Interview with Hayden Young, founder of KnowledgeArc.
I’m a computer programmer by trade, but much of my career has been involved in development management and C-level positions.
I started working in the archive space back in 2006 when open source digital asset management systems (DAMS) were just starting to become popular. Academia, libraries, and other institutions that handle large amounts of public data were starting to realize that they needed to store this data for the long term. However, the available solutions were (and still are) extremely expensive; only a tiny number of providers were offering any products and services, usually at exorbitant prices. So I founded KnowledgeArc, a company that can assist organizations that need to preserve long term data in a more cost-effective manner.
Over time, I began to see the limitations of existing archiving solutions. I noticed how centralized the whole industry was (and how, amazingly, it is becoming even more so). Since then, I have been fully invested in trying to seek out decentralized technologies which might break the stranglehold a few providers have over the entire industry and democratize this industry.
KnowledgeArc.Network is the incorporation of my existing expertise in the archive industry along with the benefits that cryptocurrencies and distributed technologies can bring to this space.
When did you get involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies? Who inspired you to join the crypto space?
My first exposure to cryptocurrencies was DogeCoin back in 2014. I learned by trawling through imageboards and watching YouTube videos about this new digital currency. The Ethereum whitepaper was just published, and after reading it, I was really intrigued by this concept of a distributed “world computer”.
But it was the Storj cloud storage project where I really became comfortable working with cryptocurrencies. I participated in their distributed storage system where I could “rent out” my spare disk space for Storj coins. In short, I learned by doing.
Great! What was the most valuable lesson that you have learned while working in the crypto space?
That this is only the beginning of the crypto revolution. Cryptocurrencies are going to fundamentally change the way the economy works and make things more fair for all participants.
What mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from? What would you do differently?
I think having a clear path to solving a problem is important. I have probably identified an opening in the market and have started developing something without having a clear goal as to how I’m going to solve it. This can lead to bloated software which has a ton of features but does not solve the immediate problem for the user. It also wastes valuable time.
Awesome information! Now, let’s dive into your project. Tell us more about the founding of KnowledgeArc and the problem your company addresses.
KnowledgeArc was and still is primarily a DAMS provider. That is, we host software which is designed to meet the needs of academic archiving: permanence, immutability, and provenance. Or simply put, academic material has to be stored forever, cannot change, and ownership must be easily tracked.
Academic institutions and other data-driven organizations need a way to store, submit, track, and distribute their archived material. There exist solutions to do this but they are often complex and cumbersome to deploy and maintain. Instead of hiring additional staff or diverting existing technicians away from other duties, organizations can outsource their archiving requirements to us.
Over the past 15 years I have been exposed to the academic archiving and publishing machine and always believed there was a better way to do things. Therefore, when blockchain, cryptocurrencies and distributed technologies showed up on my radar I started to think about how these new technology could be applied to the archiving problem.
And this led us to establish the KnowledgeArc.Network project.
What is the KnowledgeArc.Network?
The current problem with academic archiving and publishing is that it is centralized.
Ensuring academic material is stored permanently and immutably is currently only available with a select few technologies. These technologies are often cumbersome to use and technically outdated, making them expensive to run with vague and inadequate information on how to configure and maintain. They also “fudge” the permanency and immutability aspects of archiving because information and metadata can still be easily changed or corrupted. Additionally, some organizations may not have redundancy solutions put in place, completely negating the whole concept of an archive.
The second issue is publishing. Publishing is very important; it gives legitimacy to the material produced and gets it distributed to the widest possible audience. However, there are may be a handful of academic publishers who control most of the academic space. They dictate what can be published and by whom, with the who usually institutions with deep pockets. Smaller institutions or institutions in developing countries miss out on the benefits of publishing which results in less funding because those who have the ability to fund ongoing research don’t see, and will never see, the valuable data being pushed out by these other institutions.
KnowledgeArc.Network is an ecosystem which aims to solve this problem by flattening the hierarchy and incentivizing smaller participants to actively contribute to the archiving and publishing of academic (and other educational) information.
Participants may be the authors who publish and archive their works, academics who peer review material, or even technical users who contribute redundancy to the distributed archive to ensure permanence.
Participants can be compensated with Archive, a token used within the ecosystem. Authors could potentially earn Archive tokens by having their work cited within other publications and academic peers can be incentived when they review academic material. Institutions could ensure material is permanently stored by reimbursing third parties who store their works via a distributed mechanism such as InterPlanetary File System (IPFS).
What drives you to have this vision? Why are you passionate about this?
I have been working in this space for more than 15 years. I see a lot of inequality and believe cryptocurrencies and other decentralized technologies will democratize academic archiving and publishing and usher in a fairness not currently available with legacy systems.
As an open source developer, I think the most powerful application of the internet is the ability to easily distribute information and allow others to build on it and contribute their additions back to everyone.
What are the main advantages of your project?
Current archiving solutions do not really provide immutability and permanence. Legacy systems are centralized and still susceptible to corruption. By moving aspects of archiving to the blockchain, we can ensure information is stored permanently and cannot be changed without everyone knowing. This will make it easier to track ownership and provenance.
We also envisage incentivizing participants of the ecosystem through the use of our Archive token. Currently, academic archiving and publishing is a centralized affair, controlled by a select few. Our solution will level the playing field, allowing participants to directly benefit from the archiving and publishing process. For example, those who carry out peer review and be directly reimbursed for their work. Authors could potentially earn tokens from citations and other referencing of their material.
What do you see as the biggest challenges to cryptocurrencies in general? How is KnowledgeArc countering these risks?
I think initial coin offerings (ICOs) are still a great innovation for raising funding for a project which might not otherwise have access to capital. However, it is important to manage the funds raised and channel them into the development of the project. Therefore, the project must have clear, concise milestones and deliverables, otherwise they can drift into oblivion.
I have participated in a number of ICOs but this time we are funding most of the initial development ourselves. Our Archive token is available on exchanges but we see it more as a means for reimbursing participants for contributing to the KnowledgeArc.Network ecosystem. Therefore, it is targeted more at those looking to use various aspects of our system day-to-day rather than those interested in speculation.
I also think cryptocurrencies are so new that the entire industry is still trying to work out what to do. Therefore, I think we will see a lot of cryptocurrencies blink in and out of existence, before we see long-term use-cases. That’s healthy because it means this space is innovating, but it also means that if you believe in a crypto-based solution to an existing problem, prepare for it to take a few failures before the “sweet-spot” is hit.
We are also an established company and have been running legacy solutions for a number of years so we have both experience and longevity in this industry. Additionally, we are funding the development of the distributed archiving platform ourselves; this means we are fully invested in its success and will continue to develop it whether our Archive token is used or not.
Where do you want your company to be in 3 years?
We have a clear path for implementing various technologies as part of the KnowledgeArc.Network ecosystem. During the next three years we aim to deliver production-ready solutions including a decentralized archiving system using OrbitDB and IPFS as well as introduce Ethereum-based smart contracts for true permanence and immutability.
In three years we aim to have our Archive token being used for production-based transactions, providing participants with real incentives for participating in the KnowledgeArc.Network community.
Ok. Tell us what keeps you up at night and what gets you out of bed in the morning?
This space moves so fast. Everything changes from day-to-day and new technologies are constantly being introduced. Keeping on top of this ever-changing technology is a full time job.
One last question for you — if you were your own mentor, what is the most important advice you would give yourself?
I guess keep it simple. Focus on one thing and deliver it to the best of your ability. Don’t try and do everything at once otherwise you’ll just end up delivering mediocrity. You can always move onto the next great feature once you have delivered the first one
Mr. Young, we appreciate your time — thank you for the answers!
Published at Mon, 03 Feb 2020 13:57:08 +0000
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