• Crypto
    Bitcoin,  Cryptocurrencies,  Distributed Leisure,  Innovators

    Is crypto the future of money? Panelists debate

    No existing cryptocurrencies exhibit the three characteristics of money all that well

    [Modern Consensus sent Michael Hillmeyer to check out the blockchain and cryptocurrency panels at the Propelify tech and music conference in Hoboken. You can read his review of the first panel (“Diversity in the Blockchain Industry and Why It’s Important to Get It Right Now”). Also, check out his review of the third panel (“Is Blockchain the Answer to Big Data Problems AND Does Blockchain Create Existential Threats to Intermediaries?”)] In this second panel, “Is Crypto the Future of Money?” another standing room only crowd watched moderator Joe Leo of Def Method get right to the point by asking the eponymous question. James Putra*, director of product strategy and innovation…

  • Hudson
    Cryptocurrencies,  Distributed Leisure,  Innovators

    Entrepreneurs lament lack of diversity in blockchain and cryptocurrency

    Young male teams often just develop things their mothers no longer do for them

    [Modern Consensus columnist Michael Hillmeyer checked out the blockchain and cryptocurrency panels at the Propelify tech and music conference in Hoboken. Below is his review of the first panel, called, “Diversity in the Blockchain Industry and Why It’s Important to Get It Right Now”. Also check out his review of the second panel (“Is Crypto the Future of Money?”) and the third panel (“Is Blockchain the Answer to Big Data Problems AND Does Blockchain Create Existential Threats to Intermediaries?”)]   Just a few short weeks after braving the PATH Train for a blockchain and artificial intelligence coding event at Jet, we found ourselves back on the waterfront in Hoboken for…

  • Hoboken
    Cryptocurrencies,  Distributed Leisure,  Media

    Braving ‘Boken bros to learn blockchain coding at Jet.com’s offices

    We attend a coding event in Hoboken and even the trip there was eventful

    After reading about blockchain and cryptocurrencies for the past several years, it was time to dive into the technology, albeit in the shallow end, and experience firsthand some programming for blockchain. The occasion for doing so was Jet.com’s recent “Learn + Code: AI, Blockchain, and Ecommerce” code-along event in Hoboken, New Jersey. As with most born and bred New Yorkers still living in the city, it’s a rare occasion when we get to visit the mainland of America from one of our relatively small urban islands. So we put on our tech hat (we have collected many such swag hats from tech events around NYC), steeled ourselves for any possible…

  • Blockchain
    Distributed Leisure,  Innovators

    Venture capitalists talk about blockchain startups

    Lots of “scammy, spammy crypto projects” right now

    We were back on the Columbia University campus a couple of weeks ago for another panel on blockchain, this time part of the “Startup Columbia Entrepreneurship Festival” series of tech talks. While the seats in the university’s Miller Theater were more comfortable than in most of the other venues we’ve been to recently, the almost absolute darkness and prohibition on using electronics made note taking a bit more challenging. Fortunately, this was a more freewheeling discussion among the moderator, Nat Kelner, associate director of the Columbia Entrepreneurship Blockchain Studio, and three venture capitalists who focus on the blockchain ecosystem. We attended several events earlier in the year where proponents of…