Blockchain technologies have matured in the last few years, yet the mainstream adoption of blockchain is still lagging behind other emerging technologies like AI and IoT. The missing piece seems to be a compelling model of how end users can benefit from blockchain-backed apps that could not be done with conventional apps on cloud platforms. Leveraging his experiences in building blockchain applications for the arts & media industry for Monegraph and the music industry under the dotBC banner, Chris will outline how blockchain-based apps need to seamlessly blend the function of a shared data registry, contract clause assembler, diplomatic messaging system, and a verifiable claims wallet to enable new decentralized marketplaces that trade more than just cryptocurrencies. The true promise of blockchains will only be fulfilled when architects and designers of these new decentralized systems go beyond beautifying the machine’s cryptographic output, and start channeling the human input required to bootstrap and sustain a multi-party ecosystem. Chris will discuss how these necessary ingredients in the user experience drive the architectural decisions behind on-chain data modeling, allowing for off-chain authentication and authorization, and facilitating inter-enterprise workflows that open up new market opportunities. He will demonstrate how a new decentralized workflow experience, built on the Cardstack architecture, can give the users all the power of blockchains with the ease of cloud-based applications.
A version of this talk was originally given at the Huawei Strategy and Technoogy Workshop (STW) 2017 in Shenzhen, China in May 2017.