Kozminski Techblog

Most probably social media is nothing new to all of us. However, do we notice changes that appear there all the time? By that, I do not only mean the rise of new platforms, but also the way we behave while using them. It is commonly known that in terms of our online image we create versions of ourselves that we want others to see. New trends in technology are often nothing else but reflections of our behaviors. There is a lot of ways to present that you are part of a certain community. New ways also appear online.

A good example is recently hyped NFTs. More and more people want to share with the world that they are part of popular communities. As I have previously mentioned changes in social media often follow the actions of its users.

Twitter is an example of a pioneer in this field. The company has recently announced that for a fee of USD 2.99 per month one can connect their NFT to their profile picture. But what is new about that? For months now many people have had their NFTs as profile pictures. The difference is that while having a subscription bought one will have a different shape of a profile picture. This is to present that one really has an NFT in their wallet and not only „screenshotted” it.

This change is opening new opportunities to many involved in the crypto world. Now they can build their image more reliably.

However, is it a carefully thought out solution? Not really, at least currently. The major issue is that while Twitter checks if one really has an NFT in their wallet, it does not check if the NFT is the real one. What it means is that Twitter doesn’t check if the jpg is one from a popular collection or just a fake one. Because blockchain is decentralized everyone can put something into it. Knowing that one can download an original picture and put it on the blockchain, just to fake owning a real one.

From my personal experience, there may be a solution to this issue. As every NFT has metadata attached to it, it is possible to check if the exact piece is a part of the real collection. This however would require Twitter to accept only certain collections, so it is possible to check the authenticity of images.

Summing up, as time goes, behaviors on social media evolves. Many people want to manage their image in a way that is beneficial for them. One possible way of doing that is by creating credibility in a certain community. Knowing that Twitter decided to be a pioneer in integrating NFTs into social media. How will it be received by the users? We will see in the near future, however, I think it is a good move, showing that the platform is up to date with trends in the online world.

Source:

https://wwwthevergecom.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2022/1/20/22893502/nft-twitter-profile-picture-crypto-wallet-opensea-coinbase-right-click?fbclid=IwAR2auV-p3SJZsK9LKFL5wEu5Ij0j6YsCyR00tTTTQ1Z7aKGbziqUDTOQxMI

As students, we know that sometimes the help of a more knowledgeable person is necessary. I am sure all of us came across a situation when a tutor was needed. The case may be need of help in school subjects or simply the willingness to expand our horizons.

Tutoring is well known for years, but the way it is conducted changes rapidly. I remember that when I was in primary school popular method of getting a tutor was just asking friends for recommendations. This is one of the most convincing ways to get one as we can trust the true opinions of our friends. Nevertheless, not everyone is in such a comfortable situation to live in a big city with a network of people willing to help find a tutor. What is more, living in small towns may make the situation even more difficult as there may not be enough qualified people to offer help.

Thankfully the technology brings a great wave of opportunities regarding online tutoring. Now all you need is a device and internet connection to be able to get professional help. A great example of a company that makes finding tutors effortless is GoStudent. Austrian tech company received $669 million funding, being valued at $3,5 bln. The numbers well represent the size of the market as also the potential for growth. The company currently operates internationally. In 2021 it expanded to 16 countries including Canada and Mexico.

But how does it exactly work? Simplifying it is a platform that allows knowledgeable people to publish their tutoring offer. Students that need help in a certain subject then can find a tutor that best fits their needs. What is important here, GoStudent makes effort to make the search process as comfortable as possible, using for example ratings of tutors. This approach may help in finding recommended teachers.

Looking at the way it operates we can notice a lot of benefits that it brings. However, we should remember that for particular subjects online meetings may not be as satisfactory as ones in real life. For example, it may be a bit easier to have conversations in foreign languages in person.

Summing up, I do believe that such platforms as GoStudent are not only great ideas in terms of business profitability but also bring a lot of value to society. Online tutoring creates opportunities for people wanting to learn something new who in other cases wouldn’t be able to access it. It is also very profitable for tutors themselves. By participating in online teaching they can have more customers and spend less time traveling to ones that need help.

Sources: https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/11/gostudent-raises-340m-series-d-funding-round-as-it-pushes-into-international-markets/?cx_testId=6&cx_testVariant=cx_undefined&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s

Ethereum, one of the most well-known blockchains is up to big change. Currently, the network operates on a Proof-of-Work system. It is the most traditional system for blockchains. However, innovations are appearing quickly.

In a Proof-of-Work system, miners use their computational power to solve math puzzles in order to validate the block. This approach is however very energy consuming.

In the recent year we have come across new ways of validating blocks. The most prominent is Proof-of-Stake, currently used by such networks as Solana or Cardano.

This concept is mainly based on certain cryptocurrencies being collateral in the validating process. Due to this, the whole network consumes much less energy.

Ethereum 2.0 – is meant to be another Proof-of-Stake blockchain. The concept is being worked on since 2020 and the launch is planned for the second quarter of 2022. This may be the breakthrough for Ethereum as since then much more transactions will be possible to maintain in a short period while being low energy consuming and way cheaper.

Summing up, the years-long discussion about crypto being unecological may no longer exist in upcoming years, as we can see the trend of networks becoming more eco-friendly.  ETHEREUM 2.0 may be the most prominent example of this trend as also networks such as Solana and Cardano growing rapidly, being worth now tens of billions of dollars.

Sources:

https://blockchain.news/analysis/transition-to-pos-will-improve-ethereum-efficiency-2000-times-ethereum-foundation

https://twitter.com/ethereum?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor