Blockchain webinar by Antonio Tombolini
One of the collaborators and participants of the Renodo project shared his knowledge and views on Blockchain as a possible tool to be use by the companies of the book sector through a webinar presented to the rest of the members of this Renodo network in May 2018. Here you can access to the whole video of the webinar as another of the tools that this website can offer thanks to the generosity of several of the partners.
Antonio Tombolini is CEO and founder of StreetLib, which he created in 2006 with one clear mission: to save create, distribute and sell books in both digital and paper formats. An Italian entrepreneur, Antonio first saw the potential e-commerce shop (sold to L’Espresso in 2002). Now focused on books, his company helps thousands of authors and publishers all over the world thanks to powerful online tools and partnerships with over 50 booksellers, the book.
The approach by Tombolini is that for the Book world Blockchain-based solutions could have a systemic effect on how books are written, edited, distributed and read. Recently has presented a ‘Blockchain manifesto’ founded on the principle that a blockchain-based paradigm could change the nature of digital objects, not just the way
transactions are processed. This revolution would centre around:
- Individualization: with a unique ID for each single digital object and a complete documentation of its history, it becomes much like a physical object. No longer just a single iteration of an infinitely replicable model, but a single, discernible entity.
- Stratification: the blockchain framework allows each individual object to have different properties, evolving over time and with each transaction. This means that a single book can receive additional “layers” of content or different labels, with a record of these evolutions.
- Continuity: smart contracts can track the revenue stream for each individual object as well any status and configuration changes. This means that there is no longer an item that changes hands (as is the case of physical objects) or specific data that can be accessed under certain conditions (e.g. by paying a price), but instead a continuous flow involving different stakeholders in its various phases.