I would like to invite you all to the Gridcoin discord server tonight, January 4th, at 8:00pm eastern for the first podcast episode of what I hope will be a continuing series.

The idea is as follows

I am putting aside an hour each Thursday night starting at 8:00pm eastern to help facilitate conversations regarding the philosophy, technology, effects, and implementation of blockchain technology.

Introduction

For this first episode, I will be spending about 10-20 minutes explaining this project and ranting about my thoughts on Idle Processing Potential (IPP), and how software like BOINC and blockchains like Gridcoin, Curecoin, and Foldingcoin, are working to use this resource for science and the general betterment of humanity. There will be a chat open for anyone to join the conversation through text, and after my rant is done (or possibly during the rant, depending on the chat), I will respond to the chat conversation and/or invite anyone who wants to respond and continue the conversation through voice chat. I do not expect this episode to last the full hour, but who knows!

Afterwards, I intend to edit and host the podcast on some medium. Where exactly is not yet decided, probably soundcloud. This is a work in progress -- suggestions are welcome!

Format

The idea moving forward is to invite and encourage other people to sign up for 10 minute slots to talk about a subject they are passionate about.

Perhaps there could be a slot for any developer who wants to discuss their thoughts on a new proposal or development for a project like Gridcoin, Curecoin, or Foldingcoin and what it means for the blockchain.

Perhaps, if there is a larger topic that needs more than 10 minutes and has many interested parties, an episode could consist of a 40 minute round table discussion with 2-5 people and two 10 minute slots on other subjects.

Perhaps <insert your idea here!>.

The exact format of the hour is fluid and entirely depends on community interests and feedback. In the beginning, I will be deciding who gets a slot and which slot, but with the help of the community I fully intend to morph this from a vertical structure into an automated non-hierarchical process (or as close as we can practically get).

The three rules

You can talk about a project, but only if you are using it as an example to illustrate an idea. This is not intended to be a place to directly advertise products. This is a place for ideas, conversation, and community.

The focus of any subject should somehow be related to decentralized education, leadership, technology, or analysis. I am open to building on these based on community feedback.

Swearing should be kept to an absolute minimum. Blue humor (vulgar jokes) is not permitted. This podcast is meant to be something we can share with respected elders and impressionable youth.

So come on down to the first fireside chat of the new year. And please, this is entirely a work in progress and my first time using discord for something like this. Despite running a few tests, please expect and forgive any technical errors that crop up.

Sign Up!

If you think you might want to contribute to a timeslot next week, or if you know of someone I should reach out to with an invitation, or if you have an idea on how to build on this Fireside Chat, respond to this post, or message me on the Gridcoin discord server or slack. While I have final say on what subjects get into these first episodes, community input such as upvotes and conversations are definitely taken into account.

To qualify for a timeslot, I will be working much like news outlets and other, larger media outlets and PR firms: you must have previously written about the idea you wish to discuss, and the writing should be clean and clear.

This Week's Discussions

Slot 1 - 20 minutes: @jringo discusses the Fireside Chat project followed by Idle Processing Potential as described in the working draft (very rough draft -- we are a few versions past this one already) of the Gridcoin non-technical whitepaper found here. Open discussion to follow.