S02E04: Ryan X. Charles & Steven McKie: 'Decentralise All Things'

As the dominance of networks like Facebook, YouTube and Netflix increase, more and more control is exerted over what gets posted and stays posted online. Decentralised content networks are in many ways an idea whose time has come, as issues like privacy and censorship become increasingly important to users – not to mention problems with unwanted advertising. The recently introduced YouTube Heroes program is a case in point, essentially putting a happy face on a mass flagging tool for video censorship.

Yours is one of a number of startups setting out to address the problems of centralised content monopolies. This micropayments-based content sharing network lets users tip their favourite creators using Bitcoin, but also benefit by sharing in the earnings of successful creators. It’s hotly anticipated in both the Bitcoin and decentralised content spaces, following founder Ryan X. Charles‘ viral post, ‘Fix Reddit With Bitcoin‘.

A year after Ryan’s idea of a decentralised, bitcoin-powered Reddit caught the attention of certain parts of the internet, we’re getting near to launch. In this show, Jamie meets Ryan Charles and Steven McKie of Yours to place the project in the history of P2P efforts to help us regain control of our content online. In this 50 minute episode we discuss:

Digg and Reddit’s early days, and how the legacy of Digg still haunts Reddit
Reddit’s nascent plans to become decentralised and how they got shelved
How Jamie nearly made a billion dollars on Bitcoin, or says he did
Corruption on the Bitcoin subreddit, and how decentralisation could address moderators gone bad
Bitcoin-powered torrenting with Joystream ,and Jamie’s idea for a ratio-less private tracker
The Yours.network concept: a content platform in which creators and reposters share in content payments.

Showrunner & Host Jamie King
Editor Riley Byrne
Original Music David Triana
Web Production Siraje Amarniss
Presented by TorrentFreak
Sponsored by Private Internet Ac..