Crypto Billboard

When I worked at Facebook I used to ask myself what will happen if we would offer a fully censorship-resistant platform? Media companies like Facebook and Twitter use algorithms that optimize for their business goals. That means that whatever you read in your social media feed is promoted/organized based on internal business metrics.

I am also a huge fan of Tim Ferris. In his podcast Tim always asks his guest: "If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say and why?". I've found the answers to be fascinating. You can read a lot of them in his book Tribe Of Mentors.

Today, I'm excited to launch a new product — CryptoBillboard.org. The idea is to offer a truly open publishing platform on a virtual giant billboard. CryptoBillboard is a social experiment where we can see what other people have to say and how much they are willing to pay to publish it. Participants can always choose to override the billboard with their message.

How does it work?

Anyone can use the billboard to publish their message to the world. To fight spam, posting a message costs money. To offer inclusive payments and guarantee a censorship-resistant platform, I choose to build it on top of the Ethereum blockchain. The blockchain smart contract is a neutral platform accessible 24/7 worldwide. Another advantage of the blockchain is anonymity - no need for account to publish. The message is only linked to the Ethereum address.

This billboard has a base fee that represents the last amount paid. To publish a new message, you can pay any amount greater the base fee. This amount then becomes the new base fee for others to pay if they want to override your message. Publishers are also awarded a unique BLBD NFT - only granted to people who post a message. Publishers receive the same NFT, no matter how much they paid. That means that people who posted early for 0.01 ETH will get the same NFT as those who posted later for 100 ETH.

The billboard automatically refreshes the content once a new message is published. I can see how people around the world will be projecting this billboard to check what is published and for how much. I can imagine the messages to be marriage proposals, quotes, jokes, business promotions, and anything in between.

The billboard cannot be taken down by anyone. It has its' own eternal existence on the blockchain.

I can't wait to see what people choose to publish and invite you to post your message to the world today!