Targeted problem

The problem targeted by Gem is unique and important. Basically, all the micro-tasks that require no expertise and can not be performed by computers are done by humans. The existing solutions used by contractors and workers are inefficient because of following main reasons,

Higher fees.

Redundant work they have to perform to verify a task.

Don’t provide required tools to workers to performs a task.

And have all the issue of centralized systems, e.g., verification to add new contractors and workers take time

Gem’s Solution

The Gem’s answer to above problem is an Ethereum based open source Gem protocol. The main components of the solution are following.

1. Staking mechanism — It removes redundancy of the tasks by making workers reliable.

2. Trust score — It is the rating that designates the reputation of a member.

3. Platform and modules — This is the platform that is used by workers and contractors to find each other, assign the tasks and perform other supplementary actions. Modules are the tools developed on the Gem platform to facilitate the workers.

4. Payment system — This is the system used to log all the platform transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.

Solution Critique

Overall, it’s a good solution. The use of staking to avoid redundancy and grouping transaction to pay a low fee is quite nice. However, there are few questions.

1. If workers can’t participate because they don’t have the bank account, the chances of them using a tech-savvy solution are very low.

2. The following use-case is mentioned in the white paper, “The Chinese government alone uses 2 million micro-task workers to aid in censoring the internet.”

For the use-cases similar this, it’s highly unlikely that contractors are going to use a publically available and auditable solution.

3. Creating modules on the platform and charging for it could be same as start-up companies providing tools to the workers to perform the task of existing solutions.

4. The implementation of Gems trust score matches a centralized system. When someone has the power to choose who will get the higher authority and who will be banned, the system doesn’t remain decentralized anymore.

5. How is Gem going to compete if the existing solutions lower their fees?

6. How is Gem going to access the markets?

Team

This team is arguably the best team for an ICO. The co-founders and advisors are highly educated, experienced and have a proven track record. If interested, please check it on the website; I will not waste time in writing about it here.

Can They Deliver?

The product has already been released in alpha stage. The team has a proven track record and the strong backing of smart people. Till now, the team has been transparent to the community. Additionally, their marketing strategies have grown the community enormously at a high rate. In my opinion, yes, they can deliver it.

Verdict

The workers who perform micro-tasks usually get a low wage. The Gem’s proposed solution charges less fee, removes the middle-man, and makes the ecosystem efficient by smart usage of blockchain and related technologies. As a result, the workers will hopefully get paid more while contractors will get charged less.

After carefully evaluating every aspect of this ICO, I am going to participate in it.