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The Rise of the Blockchain Era, Part 2: Digital Currency

In our first blog, we delved into the blockchain technology and how it changed the way global market moves. Blockchain allowed Bitcoin and Ethereum, both digital currencies, to become global successes and instant attractions for investments.

Just like any piece of technology, the central principle of blockchain was developed by various inventors through the years. The idea of digitizing currency — and removing third-party systems like banks and other financial institutions — dates back to the 1980s with inventor David Chaum. Chaum invented DigiCash, a secure digital currency that aimed to prevent double spending by utilizing cryptographic protocols that made its transactions anonymous.

But the Internet was too young for the technology: at that time, e-commerce was not yet fully integrated with the Internet. It was also a concept too advanced for consumers who still prefer to deal with banks for transactions. Eventually, DigiCash failed; it had to declare bankruptcy in 1998. By the time the Internet was more accommodating to digital currency,DigiCash was already acquired by another digital currency company

Pre-Bitcoin Digital Currencies

After DigiCash, there were other startups that tried to replicate its technology and attempted longevity. Some succeeded, while some failed for some reasons:

  • CyberCoin in 1994

CyberCash, a credit card payment processing company, wanted to provide small payment schemes for its customers through its own digital cash called CyberCoin. No matter the amount of payment, CyberCash could insure each account for up to $100,000, which made its digital coin successful. But in 2000, the Y2K bug crashed CyberCash’s computer systems that the company had to file for bankruptcy.

  • E-gold in 1996

Douglas Jackson wanted to develop a gold-backed currency that allowed borderless transaction. Through Gold & Silver Reserve, Inc., he created E-gold that attracted over five million accounts, even merchants started accepting it. But because of the ease it offered, it became the favourite currency of extortionists and money launderers. U.S. federal government eventually forced E-gold, which ran on a centrally controlled system, to shut down under allegations of money laundering and operating without a money transmitting license.

  • WebMoney in 1998

WebMoney is a Moscow-based company that developed one of the first decentralized digital currencies. It also offers a wide range of financial services such as peer-to-peer payment solutions, merchant services, online billing and payments, and Internet-based trading platforms. Like E-gold, WebMoney also attracted many users, including cyber criminals. Unlike E-gold, however, WebMoney already prepared for illegal activities and made some changes to prevent those from happening. WebMoney now supports currencies in pounds, dollars, rubles, and bitcoin

  • Liberty Reserve in 2006

Liberty Reserve also attempted to create a system that allows centralized anonymous money transfer. Users could create accounts on the platform and transfer money to anyone without verification. But just like its predecessors, Liberty Reserve also attracted many cyber criminals that authorities from different countries forced it to shut down.

  • Perfect Money in 2007

Perfect Money became popular after the demise of Liberty Reserve. It is another digital platform that allowed multiple currencies and is more secure since the platform requires verification. Perfect Money, however famous it is, is not available in the United States or to any of the country’s citizens, wherever they may be located.

  • Bitcoin: The Current Star

It was in 2009 when a group of programmers under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin (BTC). Unlike other predecessors that came before it, Bitcoin has so far become the most bankable digital currency to date – already reaching $10,000 per BTC – because of its blockchain technology. Through blockchain, it was able to successfully merge two unique features:

1. A Decentralized System – Bitcoin works on a decentralized system so there is no central point of control to make it vulnerable to attacks.
2. Better Algorithms – It solves issues on anonymity and double-spending because of its algorithms.

These features allow Bitcoin to support user-to-user transactions — eliminating the intermediaries — and making it so that government authorities will have a harder time trying to shut it down.

Our Forecast for 2020

With more people turning to their smartphones and computers for transactions, it is foreseen that individuals will start adopting digital currency on a larger scale, too. With this development, Bitcoin and Ethereum — along with other emerging digital currencies — may continue to have rising prices.

It also comes with a disadvantage, however. Digital currencies attract cyber criminals although Bitcoin and other popular digital currencies are yet to be seriously attacked. Another thing to consider is blockchain’s scalability. Computers – or nodes — record the same transaction into a blockchain. All these computers have the same transaction history, meaning this would require storage larger than 100GB. The world would need to upgrade storage size to accommodate more nodes for many years — and transactions — to come.

The Rise of the Blockchain Era, Part 1: Ethereum

Before gaining a clear understanding ethereum and its rise to digital fame, it is better that we first understand the technology ethereum is based on — blockchain.

A blockchain is a public ledger initially used to record and confirm anonymous transactions and shared between many parties. Since it is a shared service, transactions run on decentralised nodes. All data or transactions aren’t stored in just one server or database. It does not rely on a centralised network, which lowers the risk of losing data compared to transactions only run in one central system.

In the blockchain system, a transaction is recorded into what is called a block. Once a block is filled with recorded transactions, it joins a permanent ‘chain’ of blocks. Then, the system generates another block to record digital transactions.

Bitcoin vs. Ethereum

In recent years, blockchain has become synonymous with bitcoin. Bitcoin, after all, is purely a digital currency and can only be transferred from one owner to another by creating a record in the blockchain.

Ethereum also shares the same principle. The difference between bitcoin and ethereum, however, is that while bitcoin is a digital currency, ethereum is a platform. More particularly, it is an open software platform that allows developers to build and deploy codes, programs, and applications.

Bitcoin uses blockchain to record the transfer of ownership, while ethereum uses blockchain technology to allow it to record and store codes or programs. What also makes ethereum unique is that it allows applications to be “built and run without any downtime, fraud, control or interference from a third party.” For users to run a program on ethereum, they need to mine ether, the currency used in the platform.

Ethereum started in 2013 with programmer Vitalik Buterin. Buterin, who worked with bitcoin that time, wanted to make the digital currency more customisable. He especially wanted bitcoin to have smart contract features so it can automatically determine payments, and since bitcoin did not take it up, Buterin decided to create his own platform which soon became ethereum.

Facts in Brief

1. Year 2014 –

  • Buterin started working with Dr. Gavin Wood who developed the Ethereum Virtual Machine, the runtime environment for the platform’s smart contracts. Buterin and Wood co-founded Ethereum.
  • Swiss company Ethereum Switzerland GmBH owned and developed the first Ethereum software project. Buterin and Wood launched a pre-sale of ether to kickstart the Ethereum network, and sales reached more than $14 million.
  • Investors received more than 60 million ether, while 12 million ether was allocated to the development group formalised under a non-for-profit organization called ETH DEV. Buterin, Wood, and Jeffrey Wilcke became the three directors of ETH DEV.
  • ETH DEV brought together Ethereum developers from around the world in an event, DEVCON-0, to discuss various Ethereum technology topics and innovations.

2. Year 2015 –

  • ETH DEV, with the participation of various developers, launched the Ethereum Bounty Program to help improve the security and reliability of Ethereum.

3. Year 2016 –

  • The Ethereum Frontier network was launched, finally allowing developers to write and deploy smart contracts and decentralised applications.
  • Homestead, a protocol upgrade to the Ethereum network, was launched.
  • Ethereum reached more than $150 million worth of sales, making it famous. Its fame also brought a lot of dispute in the crypto-community market, which led to the split of the network into two groups: Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).
  • The foundation, miners, developers, and business partners decided to detach themselves from ETC.

4. Year 2017 –

  • Ethereum further increased its distributed denial of service attacks and deflated the blockchain to improve its defence against spam attacks.
  • Social trading and brokerage company eToro included Ethereum trading, which helped the platform reach a daily volume of $450 million.

Early Predictions

By late 2017, some already predicted that ethereum is set to surpass bitcoin by 2018. As of this year, the highest price for an ether already reached $1,440.

Ethereum’s unique advantage is its ability to create and run smart contracts, and more developers and investors are seeing this as a factor that would boost the platform’s demand. By 2020, most have the following early predictions:

  • The price of an ether may reach the benchmark of $2,000 — even as high as $5,000.
  • Only main cryptocurrencies like ethereum — especially those with something more unique to offer — will survive by 2020.
  • Ethereum will help fully decentralise digital exchanges as its demand continues to surge.

What You Should Know About Hiring An SEO Toronto Digital Marketing Agency

Hiring an SEO Toronto digital marketing agency to help grow your business can take a lot of research and legwork on your part. But here are some tips you should consider when looking for a good, reputable marketing firm.

The best way to get an immediate feel for whether or not an SEO Toronto digital marketing agency can benefit you is to be upfront and candid about what your business is and what its goals and objectives are. You don’t want to just be generic about this information, you want to let the marketing agency know exactly what it is you’re expecting from them.

You should discuss with them what marketing platforms they use and whether or not they can work for your business. In hiring a good digital marketing agency, you may need to adapt to some changes in how your marketing is done, but you should never hire an SEO Toronto agency who doesn’t understand your company’s direction.

Find Out About Their Communication Structure

The best way to work with an SEO Toronto digital marketing company is to have constant open lines of communication. You’ll want to know if they have a contact person or department that you can reach 24/7 in case you have concerns about how your marketing campaigns are going. You may also want a digital marketing company that does online reviews or conference meetings on a monthly or yearly basis to see if everything is performing up to standard. Never hire a company that doesn’t keep you in the loop.

Let Them Know If You Have Any Third Parties That Might Be Involved In This

If you work with a technical team whose tasks may overlap with those of a marketing team, you should discuss this with the marketing agency you plan to hire. It’s important that you don’t run into a potential conflict of interest, or conflicting jobs when working with your marketing agency. You may even want to see if the marketing agency offers any evaluation services just to make sure you have all your t’s crossed and i’s dotted.

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The New Android 7.0 Is About To Be Unveiled, Are You Ready To Take The Ride?

It’s been in the news a lot about the Android 7.0 Nougat. There’s been news about a Developer Preview happening. This is considered by many that last stop before the new Android is unleashed. If things go well during this preview series, the 7.0 Nougat will have its day in the sun. No more going back to the drawing board to fix what needs to be fixed.

Once this preview is over, this device will be open for public consumption. This is big news in the Android News world. This Android 7.0 Nougat is something that many of you have been waiting patiently for. Many have been salivating over this thing. It’s become even bigger than the Android 6 Device, and we all know how big that thing was.

How many of you are interested in the final preview? This preview is a first in a line of many previews. If you are, there are few things you need to know about, even before you take part. This next section will give you some idea of what happens and what people are expecting to see.

You will get to see images for Nexus and other devices. Some of these other devices have been under a building block too. These images in the system will be seen for the first time, some of which will completely change the way you look at the Android or any of these devices.

You will get a chance to see pre-installed apps in their bug-free form. Most of the time, the public doesn’t get to see this. All the public knows is, that it’s time to go back to the drawing board. This time you will see the way it will look before and after the big-free fix. This is something which has never been done.

You will see the latest system behaviors, especially, when it comes to the UI. There is an API level of 24. In the past, the Final N has not performed well with this. You will see how it’s all changed. You will see permission changes. You will see out-of-this-world optimization. You will also see how Doze on the Go has changed.

Everything will be brand new at this preview. This preview is going to blow every tech geek’s mind. It’s sort of like being a kid in a candy store.

Are you ready for the new Android 7.0 Nougat? What are you waiting for? Watch the Preview and pick one up!

Instagram Now Allows Longer Videos and More Ads

Instagram Changes Forever with New Video Length

If you love posting videos on Instagram that inform the world about what you are up to, then the latest news from Instagram is going to make you very happy. Those who thrive of posting images and videos on this platform can now post longer videos that last up to 60 seconds. This is a huge step up from the previous high of 15 seconds. Users will be able to share more of their thoughts and share and learn about more of what they like.

Challenge of Change

This change is going to revolutionize the way that users are going to use Instagram forever. It has been a site that was convenient for posting selfies, images of food or quick pictures of what events you are attending. Now the focus is going to be shifted to unique video content and that is going to provide a more friendly location for this than Youtube. Their new feature is basically enhancing their explore feature except that it is focused on videos. It will be interesting to see if the changes are going to truly enhance the user experience or hurt what they already have.

This new video format has existed for advertisers for a few months and now the availability to all is the next step. In fact, Instagram is the 3rd most used social platform by advertisers.

Bringing the fun, creativity and flexibility of video to the users of Instagram was the goal of the new video features. Creativity has always been a hallmark of the picture posting phenomenon and it will be interesting to see how the users will make use of this. It is big Tech News because the ability to post longer videos allows for more in-depth stories and thoughts coming from those that you love, or at least tolerate. The involvement will be interesting whether it is your Aunt Minney from Idaho showing her garden or Taylor Swift hanging out with her friends. The opportunity for engagement and entertainment has grown exponentially.

A Minute is Key

Instagram chose 60 seconds for several reasons. The people behind Instagram feel that this amount of time is going to allow the viewing experience to be optimized. With a longer video, attention will wander and they will move to something else. 60 seconds is about equal to the attention span of the average person today. Instagram wants to keep its viewers in the feed and not jumping around from video to video like a user commonly does on YouTube. They want their viewers to finish the videos.

In research of YouTube metrics, they found that in all videos up to four minutes long, the viewership is always highest in the first 60 seconds and then falls off dramatically after that as attention wanes. On Facebook, the average video is about one and a half minutes. It made sense to Instagram, not to risk losing viewers after that time, they chose the 60-second cutoff. They feel this will guarantee consistent user participation. This is a great way for people and advertisers to be more creative in the messages that they are sending. It should affect the audience one way or the other, either they will love it and follow the posts more closely or they will be put off by the changes.