Punk internet

Was there stiff resistance by more tradition-minded publishers?

Let me put it this way: For a long time, venerable publishing houses found it very hard to see digitalization as an opportunity. To stand out in the crowd of competitors, they were keen to develop a content management system of their own. But ultimately, publishers set themselves apart with content and reader retention. Fundamental technology should really be shared. No publisher builds a power station to run its websites. But to answer your question: It takes a lot of time and a lot of persuasion.

Now you’re predicting blockchain will be the internet’s next evolutionary stage. Why?

In its inception, the internet was a network for researchers. There were no plans to commercialize it. When that started to happen in the mid-1990s, the internet lacked key search, identity, payment and other such services – in internet-speak those are called “protocols.” Businesses emerged to fill that void at the application level. Today these companies are the world’s most valuable enterprises and have attained a mind-boggling dominance. The internet’s current structure favors this monopolization. Efforts to get a handle on the problem of these entrenched and unassailable internet companies have been largely ineffective because this is a technical issue rather than a business, legal or political problem.

How will blockchain technology revolutionize the Internet? 

Blockchains will enable an organizational reboot of the internet at the technical level. We can use them to create open-source protocols that can do so much more than what the current internet does. With blockchain technology, we can send money at the protocol level, prove identities beyond any doubt, and order taxis or pizza without the help of an intermediary. This way, the internet gets the elements that it has always lacked, piece by piece.

What we failed to consider with the existing internet was that some vendors would accumulate vast silos of data with no incentive to share them. Blockchain technology will create these necessary incentives. This will culminate in a newly democratized internet.

What exactly will your new startup provide?

We want to develop a blockchain-based protocol that gives the power over personal data back to the individual. I believe personal data belongs to the individual user and not in the hands of monopolistic companies. Everyone should be able to decide for themselves if they wish to divulge data and when they want it back. The structure of BOTlabs as a company gives us the freedom to explore entirely new avenues without a commitment to constantly report or answer to special business demands.

A strong desire for freedom would appear to be a recurring theme in your life.

That’s a little too melodramatic. But our concept is in fact based on freedom. We don’t aim to make money with it directly; we want to be the enablers of a new economy. Anyone with a good idea for applications is welcome to use this protocol, be it a company or government. We aim to develop a standard that can be accepted in Germany, in Europe, and around the world. That’s our vision. The more participants, the faster we will achieve our undoubtedly ambitious goal.

Can you make easy money with this?

Let me be perfectly clear here: No, you can’t, at least not if you take it seriously and want to be taken seriously. We plan a cryptocurrency to reward service and good behavior in our ecosystem. We will retain around 10 percent of the total amount of money in circulation from the start, so we will benefit as the ecosystem grows and its value rises.

Your minority shareholder is not demanding a fast return?

No, smart managers at Burda realized that blockchain is an opportunity; you can either take it or let it pass you by. Europeans snoozed and lost out on the commercial internet’s development. Now they have the chance to spearhead the movement and design the blockchain internet.

Are you confident this prediction will be as accurate as the last one?

With my email prediction, I had no direct influence on the outcome. This time I will be working hard to make my prediction come true. 

Dr Joachim Peter is a Director in Brunswick's Berlin office, specializing in Public Affairs.