Bitcoin, Ethereum, the Blockchain and Initial Coin Offerings

Over the last year I have become completely and utterly entranced by all of the things listed in the topic of this post.  I first began to think about it about a year ago when I watched a documentary on Decado about Bitcoin, coupled with the (even then) sky-high valuation of the currency, and finally in conjunction with a remorseful memory back in 2011 when a tech friend asked me if I had explored Bitcoin and when I answered that I had not, he looked surprised and asked "Why not?"  Which is a question that continues to haunt me today.

But I've never been any good with money anyway, so I shouldn't be too surprised. I have, however, been pretty good with technology, and that's what I currently find so fascinating with this set of topics. Bitcoin, the blockchain that it is developed on, then the innovation of the Ethereum platform and finally the recent spate of initial coin offerings where companies with little more than a 25-page whitepaper are sometimes raising tens of millions of dollars in literally a few hours. All fascinating stuff.

For the first few months I read and read, and then began to talk about it.  After awhile of that, it became apparent that I was annoying people a little bit, so I decided to explore the possibility of an outlet and settled upon the Podcast.  Mainly, because I like to talk and tell stories.  I decided to focus on a single Initial Coin Offering each week, and I figured I would have about 40 minutes of material to talk about each week - and so "ICO 41" was born.

It turns out to take a LOT more than 41 minutes to produce a 41 minute podcast, but I have to say I have enjoyed just about every minute of it.  I believe I may be conducting my first interview next week. When I first conceived of and chose the podcast avenue, I had ideas for an interview-based podcast, but my current situation doesn't permit the logistics of conducting scheduled interviews, so I opted for the weekly monologue.  I'll start to work in interviews as I find the time.  Meanwhile, no matter what happens with it, it will be a fascinating journey. I'm glad that I settled on the podcast concept because I can share what I'm learning with more than just the people I run into on a daily basis - now I can leave them alone.  The best thing about a podcast is that you can press a button and pause the host. Not so easy to do that at a dinner party.