The Format #010

Last weekend I went to the cinema to see a showing of Batman: The Dark Knight in 4DX. The movie was absolutely fantastic, but it did make me think. As part of the final showdown with the Joker, the Batman used an R&D project which essentially turned every cell phone in Gotham into a microphone. That’s a lot of power and infringement on freedoms (but he’s cool so we’ll forgive him). 🦇

In the end the good guys won (kind of) and the machine was destroyed, but it made me wonder: if that machine existed in today’s society, would we destroy it? Would the government ban it? Then I read an article about the Online Safety Bill, it’s by no means a direct parallel, but the overarching consequence is the same, an internet without privacy. ‘Bugs in our pockets’. The only difference, this time it’s not a masked vigilante, it’s the UK Government who are creating it…

Today The UK Parliament Undermined The Privacy, Security, And Freedom Of All Internet Users 

Is it time to light a candle for the end of privacy in the UK? 🕯

The Online Safety Bill started with good intent, protecting children online, but the actual implementation of the bill threatens one of the most basic human right’s. The right to have a private conversation. It allows Ofcom to make tech companies scan their users, and this even goes for end-to-end encryption (end-to-ofcom-to-end encryption?). That’s a pretty major problem when it comes to protecting user privacy. If this is possible and goes ahead (both of which are uncertain), Whatsapp have said they will have no choice but to leave the UK…

The Casino on Mars

Spoiler alert, this sadly isn’t a sneak peek into Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos’ latest venture. 🚀

However, it does raise an interesting comparison between the early adopters of crypto and settlers on a new planet. To many outsiders, the crypto planet looks like a huge Vegas casino, full of speculation, unvalidated hype and a LOT of people swept up in the thrill of the game. The thing is, settling on a new planet takes time, and the foundational infrastructure is being built by the early inhabitants as you read this. So, when do you plan to board your SpaceX flight to the Martian casino? 🤔

Web3 is about solving business problems, not token prices: Google Cloud exec

‘The token is not the thing; it’s the business problem that’s the thing.’

After all it’s a technology that was created to solve problems, not create meaningless hype cycles. If Web3 can continue to solve REAL business problems and become increasingly invisible to the user, then happy days. Until then, more work is needed. This article resonated strongly with the OPENFORMAT team, we’re here for the real business problems, the bigger, the better.

Adding AI to Web3 will spark a Cambrian explosion of innovation

Have you ever counted how many times you have to prove you’re human on a daily basis? Seriously try and count it. Between the countless logins, CAPTCHA’s and 2 factor authentication, some days it must be triple figures (or at least it feels like it). And even then it’s fairly common for human accounts to get flagged as being fraudulent. For all it’s epicness, AI will only make this worse, maybe that’s where Web3 comes in…👀

OPENFORMAT News:

Up until now we’ve done a pretty bad job at sharing all the awesome things that have been built on OPENFORMAT, that’s on us. There has actually been all sorts of projects, experiments and products that have been built, ranging from on-chain company reward systems to a decentralised social media.

Starting now, we’re shining a light on all the great work that has been done by the community. Over the next few weeks, our Discord will be buzzing with these inspiring stories. And this is just the beginning…

Reimagining Fan Engagement in the Music Industry with Amplify

Amplify have helped 94,000 artists connect to over 27 million fans using their artist-first suite of tools. By harnessing emerging tech they have consistently reimagined what's possible in the realm of music and fan engagement. From Metaverse concerts to the world’s first ‘gig that never stops paying’, they have executed on some really amazing ideas, and along the way they have used OPENFORMAT to rapidly built prototypes, take them to market and prove their ideas.

And with that we bid you farewell for another fortnight.

Have a great weekend, Dan, and the OPENFORMAT team 👋🏽

Prompt (Generated by AI): “a casino on mars with music, unique animated style, lots of colour, gaming vibes, with an explosion”