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Ask HN: Does anyone have a prediction for the next trendy name for blockchain?

5 points by sigmaprimus ↗ HN
We have seen Programs become Applications and eventually Apps. Mainframe systems evolved into servers and through "Serverless" innovations there is now "The Cloud"

It seems as time goes by certain names and terms for technology get, forgive my lack of a better phrase "Dumbed Down".

So my question is: Given that public ledgers have become "Block Chains" does anyone have ideas on what we will call them in the next 5-10 years? And does/should it matter?

11 comments

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emteycz
Isn't "crypto" already that? Not every blockchain has to be a currency, but is that a distinction that people will make?
sigmaprimus
That is a good point, I have always thought of crypto as the task required to add new blocks and transactions to the chain but it may be the function involved in validating it instead. Similar to a CRC check.

And the neat thing about the word crypto is that is also a relatively new term derived from cryptography.

Of course this still begs the question what do You think will be next?

verdverm
You can do all those cryptocurrency based things without them as well. It's called Proof of Authority, scales really well, and can be used in Hyperledger projects.
jstx1
Blockchain is the trendy name, you don't need another one.

Also, in your examples - program/application/app is a rename; mainframe/server/cloud refer to related but distinct concepts, it's not just a rename.

sigmaprimus
Fair enough, there may be a distinction between renames and differentiating between distinct concepts.

Network Attached Storage became Cloud Storage, The internet became the net and now is the cloud?

jstx1
I think you're reaching too much trying to find some overarching patterns. The internet is distinctly not the cloud.
sigmaprimus
The cloud would be the totality of devices connected via the Internet? Hence the prefix "Inter"?

or the cloud would be the devices AND the connections?

MerelyMortal
It's currently trendy, but no trend lasts forever, it will eventually get renamed to something that flows off the tongue more easily.
high_byte
unfortunately Metaverse is that name
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ssss11
My 2c is it doesn’t matter what they’re called. The important thing is to understand what The Next Big Thing actually is and relate it back to what it used to be called, and understand any differences.