Look What Maven Has Done! ☺

1. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 6 years ago

   "Maven announced today it is partnering with Po.et, a blockchain-based open universal ledger for digital creative assets, to provide Maven’s content creators protection from improper use of their content and ensure fair monetization.
   
   Po.et will provide Maven (ticker symbol: MVEN) publishers with the ability to timestamp and validate their content and digital assets in an unalterable system which will automatically issue digital ownership certificates."
   
   Full article: https://www.themaven.net/the-maven/pres … KKsqsghxOQ

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2. 72

   Barbara Kayposted 6 years ago

   It sounds like we should be doing a happy dance!

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   1. 59

      paradigmsearchposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly right.

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3. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 6 years ago

   Should I paste in an explanation or is the smiley face enough to avert unwarranted heart attacks before reading the announcement?

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4. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 6 years ago

   I've decided to paste in an explanation.
   
   @HP Feel free to change the title to whatever you want.

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   1. 93

      Beth Eaglescliffeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      More explanation please . 
      
      The article you linked to makes a distinction between publishers and content creators, I assume we are content creators rather than publishers, so do you read their press release as only providing protection for independent publishers? Or do you think it includes us too?

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      1. 59

         paradigmsearchposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         "...provide Maven’s content creators protection from improper use of their content and ensure fair monetization..."
         
         We are the content creators. It darn well better include us.

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         1. 93

            Beth Eaglescliffeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            In that case, it's time to do the happy dance!

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         2. 88

            lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            I would say it would. Else Paul would not be speaking there. Thanks for the share PD.

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         3. 86

            TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Not necessarily.  I think the content creators referred to will be the people invited to write for Maven, not the people who continue to write under the HP umbrella.  If the two platforms are basically kept separate, this would make sense.

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5. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 6 years ago

   How come no other happy dances around here? Nothing to complain about, thus no reason to post? Or maybe folks are just skipping over my offbeat, non-specific title. Oh, well. Maybe HP will make an official post.

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   1. 86

      k@riposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I'm doing my happy dance!
      

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      1. 86

         k@riposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         That link was a Snoopy doing the happy dance, lol.

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6. 91

   Chriswillman90posted 6 years ago

   That's interesting, I actually own some Po.et coins too.

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7. 94

   AliciaCposted 6 years ago

   Thanks for sharing the news. It sounds wonderful, but I want to investigate the company before I join the happy dance. I've never heard of Po.et before.

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8. 96

   EricDockettposted 6 years ago

   Interesting.
   
   Anyone who is confused on this needs to watch the video in the article paradigmsearch linked. HubPages will most definitely be a part of it, and at first blush it appears very positive.
   
   Looking forward to hearing more on this from Paul and the Team.

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   1. 59

      paradigmsearchposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Video is only 2 minutes:43 seconds; so there is no excuse not to watch it.

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9. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 6 years ago

   Wow! "a blockchain-based open universal ledger for digital creative assets." I've always wanted one of those. Would you suggest it pairs best with a Chardonnay or a Pinto Noir?

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   1. 93

      jansharesposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      lol

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10. 93

    FatFreddysCatposted 6 years ago

    "a blockchain-based open universal ledger for digital creative assets"
    
    
    
    Ummm... yeahhhhh.... that's great.... I guess....

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11. 96

    theraggededgeposted 6 years ago

    "a blockchain-based open universal ledger for digital creative assets"
    
    The future of the English language. I despair, I really do. However, if you say it's good, then it must be good.

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    1. 90

       Rochelle Frankposted 6 years agoin reply to this

       Language usage fluctuates wildly. I just finished reading "Walden" by Thoreau, and  found some of it cumbersome and some very poetic... still worth a re-read.
       Now that technology has entered our discourse, a whole new aspect has been added.

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       1. 96

          theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

          Oh I'm fine with technology and its associated language - it's the increasing use of unintelligible jargon and empty buzzwords that gets to me. There's so much of it around... and Maven and their new friends seem to be pretty keen on it. People think it makes them appear intelligent
          
          "Proof of Existence 2.0 is a Bitcoin blockchain protocol that establishes an open, universal and immutable ledger for managing the ownership, attribution and licensing of creative digital assets. Po.et builds a bridge between creators and publishers and enables the discovery of new content and verification, authenticity and authorization of generated content through a truly transparent and timestamped system of attribution."
          
          Why don't they just say 'copyright protection'? Because using all those big words means they must be unique and special

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          1. 94

             EricFarmer8xposted 6 years agoin reply to this

             Bockchain or cryptocurrency based things are becoming very popular and buzz words. A blockchain is what powers a cryptocurrency and and how runs and creates value. But they are starting to be used for other various things. If you are curoius find a very beginner friendly video or article on explaining cryptocurrency.

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             1. 96

                theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                Hi Eric, I'm not referring to blockchain or cryptocurrency, I'm talking about the current trend of company representatives not communicating clearly, but who prefer to use self-indulgent corporate-speak in order to make themselves look clever.

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                1. 94

                   EricFarmer8xposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                   OK fair enough. I just was giving some advice in case.

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       2. 91

          Jean Bakulaposted 6 years agoin reply to this

          Rochelle,
          I fell in love with Thoreau when I read him in H.S. He is the source of many great quotes. I loved the way he lived, simply, and in nature. My house is on a one lane road in the woods, and I feel I haven't strayed from the values I had then! I always loved the quote, "Beware all enterprises that require new clothes!"

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    2. 88

       lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

       This is a perfect use of the language. They are just new terms you've probably not heard of before. It's a coherent sentence
       
       They don't just use copyright protection because it's not the usual copyright protection that you know about. I can go a few centuries back in time and say, why should we use copyright protection when you can just say "prevent theft". If you know what I mean.

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       1. 96

          theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

          I didn't say it wasn't coherent. It's simply that most people won't have a clue what that perfectly-structured sentence means (as you can tell from some of the responses from intelligent people in this thread).
          
          Therefore, it would help if they are trying to reach out to content creators, to explain what that means in understandable language. By not including the current accepted terms, i.e. 'copyright protection' they risk alienating the very people they are attempting to impress.
          
          Of course language changes and morphs all the time. That's not my issue; it's being faced with a wall of unintelligible jargon that requires extensive untangling. The whole point of writing content for sites like HP is that we present information in a form that readers can understand. Maven, Po.ET and HP should take note.
          
          The paragraph I pasted in later is another example. "Truly transparent" it is not. Perhaps they need the services of these guys? http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/

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          1. 88

             lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

             I still stick to what I said. All they did is explain how they ensure that your copyright is protected. As a writer here I would want to know how they do it and they explained that well enough. If I remember right they did say it would prevent content from being stolen and help artists generate income from all sources their content is shared (with or without their permission).
             
             EDIT: If they just said they are striving to improve on copyright protection that would not be enough information. But this is just my opinion and I respect yours.

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             1. 96

                EricDockettposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                I get how this helps people who intend their content for licensing or syndication. (That's not us.)
                
                I see how this can potentially create a strong legal record of ownership for cases of copyright infringement. (But by then your content is already stolen.)
                
                What I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is how this could prevent theft or somehow generate income when our content is shared (stolen?) without our permission.
                
                It's making me wonder if HP has some kind of plan in the works to create another revenue source by licensing our content for reuse.
                
                I don't want to start speculating again. I'm still exhausted from the last round. It would be nice if HubPages staff would comment on this.

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                1. 88

                   lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                   Let me explain this to you in terms of what people intend to do with blockchains for music. I think it would be easier to comprehend. Also included below is some general info. to help understand all this.
                   
                   The internet: The internet is built up of websites hosted on single computers or a few computers (servers) across the world. And you can visit them provided they are public and you have the IP or domain name (which points to a particular host and IP).
                   
                   The blockchain: The blockchain is a whole new concept (not completely new, it's been gaining momentum over the last few years). Here instead of building something on a single computer or server data is shared across the globe on multiple servers. Say you have Spotify installed. I have Spotify installed and our artists have Spotify installed on their computers. Let's, for now, assume that as an artist they upload their music to Spotify on their PC. This music has it's own unique ID so to say. This ID is then alotted to this piece of work and the secure ID and info is distributed to all systems that want to access this. It's sent to your computer and my computer. If I were to share this with my friend, they would get the ID too. And when my friend or any of us listen to this song, Spotify can now say song ABC by artist XYZ has been heard 100 times. And in total, all songs on Spotify were heard 1000 times (keeping things simple). Let's say just the three of us have Spotify in the entire world and we pay $33.33 a month (just for this example). Then Spotify has a budget of $100 for the month (and they want no profit for themselves) this gives them $100 to distribute to 1000 total plays this turns out to be $1 per 10 plays. So what happens now is this artist ABC earns $10 that month. Artist ABC has encrypted his music on the blockchain and it is freely distributed but only on the Spotify network and nowhere else. This music is encrypted and therefore cannot be copied on to other platforms (unless someone actually records the music being played). This would cut down on pirated stuff a lot and in the end, artists would earn a lot more for their work.
                   
                   P.S: Spotify is not built on the blockchain, not yet at least. There are other services out there working on this. If you're interested you could google it, you can start here: http://bit.ly/2ny00Jr It's really interesting.
                   
                   This I assume is what po.et is going to be doing with our work. Right now people can still copy your text and place it on other websites on the internet. But, the blockchain is bigger than the internet and it's spreading. In the past you were worried about people copying your books using a copy machine, you never thought about it being scanned and posted on the internet. In the same way, right now we are only thinking about it being copied on the internet, but in the future, we're going to be worrying about it being copied across various blockchain networks which would prevent us from earning anything from them. This is a step to the future and it may not see dividends this year or next year, but it's a long-term strategy.

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                   1. 96

                      EricDockettposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                      Okay, to sum up: You don't think it will do anything whatsoever to help us with content theft at this time but you're seeing this as a step toward better positioning us for what content sharing will eventually become.
                      
                      Am I understanding you correctly?
                      
                      That link was very enlightening, and I can see how it is beneficial to be on the leading edge of this.
                      
                      However, I really wish HubPages would better communicate with writers. Your explanation is thought provoking and the info in the link actually made me feel really positive about the direction we are possibly going in. Unfortunately, it is still just speculation.
                      
                      I'm sure Maven lets its other content creators know exactly how things like this will affect them and what the plan is going forward. I'm sure Paul knows, and probably other members of the HP Team. However, we, the content creators, are kept in the dark and left to piece things together ourselves.
                      
                      Frustrating.

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                      1. 88

                         lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                         People said the same thing to me when I explained the whole merger thing to them. Speculation... And it was confirmed by the team that what I said was exactly what they meant.
                         
                         Again, in that interview, it is clearly mentioned that they are going in the direction of the blockchain. If you know about the blockchain (and as I already said, it's an interesting topic and you should learn more about it, your future electric bill is going to be on the blockchain), you would see that my explanation is not speculation, but fact.

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                         1. 96

                            EricDockettposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                            Your info about the blockchain may be fact, and you may very well be right again, but you don't know any more about HubPages's plans than anyone else. In your post you said This I assume is what po.et is going to be doing with our work.
                            
                            I'd prefer not to assume. I'd like to hear it from someone in charge. Until then, we (including you) are assuming.
                            
                            Look, your insight is appreciated, but HubPages should be the one telling us this stuff. If I replace "Spotify" with "HubPages" in your example a dozen questions only HubPages can answer pop into my head.
                            
                            The bottom line is this: When Maven approached it's other content creators with this idea I'm sure many responded with "WTF? "  I'm sure it was explained to them exactly how things would go down, and they didn't need to to argue among themselves or do their own research to figure it out.
                            
                            HubPages ought to be doing the same thing with its content creators.

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                               lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                               The only reason I used the word presume is that I'm not sure how the encryption on a mix of text, pics and videos is going to work. Because the videos are not ours in many cases and the same with images.
                               
                               Anyway, let HP say something if they want to. HP has always let us know about changes when the time was right and once the plans were made. I trust they would do the same this time around.

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                               1. 96

                                  EricDockettposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                                  Fair enough.
                                  
                                  I know you understand what you are talking about. I don't mean to disparage your knowledge or desire to help us figure it out. I really do appreciate it.
                                  
                                  I'm just in a position where this merger has the potential to seriously impact my life, in either a good or bad way. I really need to know the lay of the land, and have the right information so I can make the best decisions. Only HubPages can provide that. That's all I meant.

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                                  1. 88

                                     lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                                     Yeah I know what you meant, there's no need for a clarification. I do earn a significant amount each month as well. It may not seem like it since I have just a few hubs, but I rank really well with those and I just keep adding more info to make them rank even better for related terms. Not every single one of them but a majority of them.

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                2. 86

                   TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

                   Maven's TOS gives them the right to license your work for reuse, so if you end up writing for them, they can do that and you will not receive the benefits because you will have turned over all of your rights to them.

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             2. 96

                theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                I think we're rolling on separate tracks here. I'm not talking about the technical aspect, just the way they present it.
                
                Here's a good example of a similar set-up to Po-et (not blockchain afaik, but the same sort of thing; I use it on my blog) and how they present their service:
                
                "When you Digiprove any piece of digital content, you create irrefutable evidence that it exists in exactly that form at that point in time, and that you are in possession of it. This can be very important to individuals and companies to:
                
                Prove (to regulators, auditors, non-executive directors, etc.) compliance to regulation
                Prove ownership of intellectual property (copyrights, designs, and inventions)
                Prove the content of emailed communications
                Protect legal position in case of any future dispute
                
                Furthermore, the Digiprove process captures the digital fingerprint of the content. This is used to uniquely identify that piece of content, and the Digiprove verification process can therefore detect any content that has been changed (maliciously or otherwise), and raise the alarm."
                
                Perfectly clear, readable, and understandable. I'm not singling out Maven and Po-et specifically here, I'm complaining about the widespread fashion in corporate-speak to obfuscate simple facts by using twisty, complicated language.

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                   lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                   Got you We were on different tracks.

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    Chriswillman90posted 6 years ago

    Incorporating blockchain technology with digital content sounds like the future of copyright to me. You can only file so many annoying DMCAs before you realize there are hundreds or thousands of people taking bits and pieces of your articles every day.

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13. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 6 years ago

    This is good news and means we have blockchain bitcoin security. Did I word that correctly?

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       lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

       Unfortunately not. The blockchain is like the internet and bitcoin is like paypal (not exactly paypal, but this is the best example).
       
       Bitcoin is built on the blockchain just like po.et is built on the blockchain. There is no relation between bitcoin and po.et.

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    TessSchlesingerposted 6 years ago

    Sounds good to me. Every few months I have to do the rounds and try to remove the duplicates of my work!

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15. 88

    lobobrandonposted 6 years ago

    But Eric, and others here. In your free time I would definitely recommend that you read and understand what this blockchain stuff is all about.

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    1. 92

       Kenna McHughposted 6 years agoin reply to this

       I agree. It is interesting. That is the direction the Internet is going, though I need to read up on it more.

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16. 76

    cheaptrickposted 6 years ago

    "The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation"~H D Thoreau~

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17. 70

    makingamarkposted 6 years ago

    A few things occur to me.
    
    What are they doing that's different from Digimarc?
    
    How exactly are they going to deal with all the reasons for copyright exemption for "fair use"? (which they would have to - because "fair use" is just as much part of the law as copyright protection).
    
    Isn't this just about monetisation and creating a way to make money from content? (i.e. if you can protect your asset then you can trade it as "cryptocurrency")
    
    I think there's a fair bit of scepticism about whether blockchain technology actually offers a system that has total integrity and is free from corruption. (Especially those that just "lost" some bitcoins recently due to block chain corruption) Personally I think it has some way to go yet as do other commentators who know far more about it than I do.
    
    It's an interesting idea but it's got a bit of a whiff of "me too" about it (unrelated to women) - a bit like the dot.com bubble.
    
    In other words - when presented with a new idea, it tends to be a good idea to look at it in the round - at both the pros and cons - and the unknowns.  It's what you don't know you don't know which generally tends to "bite you on the bum"!

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