Stephen Downes

OK, I'll admit that my efforts to install and use NEAR ended up in utter failure, as documented in today's installment of Stephen Follows Instructions. The concept still appeals to me, though I'm hard-pressed to explain exactly why. NEAR is a community-building app based on Node and connected to the blockchain, and is based on a model that allows more many different communities, rather than one overarching network (as we see in Google and Facebook). Here's how NEAR describes itself: "NEAR is an open source platform that enables creators, communities, and markets to drive a more open, interconnected and consumer-empowered world." They're not good at explaining themselves, but I think there's something interesting there with potential longer term applications in education. Via Laura Hilliger.