The transformation of society from the 20th to the 21st century can be really symbolised by one thing: the internet. It began a revolutionary change in the way humans live and interact, but perhaps the one word that crystalizes the effect of the internet is 'decentralisation'. The 20th century was characterised by consolidation of power, executed in a centrally controlled - top down - way. Finance, industry, media and politics were controlled by large centrally planned organisations such as the Federal Reserve Bank, Murdoch’s News Corporation, General Electric (to name but a few). Whilst centralisation had some benefits in the 20th Century, individual human aspirations and innovations were constrained by this model. Individuals have now become much more empowered, triggering a new wave of technological innovation that is disrupting almost everything. With the decentralisation of information, our relationship with brands and products changed, we became informed and demanded quality and ethics. Then our relationship with ‘Power’ changed, with social media empowering people around the world to overthrow corrupt governments. Peer to peer lending and crowd funding are now empowering people globally to innovate, providing access to finance that was previously controlled by third parties like banks. Now the decentralised platform behind Bitcoin is beginning to change how we think about money. In turn, this is leading to other decentralised peer to peer platforms that are fuelling yet more digital innovation, much like the early stages of the internet itself. These new platforms will enable people to interact, trade, collaborate, and create whole new economies that are fairer, safer, more private and more inclusive than anything we have now. As designers, developers and innovators, we must prepare for and embrace the potential of this opportunity. The internet is being reinvented, and it could be the platform for a better world.

1. Reinventing the Web:
Decentralization &The Age of Empowerment

2. “When I went to school,
they asked me what I
wanted to be when I
grew up. I wrote down
“Happy”. They told me I
didn’t understand the
assignment….
…and I told them they
didn’t understand life”

4. Guy Kawasaki:
“Empower People”

5. What does Decentralisation mean?
Centralisation, or centralization, is the process by
which the activities of an organisation, particularly
those regarding planning and decision-making,
become concentrated within a particular location and/
or group or keeping all of the important
decisionmaking powers within head office or the centre
of the organisation.
Wikipedia

11. Centralisation = ?

13. Total World Debt: $223 Trillion
Wall Street Journal

15. ‘’Working for the Few: Political Capture &
Economic Inequality’
• Almost half of the world’s wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population.
• The wealth of the one percent richest people in the world amounts to $110 trillion.
That’s 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the world’s population.
• The bottom half of the world’s population owns the same as the richest 85 people in
the world.
• Seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in
the last 30 years.
• The richest one percent increased their share of income in 24 out of 26 countries for
which we have data between 1980 and 2012.6
• In the US, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis
growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer.

18. DECENTRALISATION

26. Nationbuilder: platform for empowered people to create movements, take action

29. BUT…

30. Two ways Bitcoin could dramtically improve lives of millions of people..
!) Micropayments and Digital Busking
2) Remittance market

31. !) Micropayments and Digital Busking
2) Remittance market

33. And Maidsafe…
Maidsafe is a project that’s been under way for 7 years or so…

34. So what does that mean for you and me?

36. Thanks!
graham@zinc-group.com
www.zinc-group.com