— Decentralising a system

Since the first implementation of blockchain, with the introduction of Bitcoin in 2008, the concept has expanded and attracted great public attention. The technology keeps untapping plenty of new opportunities, many of which are yet to be discovered.

One of the key benefits of the blockchain is that it makes transactions trustless, that is, without the need to rely on a trusted centralised third party for validation. Bitcoin and countless other cryptocurrencies have proven the applicability for the exchange of value, but blockchain shows great potential for other applications that will transform societies as we know them.

Initially, Media Sifter will be using the Ethereum Blockchain for the validation, review and incentivisation system.

Some of the benefits for using a blockchain to source and qualify information are:

— Decentralised Network

Smart contracts, that lay the foundation for the SIFT Protocol, are embedded in digital code and stored in shared, transparent databases, where they are protected from tampering, deletion and changes. This makes the platform hack- and censorship-resilient, while also trustless and transparent.

— Self-Governance

A blockchain-powered user-consensus guarantees the autonomy of the network by removing control from any central entity and giving it to its users.

The review process is designed so that users have to agree on the quality and claims of the information provided and no single entity is able to push their own agenda. Hence it is only the consent of the community that can govern the platform’s content.

— SFT Token

To provide a user-consensus platform and allow the self-governance of the network, the Ethereum Blockchain allows us to distribute Tokens for the SIFT Protocol (short “SFT”). These will grant users access to all features of the Media Sifter platform, including potential financial rewards through contribution and participation.

In addition, this will allow us to fund the project through its users and redistribute according to contribution. Since the network is owned by its users, interests and incentives are aligned. It will allow us to stay independent and avoid conflict of interests through ad sales and agenda-driven shareholders.

To preserve the best functionality for the application, we have opted not to build Media Sifter as a fully decentralised app, but rather keep the critical parts of the system on a decentralised ledger. Blockchain technologies (and particularly Ethereum) are still in its early years and would currently pose a challenge to efficiently run Media Sifter.

However, we are confident that the community will continue to innovate at a rapid pace and will allow for efficient, stable and scalable on-chain transactions in the near future. With continuing improvement of the underlying blockchain technology, we envision the SIFT Protocol being more than the validation engine for Media Sifter.

We are determined to build the platform as an open protocol to source and qualify information from a global crowd, facilitating applications by external parties.