Towards the Internet of Value - 3. Art as a service for human connection.

Third and last article from the series “Towards the Internet of Value”, a personal reflection on the upcoming Internet of Value 3.0. * Understand how Blockchain technology is the great opportunity to wipe many old problems with innovative and even disruptive solutions in artists‘ management, and discover some tools that you can already explore as an author and content creator. All of this is pointing to a better future for self-managed artists who understand the power of Art at the service for the most genuine human connection.

Innovation & Disruption

Since I discovered the Internet of Value I was amazed by the many solutions that engineers and developers were coming up with. But what was most engaging was the energy and determination to improve the way we used to exchange anything on the Internet. Values mattered in the ‘blockchain revolution’, beyond all the noise around bitcoin and the new crypto-economy, which sounded so far from my personal interests as an author. For me, the Internet of Value was more about the right to privacy in my communications, the right to defend my work from being exposed to undesired use and my personal information from being abused; it was more about the possibility of authenticity and reality on the web, instead of social media marketing and personal branding (so tiring and little interesting, at least for me).

When I first heard about Blockstack, which was ready to defend the users’ digital rights and put us in control of our data, I felt so grateful and happy. Its two young co-founders had first thought of providing us with a new way to access the web, a self-managed Identity, instead of those data-based profiles which faked your true personality. As a writer, and as an art lover, I appreciate genuine authenticity among anything in human expression. On the web that could only be possible if private relationships were possible. This may sound eccentric for those in business, but this is an artist's way of speaking. However, think how trust is at the core of whatever agreement we make. Blockchain technology provides the means for trust on the web so that we can exchange value, and Blockstack provides the means to build a reputation while preserving privacy, which is just what any artist - or any other quality service provider - needs.

The power of Art comes from the authentic communication it offers in the most private way, the genuine connection of shared insights. Art has been serving humanity to heal and to celebrate, to connect individually and humanly in the most truthful and personal ways. Artworks are worth the service they provide. Artworks are as valuable as the service they provide, and some artworks can even save lives, I can tell!

New Tools for Artists on the Internet of Value

Understanding Art as a service may be a challenging change of mindset, but for most artists I think it can be a natural way back to the roots of creativity. If technology offers new tools for more genuine communication this is a unique chance that any author/artist should want to explore.

Having that in mind, you can find many blockchain projects addressing Intellectual Property, and I am really impressed by most of them. Nevertheless, I have made a rule of thumb never to recommend nor talk about anything that I haven’t tested myself. Therefore, I will mention here only a few Decentralized Apps (DApps) I have explored on Blockstack. These are DApps which may help authors/artists who want to discover those new tools that are being built for them on the Internet of Value for the future. You can start trying them now and follow their progress. Once you create your private key, you will be able to access all the following and many more.

If you just want to register your digital files on the blockchain - which is the most reliable way to prove your intelectual property globally - give a try to Proof of Existence, "Provably record the existence of digital files."

If you are a visual artist and you want to register and showcase some pieces “tokenizing“ them and making them available, have a look at Radicle, "A marketplace and auction platform for art."

Moreover, if you want to sign any contract and have it notarised, being able to provide proof of any agreement in court, you can do it from your desk, thanks to: BlockUsing, "Encrypted Document Signing and Digital Notary - Powered by the Blockchain."

If you need some real and sincere feedback about any work, and you want to propose a private survey to your audience or followers, respecting the anonymity of those who answer, you can use BlockSurvey, "Privacy-focused Surveys, Polls & Forms". I can personally tell you that BlockSurvey is a very useful tool to get the best information from your followers, public or potential audience, therefore proving very helpful to make better decisions accordingly.

There are also a few proposals for writers like Sigle, "A beautiful decentralised and open source blog maker", the blogging space I am using here as well as with new marketplaces which are being built for visual artworks and digital collectibles like Loopbomb. Plus, you can also find some fundraising platforms like Bitpatron, "The decentralized censorship-free Patreon alternative" which I am tempted to start using myself.

Finally, I can’t help but sharing that I am part of a team working to build a DApp that aims to bring together Artists and Art-users. It is an artists-first social and professional platform providing the tools for artists to connect with colleagues as well as with their audiences in more meaningful and efficient ways than the massive 2.0. We are in our first steps, but we are proud to be helping build the Internet of Value. If you sometimes look for Art or any good art content on the web (Music, Visual Art, good readings...), you may want to help us with our research by sharing your opinion and experience here. Thank you!

by Georgina Mauriño, founder of Smartists, “Bringing together Artists and Art users on the Internet of Value”.

* Part 1 presented an overview of how we got to the present status quo of copyrights management, inherited from pre-digital times. In Part 2 you can read about who are the stakeholders today in Intellectual Property management, and why anyone creating and using digital contents in these times should be interested in the upcoming Internet of Value 3.0.