPunk’s monthly sales kept between $5k to $50k, only to hit six figures the first time at $2.96 million. CryptoPunk had its record month in August 2021 with almost $680 million worth of transaction volume. In terms of monthly data, Cryptopunks had over 1200 unique buyers, eclipsing 213 unique buys in January 2021 and just 15 in March 2018. This is because it was around late 2020 and throughout 2021 that everyone noticed CryptoPunks. In August this year, the payments giant Visa announced that it had bought CryptoPunk #7610 for $150,000. Visa's crypto head, Cuy Sheffield, described CryptoPunk as a " " cultural icon for the crypto community. As the punks got attention, they recorded an increase in value which drove their demand and fueled FOMO, leading to a spike in their value. Age Another factor is just how old an NFT is. CryptoPunk’s high valuation could also be attributed to the fact that it is one of the , which makes it an OG, giving it socio-cultural significance. oldest NFTs For instance, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's first tweet, which he sold as NFT, got its value because it was the first-ever tweet made, making it a historical landmark. Additionally, CryptoPunks' metadata, the core of an NFT, which includes the NFTs name, description, traits, and link to the hosted image, details their longevity on the Ethereum blockchain, further adding to their appeal. 2022 for Cryptopunks While NFTs are currently seeing a decline in their value and volume since early 2021 highs, they are here to stay. And despite the onslaught of projects like Art Blocks, Bored Ape Club Yacht Club, Meebits, Cool Cats, and tons of others, CryptoPunks is one of the collections with a bright future. It continues to be the most popular and influential in the market. CryptoPunks have simply become a part of the social status game as only a handful of people have them or can afford to buy them.  Ultimately, as time passes by, the value of this collection is likely to increase. That’s why I can clearly see the spread of fractionalized ownership of CryptoPunks soon, as it becomes the main method for most people to own this kind of NFT.

Why Are CryptoPunks So Expensive and What Will Happen to Them in 2022?

is a free and open-source web browser based on / (a more lightweight version of Chrome) that was developed by (creator of JavaScript and former CEO of Mozilla) and released at the beginning of 2016 as a privacy-respecting browser that includes features such as web trackers blocking and ad-blocking (and uses the privacy respecting search engine by default, in place of Google, which seems to have evolved from a search engine into what today rather resembles a curation engine). Additionally, unlike Chrome which requires the and Chrome extensions used to block malicious mining malware, Brave has these functionalities and a crypto mining blocker built-in by default – offering protection against all sorts of crypto mining malware, such as a JS miner virus, the well-known (that makes your browser connect to coinhive.com/lib/coinhive.min.js), bitcoin miner virus, a web miner stealthily running in the background (Monero being particularly popular among those), as well as popping warnings about malicious sites and so-called click miners, or clickbait, meant to trick the user into entering a site. Brave Chrome Chromium Brendan Eich DuckDuckGo No Coin NoMiner coinhive malware Eventually, Brave also introduced its own crypto-token revolving around the users’ attention economy and allows users to contribute Brave’s (Basic Attention Token) to content creators and web sites (or dispensing micropayments as tips). BAT Brave also comes with its own cryptocurrency wallet, similar to Ethereum’s extension, which supports Ethereum and all Ethereum-based assets and tokens. MetaMask Brave also offers private browsing functionality and supports . It is as extensible and modular as Chrome/Chromium (in terms of plug-ins and add-ons), making it possible to equip with a wide range of additional features and functionalities (one I personally recommend is , or – a tool which labels sites and their terms of service, which regular users usually skip on reading due to them either being too long, deliberately misplaced or vague, etc. – giving warnings to users when they browse those sites and warning them about the implications of the terms of service of the corresponding site). TOR ToSDR “Terms of Service, Didn’t Read” In June 2019, Brave initiated the testing of its newest ad-blocker algorithm implemented in Rust (developed by Mozilla, supposed to replace Javascript in the future, as a kind of faster, more stable and secure alternative to Javascript, which in some ways resembles C/C++) and meant to replace the older C++ one. The and seem ti have algorithms inspired the new logic of this latest implementation, which Brave claims to be on average 69 times faster than the previous algorithm (which the properties of Rust as a programming language allow for). uBlock Origin Ghostery Brave launched its stable 1.0 release on 13 November 2019, while already having some 8.7 million monthly active users. It is . All these properties make Brave the preferred general-purpose privacy-centric among the cryptocurrency community. available across all platforms, including Linux, Windows, iOS and Android cryptobrowser The Basic Attention Token (BAT) The (BAT) is a kind of decentralized ad exchange based on the Ethereum platform and a significant component of Ethereum’s ecosystem overall. In its ICO (Initial Coin Offering) on 31 May 2017, Brave Software International sold 1,000,000,000 tokens for a total of 156,250 Ethereum (US$35M) in less than 30 seconds. An additional 500,000,000 BAT was retained by the company, to be used to promote the adoption of the platform. Notably, the name of ZCash’s Zooko Wilcox is present as an advisor to the BAT project. The original white paper which describes BAT’s concept, idea and proposition in more depth and detail can be found . Basic Attention Token here In early December 2017, the company disbursed the first round of its ‘user growth pool’ grants: a total of 300,000 BAT was distributed to new users on a first-come-first-serve basis. At the time of writing, the market price of BAT stands at $ 0.261057. It is one of the more popular and stable Ethereum-based assets/tokens, as also indicated by the fact that the (Ethereum’s central DeFi – decentralized finance – entity, serving as something of a “central” bank or Fed in Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem) accepts it as collateral, and Coinbase itself lists it. Besides , BAT is also supported by other DeFi apps and services, notably (as ) and – also in the form of interest-bearing BAT ( , locked in a contract, same as Compound). The original BAT token contract can also be found . Maker DAO MakerDAO Compound Finance cBAT Aave aBAT here on Etherscan BAT is designed for micropayments (tips), and you can earn BAT using the Brave browser either as a content publisher or website owner, or when shown authorized ads. You can also yourself tip others through your in-browser BAT wallet. The time spent by visitors at a website also counts towards revenue share (with authors and writers receiving BAT payments for the attention devoted to their content). All this is quickly turning BAT and the Brave browser into what seems to currently be the most popular cryptocurrency-based monetization solution for advertisements and websites (and just online content in general). By going to you can also link your Youtube, Twitter and/or Twitch accounts for BAT tipping, support for which was recently introduced with the latest version of Brave. The crypto profit in BAT depends on the number of visitors and time spent on the content provided, as well as the generosity of tipping appreciators of one’s work, which makes BAT one of those which function as a gateway to getting paid for engaging with some activity or doing some kind of work (similar to, say, Augur’s REP token, or Maker’s MKR, etc.) publishers.basicattentiontoken.org cryptocurrencies As well as Coinbase, BAT is also listed on Binance, but the official BAT publisher program payment processor for cashing out accumulated balance is Uphold. requires that one go through a KYC verification procedure to ensure regulatory compliance and that payments are legally cleared in their corresponding jurisdiction. In order to cash out your BAT, you must head to Uphold’s a web site and register, signing up for an account and then connecting it with your BAT wallet. Uphold Opera Browser Turned Cryptobrowser Opera, one of the oldest web browsers still developed today (initially developed by Norway’s telecommunications company, but sold out to a Chinese consortium in 2016), also deserves a brief mention in the category of cryptobrowsers, also having for a long time being a nerd’s browser of choice back in the earlier days. Just like Brave, Opera is Chromium-based and was the first browser to implement a built-in cryptocurrency wallet in 2018, also supporting decentralized applications (such as Ethereum’s Cryptokitties, etc.) and in 2020 it updated its Android version to support unstoppable crypto DNS (such as , whose domains usually have the .eth suffix in the end in place of an Ethereum address) and .crypto domains, signaling yet another shift from centralized services to decentralized systems (such as IPFS, which it also offers support for). Ethereum’s ENS alternative to DNS Additional Resources A guide for using Brave cryptobrowser at . cryptocompare Brave cryptobrowser Reddit

The Brave Web Browser: Privacy-Centric Cryptobrowser

With nearly a decade spent considering value and value distribution — many of the people I’m connected to in the sharing and collaborative economy have found a nexus in blockchain. I’ve also met many others from all different industries on the new economy wave — so a list seemed in order. First things first. What’s the new economy? According to Cambridge Dictionary the new economy is “activities based on knowledge and information, rather than traditional industries such as manufacturing.” I’d like to take it a step further in the context of this post… The new economy is the convergence of the hyper growth centric economy and the sharing economy movement leading to horizontal value distribution and the trajectory of greater social equity, aided by technology. The people on this list are community centric, focus on new types of organizations, value sharing, shared ownership, regenerative currencies, environmental incentives, and better human relationships through reframing our economic systems and promoting interdependence. I would like to give special attention and exposure to this group because these people are driving a new narrative and spreading a new consciousness around how we do business. These new economy leaders are as are radical as they are activated — and I’d like their stories to be broadcasted as wide as possible. To that end, I bring you the top 32 blockchain leaders (in no particular order), revolutionizing how we do business now and in the future. 1. Primavera De Filippi, DAOstack Primavera De Filippi, the co-author of Blockchain and the Law, an advisor for DAOStack, a faculty associate at Harvard’s Berkman-Klein Center, and a permanent researcher at Paris’ National Center of Scientific Research. Latest work: Blockchain and the Code of Law | LinkedIn Twitter 2. Andrew Hyde, Origin Andrew Hyde was the founder of four startups, including Startup Weekend, and has built global communities across dozens of countries. He was employee number 1 at TechStars. Celiac. Coffee shop owner. Tall. Travel. Wordy. Latest work: This Book is About Travel: A Modern Manual — 15 Countries With 15 Things | LinkedIn Twitter 3. Anu Bhardwaj, Women Investing , Sheqwallet Founder of Women INVESTING in Women DIGITAL, the world’s largest digital media platform focused on Women & Investing with a special focus on Blockchain. Launched in December 2014, Women Investing in Women Digital includes over 1,000,000+ FB followers and is linked to QRYPTO QUEENS; The State of Women Radio & TV Network, and the WIIW Global Summit & Women in Private Equity Roundtable Series, which took place in New York City, Stockholm, Johannesburg, San Diego, Scottsdale, Muscat, Singapore, Phoenix, Vienna, Los Angeles & Ankara. Latest work: Founder of Women INVESTING in Women: building a global community of engaged champions for advancing the status of women and girls | LinkedIn Twitter 4. Liron Arzi, Utopi.io Liron Arzi has over 20 years experience in film, television, music, multimedia, business development, corporate sponsorship and consulting. He’s worked with Warner Brothers in Asia and with MGM to finance and distribute major films. Currently, he’s the founder of Utopi a blockchain technology company that changes the face of philanthropy through indie livestreaming. Latest work: GUEST: Liron Artzi, CEO at Utopi.io Twitter:N/A LinkedIn 5. Kjerstin Erickson, Abundance Labs KJ is the CEO & Co-Founder of Public Market — a fair and transparent online marketplace built on the Ethereum blockchain. A graduate of Stanford University and Oxford Business School, KJ is trained in economics and game theory and is passionate about building consumer-facing web products and marketplaces backed by alternative currencies. Latest work: Liberating eCommerce: Public Market & the New Commercial Commons | LinkedIn Twitter 6. Ben Bartlett, City of Berkeley Candidate for CA Assembly District 15. Berkeley City Council Member. Environmental lawyer uniting industry and government to address climate change, create housing for the homeless, alleviate poverty with green jobs and expand opportunity for everyone. Latest work: Why do cities what their own cryptocurrencies? | LinkedIn Twitter 7. Chelsea Rustrum, Blockchain for Good , Blox 7 Chelsea wrote a book on sharing titled . This led her to question value — what is it and how might we distribute it better? And could we exchange completely without money? As a community builder, speaker, and author, she took her ideas on the road — fusing equity crowdfunding, cooperative business models, and blockchain together to make sense of how to integrate sharing into the fabric of the economy itself. Today, she runs an organization that supports social good within the blockchain community, including a and co-founded a new economy storytelling agency for marketing and advising of token raises, . It’s a Shareable Life Blockchain Code of Ethics Blox 7 Latest work: Why I’m advising ShareRing — A Portable Token for the Future of the Sharing Economy | LinkedIn Twitter 8. David Passiak, Blox 7 David Passiak is a keynote speaker, innovator, futurist, and author of three books — Empower, Disruption Revolution, and Red Bull to Buddha. A former religion scholar who did Ph.D. studies at Princeton on “Great Awakenings,” his work focuses on building movements, co-creation, crowd-based innovation, and emerging business models that will reshape the global economy. Today he runs , a new economy storytelling agency for ICOs and continues to do thought leadership co-creation and the new economy. Blox 7 Latest work: Empower: How to Co-Create the Future | LinkedIn Twitter 9. Alex Voto, Consensys Alessandro Voto is a West Coast Regional Director for Consensys, a Brooklyn-based blockchain technology venture studio, and a Research Affiliate at the Institute for the Future, a Bay Area non-profit futures think tank. He also deeply cares about the future ethics and framing of blockchain technology and does educational talks and workshops to teach people how to think about blockchain in a cooperative business sense. Latest work: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/931323377008046080 | LinkedIn Twitter 10. Faris Oweis, Digital Town Faris is a storyteller, strategist, and a natural connector of ideas, concepts, and people who has taken a diverse path geographically and professionally. After working in the corporate-cubicle world for many years, and watching a life-changing TED Talk, Faris found himself in an unfamiliar place and this was one of the biggest gifts he could ever receive. He’s been a leader in the smart cities movement for years and currently joined to put smart cities on the blockchain. He’s also one of the most articulate speakers when it comes to explaining the intersection between the business case for social change and the fundamental necessity of moving toward a more cooperative society. Digital Town Latest work: New Jersey Tourism Industry Association Partners With DigitalTown for Smart Tourism | LinkedIn Twitter 11. Vicki Rox, Love Coin Explorer of what it means to be a man today. Asker of questions to strangers. Curator of a global men’s dinner salon series. Adventurer into the unknown. Writer of thoughts. Speaker of insights. Appreciator of creative genius within all humans. Latest work: Vicki Rox on Vimeo | LinkedIn Twitter 12. Kendrick Nguyen, Republic Hustling 24/7 at Republic with a committed team to make startup investing — both crypto and equity — more accessible to main street. the founding adviser of CoinList, an ICO platform, and of NOW, a venture capital platform led by Shiza Shahid, who co-founded the Malala Fund with Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai. My prior business experience focused on fundraising, ops, product strategy and investment — most recently at AngelList. Latest work: Equity Crowdfunding Brings Greater Equity To Funding | LinkedIn Twitter 13. Daisy Ozim, Blockchain for Social Justice Dee is centered in developing systems and practices rooted in sustainability and equity. Ive had the honor of working on health programs and policy from the international to local level, have developed a successful social enterprise, working to promote equity in the Blockchain ecosystem and supporting the correct application of venture capital. Latest work: Force Behind Resilient Wellness! | LinkedIn Twitter 14. Anastasia Miron, Consultant Anastasia is Moldovan-born, Italy-raised, United States-seasoned social entrepreneur, innovation evangelist and consultant. Known for my contagious energy and can-do attitude, I’m passionate about challenging the status quo by empowering underprivileged people and communities. As Co-Founder of GlobeIn and TEKEDU, I worked to improve technological access and literacy to increase opportunity in today’s increasingly digital marketplaces. As Founder of Child Proof Yourself, my current interest lies in leveraging VR and AR to address human centered problems like parenting and provide new approaches to prevent stress and anxiety in children, through immersive experiences that create awareness and triggers empathy. Latest work: TEKWILL VISIONARY CLUB | Twitter: LinkedIn 15. Neal Gorenflo, Shareable Neal Gorenflo is the co-founder and Executive Director of Shareable, an award-winning nonprofit news outlet and global action network that reports on the latest innovations resource sharing, solidarity economy, sharing cities, and the blockchain. He’s a speaker, author, and consultant on Shareable’s coverage areas. He’s the editor of multiple books including Shareable’s latest, “ ” As a recognized sharing movement pioneer, he advises leaders around the world on how to meet their goals through sharing. This has included work with Seoul Metropolitan Government, the city of San Francisco, and the Sharing Economy Association of Japan. Not surprisingly, Neal is an avid sharer whose year of sharing life experiment was covered by FastCompany, Sunset, and 7x7 magazines. As a social entrepreneur, Neal’s timely call to action is simple and systemic: let’s share! Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons. Latest work: Activating Urban Commons | LinkedIn Twitter 16. Scott Morris, Qoin , Ithacash Scott Morris is the Founder and CEO of Ithacash. Also, a Thinks in Solutions & Systems; Community Currency Expert; Impact Entrepreneur; Latest work: How “Complementary Currencies” Support Vibrant Local Economies | LinkedIn Twitter 17. Raman Frey, Dispatch Labs Raman is founder of Good People Dinners, a San Francisco based community that fosters trust and friendship through food, drink and conversation. Over one hundred-fifty gatherings, dinners, overnights and retreats, have occurred at private homes and other venues in the Bay Area and Nevada, with professional chefs and speakers on a wide range of topics. Latest work: Hyper-Capitalism or a World Without Need | LinkedIn Twitter 18. David Sneider, Deconet David is the CEO of Deco.network and its goal is to engage with digital knowledge economy faster, cheaper and easier by enabling creators to capture more of the value they create. Latest work: Decentralized marketplaces and how your business can capitalize on the Future of Work 2.0 | LinkedIn Twitter 19. Taynaah Reis, Moeda Miss Reis is a self-taught Software Engineering who began her programming activities at just 12 years old. Miss Reis is the Founder and CEO of Moeda, that is using blockchain technology to revolutionize microfinance. Moeda is a marketplace that allows peer-to-peer payments, microfinancing of digital loans and crowdfunding through fiat-pegged digital tokens, all based on blockchain technology. Latest work: Moeda to Announce Selected Seed Projects and Ambassador Program | LinkedIn Twitter 20. Amanda Ravenhill, Buckmister Fuller Institute Ravenhill is an active member of the international community focused on addressing imminent global challenges. She previously held the role of Executive Director of Project Drawdown, a comprehensive plan to reverse global warming. She also serves as advisor to the Center for Carbon Removal and is a member of the steering committee for the Nexus Global Climate Change Working Group. She also sits on the board of , a dedicated ecological ledger and smart contracting framework that opens up new natural capital asset classes to reward ecological regeneration and carbon drawdown into agriculture systems, forests, and oceans. Regen.network Latest work: Amanda Ravenhill (C10) Interview | LinkedIn Twitter 21. Caterina Rindi, Consultant Caterina’s expertise include bitcoin and blockchains education, program and project implementation, community engagement, operations, management and administration, developing partnerships and networking, social media, problem-solving, technology integration, training and mentoring. Strong commitment to underserved communities, and sustainability. Latest work: LAB Radio Episode 7 | LinkedIn Twitter 22. Tony Lai, Legal.io Tony Lai is a lawyer, entrepreneur and evangelist for governance and systems that support access, openness, innovation, engagement and sharing. Tony is the Co-Founder and CEO of Legal.io, a legal technology company providing referral management and legal empowerment systems and solutions for trusted legal organizations, including law firms, bar associations and legal aid networks. Latest work: Flat-Fee Legal Services: an introduction | LinkedIn Twitter 23. Art Brock, Holochain Arthur targets currencies which shape the social dynamics of emerging post-industrial economy. To that end, he created more than a hundred designs for multi-currency systems, and my software company has built and deployed dozens of those systems. My current focus is launching Holochain, an alternative to blockchain for running fully P2P distributed applications. Latest work: Curiosity Talk: Currency Expert Arthur Brock Founder of Holochain & Ceptr | LinkedIn Twitter 24. Dennis Kucinich, Congressman This year marks Dennis 40th year of involvement in civic life. He have served as a member of the Cleveland City Council, as Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Courts and as Mayor of the City of Cleveland. I have been an Ohio State Senator and am now in my 6th term as a Member of the United States Congress. Having served at local, state and federal levels, in legislative, executive and ‘quasi’ judicial branches I have one of the broadest backgrounds of anyone in government today. Latest work: Kucinich 2020 | LinkedIn Twitter 25. Miko Matsumura, Evercoin Miko Matsumura founded crypto exchange Evercoin, and is a General Partner with Gumi Cryptos Capital. He is also a venture partner with BitBull Capital and an advisor to Arrington XRP Capital. He is an investor in the Pantera Capital ICO Fund (a $100M ICO-only fund). He is personally invested in FileCoin, Brave, CIVIC, Propy, Mainframe and Lyft. As chief Evangelist for the Java Language and Platform he participated in the first wave of the Internet, and is now fully engaged in the crypto-fueled Internet of value. Latest work: Cryptocurrency and blockchain investor gives suggestions to global governments regulating new technologies. | LinkedIn Twitter 26. Susanne Tarkowski Tempelhof, Bitnation Pangea Susanne is an international entrepreneur working primarily in frontier environments, my ambition is to leverage radical technologies and resilient peer-to-peer networks — to create a borderless and voluntary post nation state governance alternative. Latest work: The Beginning of Bitnation | LinkedIn Twitter Steven Nerayoff, Alchemist Steven Nerayoff, Esq. LL.M. is a prolific serial entrepreneur, attorney and inventor of 20 international patents, having founded seven companies in Silicon Valley and New York City. Steven is a blockchain pioneer with his involvement in top projects including: Ethereum, Lisk, Bancor, tZERO, ZenCash, ZCash, Ripio, Aion and Storm. Steven is also the Chairman of the publicly listed company Global Blockchain Technologies (OTCMKTS:BLKCF) (TSXV:BLOC). Latest work: Cryptocurrency value could triple in 2018 | LinkedIn Twitter 28. Brittany Kaiser, DATA Brittany is an international law, diplomacy and data-driven campaigning professional with significant global experience. My work involves developing successful strategies for politicians, governments, and corporations to achieve their goals using cutting edge technology. Currently focused on legislative reform for digital assets such as personal data and tokens on the blockchain. Latest work: Former Cambridge Analytica employee says “there were more” apps that collected user data | LinkedIn Twitter 29. Jamie Klinger, Joatu Jamie Klinger is the Cryptocurrency consultant, an Alt-economist. He is also a basic income activist, the founder of JoatU, poker coach and a photographer. Latest work: The other side of Basic Income: Basic Jobs | LinkedIn Twitter 30. Shermin Voshmgir, Blockchain Hub Shermin is the director of the Research Institute for Crypto Economics at the Vienna University of Economics, and the founder of Blockchain Hub — an international network of autonomous Hubs that promote the idea of blockchain, crypto economics and the decentralized web. She is also advisor of Jolocom, a blockchain based self sovereign identity protocol. In the past, she was a curator of theDAO and on the advisory board of the Estonian e-residency program and was. Latest work: Token Economy: The Future of Money | LinkedIn Twitter 31. David Grossblatt, Founders Dojo David Grossblatt is the founding member of Founder’s Dojo. David contribute to great teams accomplishing great objectives. The Founders Dojo is a collaborative startup studio and community headquartered in San Francisco and global in reach. Over 500 startups, SMBs and Founders have worked in and with the Founders Dojo since 2007. He’s also highly involved with pushing groundbreaking policy through the capital of the State of California to create a foundation for the legality of blockchain technology now and in the future. Latest work: Blockchain Coalition Takes on Sacramento | LinkedIn Twitter 32. Tim Bos, ShareRing Tim has over 19 years’ experience working with start-ups and established enterprises with a focus on technology. Tim Bos also established his first start-up, bioWatch Australia in July 2004, with the purpose of building a software framework for tracking valuable assets around the globe. He sold the company to Procon MRM in the USA in 2008. He also co-founded the digital asset sharing economy company Keaz which has a fleet of cars in operation in hundreds of locations. Most recently, Tim co-founded ShareRing, a blockchain based company that’s focused on changing the landscape of the fragmented sharing economy. Latest work: Sharering.Network Interview CEO Tim Bos — The Sharing Economy Review | LinkedIn Twitter If you know someone who should be on this list, please comment on this post!

32 New Economy Leaders, Pushing the Blockchain Revolution

Uber, like other consumer services, has an interesting rating system, both for passengers and drivers. Arjun champions this passenger rating system with a score of 4.91, not because he strategizes but because he’s genuinely nice and loves to strike a conversation! He recently noticed one of the drivers throwing him a 1-star rating. Arjun was taken aback. Out of curiosity, he asked the driver the reason for such a low rating. The driver smiled and explained — “Sir, this is not low. I gave you a №1 rating!”. Shall we ditch the stars? Earlier in 2017, Netflix made a big move — ditching their star rating, replacing it with a thumbs-up and thumbs-down rating system. YouTube had taken a similar turn almost a decade ago, in 2009. When it comes to ratings, it’s pretty much . all or nothing Their conclusive statement was that an overwhelming majority of videos on YouTube had a stellar five-star rating, which meant that user reacted in extremes — either when something is exceptionally amazing or utterly pathetic. For the rest, they didn’t care to react and rate. A point to note here is that the average rating for a video on YouTube was common to all the users. Five red stars on Netflix meant the movie or series is a perfect match for you. The rating you saw next to each movie or series (on Netflix) was an average of users, not all the users as with YouTube. like-minded How often do people rate? Uber’s earlier experience had almost made it mandatory to rate your driver before you move to the next ride. The latest experience has made it optional, with users missing out on rating quite a few times. Uber (San Francisco) sent a guide to its drivers in 2014 that explained how the driver-rating system works. Also, if a driver’s rating was 4.6 or lower, Uber could consider deactivating their account. “Deactivating the accounts of the drivers who provide consistently poor experiences ensures that Uber continues to be known for quality.” Uber drivers depend on a good rating to make a living. And so do restaurants, to get better footfalls, amongst many other products and services that are ‘ratings’ dependent for better earnings. Do we all understand ratings the same way? Perhaps not. A more informed approach to answer this is to understand the intent of rating systems, specially in the case of today’s digital products. What is a Rating System in the digital world? A Rating System is a possible investment, from your users in your product (digital or otherwise). Once they (your users) are clear about and in favour of the return on this investment, they are more likely to invest, engage better with your rating system. They will help with the product’s growth by rewarding good actions and punishing the not so good ones. We recently conducted a related survey for one of our client’s project. More than 50 percent of the respondents take 7 as the lowest rating on IMDB, for them to watch that movie. Anything less would make them skip the movie! Interestingly, the LAR (lowest acceptable rating) for a show or series with the same set of respondents, is 8 (and not 7, like movies). “I almost never rate a movie more than 8, given it’s an ideal movie” — one of the respondents revealed. While a 7 rating is acceptable, 9 is too rare and exceptional for movies. The same set of users would vote the same movie as ‘thumbs up’, on Netflix. Platforms, their usage, rating systems and their eventual participative results seem to play a great psychological role in how a user rates a content piece. Colors, labels and the immediate effect of the rating are also major influencers. About 80 percent of the respondents from the same survey claim to hire an uber at least once a week, with more than 30 percent boarding one everyday. Almost 50 percent of these Uber commuters will cancel their ride if the driver has a rating anything less than 4.5 (out of 5)! The same users browse the listings on Zomato for a minimum of once a month. The LAR for a restaurant drops to 3.8 (out of 5)! Perhaps, the frequency of usage and relevance to everyday life are also influencing our perception of ratings. “A 4-star rating is for working as expected. 5 is for exceeding expectations!” Instagram (or Facebook) likes and Twitter’s retweets are rating systems as well, the true binary ones in fact. Usually, users don’t rate ‘blah’ experiences. They rate extremes — love or hate! , Twitter and Instagram do not care about the ‘hate’ inducing experiences. They value and popularize the experiences users ‘love’. Binary systems ease the act of getting ratings, for users have to act only when they love something on these platforms. Facebook Group Norms and Conformity Muzafer Sherif conducted a classic experiment in 1936. Participants were placed in a dark room and asked to observe a small dot of light 15 feet away and estimate the amount it moved. The experiment showed that the participants tested individually reported wider variations of light movement than the participants tested in the group of three, converging to a common estimate. Sherif’s experiment showed that rather than make individual judgments, people would always tend to conform to a group. An Instagram user is shown a certain 9gag post has 5,59,031 likes and the user conforms by adding another like. Conformation holds true for ratings, stars, votes and other systems, if the sum (or average) of all the ratings is shown before the act of rating. Perhaps, this factor is one of the key contributors to the concept of virality on Social Media. Clap to rate Medium’s binary equivalent of a ‘like’ button, ‘recommend’ (the heart icon), was reinvented somewhere around the middle of 2017, to a ‘Clap’. This radical move interestingly, transforms a reader from being an appreciator to an evaluator. A user may clap as many as 50 times for an article, with 0–50 claps evaluating its likability (or quality…), an equivalent of the star rating system perhaps. While you may ‘like’ your own posts on Facebook, Medium doesn’t want you clapping for self One intriguing difference to note, with the star rating and Medium’s clap count, is the visual unavailability of the possible counts. A star rating asks one to evaluate on a score of 5. Whereas the clap count asks one to evaluate on a score of infinity, virtual of course. Many fear that this rating system change in Medium is going to inflate the ‘rating-currency’ of the platform. For an article that fetched about 2k recommendations, even 20k claps seem less now. Though if conformation continues to work its magic, there is a better possibility of securing another clap, when the number of claps read 20k and not 2k. Delving deeper! Some of the rating systems suffer from a tad overlooked fallacy — the Concept of Averaging. For instance, beyond a critical number of ratings, a 5 star rating for a service (or a product) would average out to a certain number, let’s say 4.3. In most scenarios from hereon, given the ratings continue to pour in good numbers, it will require a considerable amount of extreme ratings (1 or 5) to move 4.3 to 4.4 or 4.2. The 5 star rating of 4.3, after N number of ratings, becomes the average rating! Anything amazing or pathetic from this point on, might not affect this rating considerably, preventing the real feedback from being visible. Uber driver app’s user experience makes it compulsory for a driver to rate each passenger as soon as the trip ends. The same experience is not true for the passenger app — it’s optional for a passenger to rate a driver. Similarly, Zomato and Amazon have made it optional for users to review after their purchase. In fact, Amazon allows one to review a product even if it has not been purchased from the platform, with the LAR (lowest acceptable rating) getting reduced to as less as 2 for a sought after product. “I know a lot of cuckoos also weigh in reviews on Amazon, so I have on occasion bought stuff that is 2 or 3 star rated, and I have been very happy with it.” User’s personality, mood, environment, urgency of the requirement, eventual gratification (and its notional value) and the influencers, with their proximity to the user, all of these factors weigh in quite a lot in how that user rates something. Some of the other notable observations from our survey conclude that rating an app on a mobile makes it a breeze because of the ease of use. A good 74 percent prefer to rate on mobiles over other devices. Though some users choose not to rate apps or related services when it’s followed by a compulsion to write a review. Are Rating Systems going to rule? Black Mirror tried to mirror this advent of Digital Age, the of rating systems, in one of its episode - Nosedive (S03E01). In the satirical episode, users could rate all their online and in-person interactions on a five star rating system for each other. Everything, from status in the society, to access to certain services, to employability, was a factor of a person’s current rating. psychology We have already transformed ourselves to a generation of critics, and entitled managers (who hardly get paid). We observe every move of the server in a restaurant, gauge the quality of the clinking sound the spoon makes when he places it on our table, wait to notice the level of politeness when he agrees to the choice of our dish, keenly taking notes and running mental algorithms to deduce a suitable rating, before we move to our next entitled project to critique. Having said that, with digital product usage hitting a new high and the concepts of User Experience & Gamification ruling the psychology, rating systems are bound to score. I hope this gives us all some insight in what works and why, when it comes to ratings.

The Psychology of Rating Systems

(v0.9 has been released here ) .​ This article describes Musicoin, a decentralized system for the publication and consumption of music, which combines a cutting-edge cryptocurrency to a peer-to-peer file sharing network. Musicoin allows musicians to license their content as a “coded contract” directly to a decentralized database called a “blockchain”. These contracts automate the collection and distribution of royalty payments and remain in the control of the artists themselves. Listeners can access a global catalog of music stored on a peer-to-peer network and pay artists directly using digital currency, based on their usages. Ease-of-use tools can be designed to allow a seamless experience for both listeners and musicians, and an open protocol will allow third-parties to build a rich ecosystem of value-added software and services. By providing a distributed and highly transparent platform that connects musicians and listeners directly, Musicoin lays the groundwork for a new age of music that is sustainable, borderless, and fair to all stakeholders. Abstract The digitization of the music industry began in the 1980s and, in hindsight, was inevitable. By the late 1990s, with the rise of Napster, digitization officially became a disruptive force, and one that music industry is still grappling with today. At the heart of the struggle is a system of licensing, distribution, and promotion that dates back more than a century. As technology outpaces (and in some cases simply circumvents) the traditional system, there is growing concern and consensus that the century-old music industry might collapse under its own weight after nearly two decades of decline. And, while the transition to digital music has largely been a boon to listeners, who now enjoy access to an ever-expanding catalog of music through services like Spotify and iTunes, it has been difficult at best for musicians. The industry still keeps the large majority of revenue and is painfully slow to cut a check to musicians, making it increasingly hard for musicians to earn a living. However, the same technological advancement that has wreaked havoc on the music industry for the past 20 years also presents us with an extraordinary opportunity to redefine the relationship between musicians and listeners. Digital currency (or “cryptocurrency”), in particular, will allow nearly instantaneous payments with minimal transaction cost. “Coded contracts” will allow musicians to maintain control of licenses, rather than relying on a third party. The remainder of this paper gives a brief overview of two relatively recent and dramatic changes to the way people interact with music, both of which have ultimately failed to produces a sustainable and fair system. Finally, a detailed proposal for a path forward is given. Two Failed Models Napster, which was the first peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing network widely adopted, marked the beginning of the end for the traditional approach to music distribution and consumption. In many people’s eyes, it’s seen as the assassin of the music industry. In this model (which we call the “Torrent Model”), content was casually shared on a P2P network and downloaded by other users without the musician’s permission and without sending any form of compensation. This model is doomed by itself, not only for its legal breach, but also because it is not sustainable as musicians’ benefits were totally annihilated. More recently, a “Subscription Model” has become popular (see Figure 1). In this model, services deliver streaming content based on a centralized catalog and charge users a level of subscription fee (mostly 9.99USD/month), which is often overpriced. In turn, these streaming services (like Spotify) pay labels and publishers a big portion of revenue to acquire licenses. This model is an improvement over the Torrent Model, since revenue is actually collected from listeners, nevertheless, the portion of that revenue makes to musicians is extremely small, because there are so many intermediaries taking a major cut. Ultimately, over of royalty fees were kept by intermediaries. The reason for this is largely historical. Prior to the digital age, musicians needed these intermediaries to help them organize, plan, record, produce, and distribute their music. This spawned the creation of many agencies in the music industry, such as music labels, PROs, distributors, retailers, studios, PR agencies, and marketing agencies. After the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), more agencies were created, and all of which took their share of revenue. If we look at the income distribution structure, we would be really surprised how little we pay musicians. 80% Figure 2. The current industry myth on distribution One famous case is the complaint by singer James Blunt, “ ”. For 1 million playbacks on Spotify, James Blunt only receives £450! It’s actually not the worst case, many artists can’t even bargain such a rate and are paid far less. For this reason, many musicians still can’t make a living, which forces them to be part time or just change careers. Given the ubiquitous technologies and social media today, it’s worth asking: Most musicians today are very busy marketing themselves, creating and recording music themselves, and sharing content online directly. I get paid £0.0004499368 per stream Do all of these organizations still add value? New Paradigm We need a new model that re-structures the entire process, from creation, to consumption, to compensation. The model we propose here is based on the theory of Sharism, which emphasizes a tight coupling between sharing and rewarding. Figure 3. Sharism Model creates a closed circuit between musician and listener. In Sharism Model, each playback represents an exchange between the musician and the listener. The listener sends a payment to the musician, and in exchange is granted access to a specific work. This model requires a payment mechanism that is fast, has a low transactions cost, and works across borders. Fortunately, with the rise of digital currencies and blockchain technology, such a system is already possible. Musicoin: A Digital Currency for Music To support the Sharism Model, we’ve created a new digital currency specifically tied to music consumption called Musicoin. For every playback, a digital coin is sent directly from the listener’s account to a “coded contract” that lives on the blockchain (called a “Pay per Play” license, or PPP license). This PPP license then distributes the payment to the beneficiaries within seconds. For example, a band my release a license that pays 50% to the song writer, 25% to the singer, and 25% to the guitarist. Critically, the way in which the funds are distributed are controlled entirely by the musicians and no intermediary is required to facilitate the payment other than the blockchain. The tools used to create, deploy, and maintain PPP licenses are provided by the platform and are simple to use. In fact, once a musician has a media file ready to upload, the whole process can be completed in about 5 minutes. Illustration of the payment flow, in which a user sends payment along with a request to play a particular work and in return is granted access. Specifically, granting access means providing a key that can decrypt an encrypted audio file that is stored on a distributed file system. Making Musicoin a Reality We recognize that proposing such a system is quite simple, and that actually building, testing, and refining it is another matter. We also recognize that it is not uncommon for new blockchain projects to over-promise, collect ICO funding and allocate large sums to the creators, only to fail to produce any tangible results. Therefore, we have taken the following steps to earn trust: Will have built of the proposed system, and are currently testing an alpha version. Invites are available upon request to musicians and users that are motivated to contribute their feedback or effort. a fully functional implementation We at the genesis of the blockchain to anyone. This means there will not be a so called ICO(“Initial Coin Offering”) and no coins will be allocated as payment to the creators. will not allocate any coins We will for musicians and listeners alike, to avoid the risk of becoming yet another echo chamber of blockchain enthusiasts interacting only with other blockchain enthusiasts. We aim to be generally useful and accessible to the general population from day 1. make the entry barrier as low as possible To those ends there will be a global music catalog, which enables musicians to create and publish their licenses and also funds playbacks out of it’s own account (as long as we can mine them fast enough), so that listeners can test the system without needing to acquire coins. Open Opportunities Musicoin also offers a great opportunity for larger stakeholder groups. Big labels may have to adapt, but they can benefit from this platform because the whole market scale can be enlarged, they can work once and harvest forever and worldwide. They can put their copyrighted content onto Musicoin blockchain and keep enjoying the upscaled consumption. With Musicoin, today’s streaming music services don’t need to process hectic paper works to prepare reports and pay musicians, instead, all the information are open to access by anyone in the world, instantly. Musicoin is designed for both musician and listeners, but will eventually benefit the whole industry — even traditional players. Marketers, promoter, DJs, and social curators can also benefit from this system, which can spawn new values for listeners, thus generating returns to them. Startups can build more innovative technologies and services upon Musicoin system to meet diversified demands from the network; Hardware makers can create tangible and wearable smart gadgets to extend the glory of musical devices in our cultural legacy. Imagine your home speaker can be much smarter someday, not only caching music when you are not at home, but also help you mine coins to pay musicians when you play, it’s the most beautiful thing in the digitized world. Big open data on Musicoin blockchain can also lead to more intelligent music recommendation. Based on Musicoin system, AI can play more and more important role to help users to discover music based on their taste, which is learned by the machine. It can be very personalized because every playback history will become the foundation of more accurate recommendation in the next. It’s the gold mine to AI researchers. Conclusion “Someone is making an enormous profit,” says Krukowski, a musician that shared his royalty check online, “and it’s not the musicians.” This is the complaint made by many musicians in the past. Today, with Musicoin, we can definitely change this. Musicians will make money and 100% income will go to their own wallet. In an age of turbulence, we can also expect paradigm shifting. The changes rely on everyone to participate. We’d call all musicians and their appreciators to join this great transition to make music more meaningful to our life! Join our : visit to testimony and engage this revolution. slack http://slack.musicoin.org Follow twitter: to receive more updates on this movement. http://twitter.com/musicoins Visit web site: to see how musicians are empowered by this cutting-edge new technology http://musicoin.org

Stories, News & Mentions about APPREGATOR

Appregator’s Stories on HackerNoon