[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #599: We may have reached peak hype around blockchain

Wed Jun 20 10:30:02 EDT 2018

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OPLIN 4Cast #599: We may have reached peak hype around blockchain
Jun 20th, 2018

[image: 3D square frames] Last week, I attended an online conference
<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/library-2018-blockchain-applied-impact-on-the-information-profession-registration-40098784544?mc_eid=4e546c5f2d&mc_cid=bdcece793a#>
about blockchain <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r43LhSUUGTQ> and
libraries. The vast majority of the material presented was either
explanatory or speculative in nature; very little is actually happening at
this point in actual implementation. While the conference raised interest
in the possible uses of blockchain in libraries, it also highlighted, for
me,  the amount of hype surrounding this technology. I've been in library
IT for nearly two decades, and I cannot remember there *ever* being a
conference that proactively addressed the potential of a technology before
it had even fully arrived.

It's not just libraries that are now assigning wondrous possibilities and
abilities to blockchain. It seems that nearly every industry has high
expectations. Even business schools are racing to offer courses
<https://www.ft.com/content/011cf9b6-69a7-11e8-aee1-39f3459514fd>.  Despite
all this, a prominent geopolitical forecaster says that the days of
blockchain are numbered <http://bitcoinist.com/73662-2/>. It's going to be
*very* interesting to see if blockchain ever reaches the heights that are
planned for it.

   -
   - Blockchain technology could be the great equalizer for American cities
   <https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/17/blockchain-technology-could-be-the-great-equalizer-for-american-cities/>
   [TechCrunch] "The research not only explores how cities can use blockchain
   now, but also how it will be used in the future to enable technology like
   autonomous vehicles that can “talk” to each other. These types of use cases
   — plus existing opportunities from blockchain—could potentially be
   transformative for municipal operations."
   - 187 things the blockchain is supposed to fix
   <https://www.wired.com/story/187-things-the-blockchain-is-supposed-to-fix/>
   [WIRED] "Now, as the technology expands from a fringe hacker toy to
   legitimate business applications, opportunists have flooded the field. Some
   of the seekers are mercenaries pitching shady or fraudulent tokens, others
   are businesses looking to cash in on a hot trend, and still others are true
   believers in the revolutionary and disruptive powers of distributed
   networks."
   - Blockchain will make advertising better. Promise
   <https://www.ozy.com/opinion/blockchain-will-make-advertising-better-promise/87313>
   [Ozy.com] "But in the future, you won’t go to them; they’ll come to you.
   You’ll open the local video app on your computer or TV and tell it you want
   to watch a show. That app, which has access to your personal data wallet,
   will grab a limited set of video preferences from your wallet, anonymize
   this data and reach out on your behalf to Netflix, Amazon, Google, Apple
   and whomever else you want."
   - Blockchain: Hype, Reality and the Public Good
   <http://www.govtech.com/analysis/Blockchain-Hype-Reality-and-the-Public-Good.html>
   [Government Technology] "But was this a breakthrough moment as some have
   thought, or was it another example of what has become the latest in a
   string of tests and experiments using blockchain that has generated lots of
   hype but little in the way of practical, widely used applications? It’s not
   a trivial question. "

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Can CryptoKitties Teach the World About Blockchain?
   <http://proxy.ohiolink.edu:9099/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cph&AN=127505884&site=ehost-live>
   (Dickson, B. (2018). Can CryptoKitties Teach the World About Blockchain?.
   PC Magazine, 29-33.)
   - How JPMorgan Chase Learned to Love the Blockchain
   <http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=d2da9f90-679a-45cd-98a9-d996743ac817%40sessionmgr4010&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=129673760&db=buh>
   (Hackett, R. (2018). HOW JPMORGAN CHASE LEARNED TO LOVE THE BLOCKCHAIN.
   *Fortune*, *177*(6), 160-166.)
   - Blockchain Mania
   <http://proxy.ohiolink.edu:9099/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=128569514&site=ehost-live>
   (ROETTGERS, J. (2018). BLOCKCHAIN MANIA. *Variety*, *339*(10), 42.)

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