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The Friend Unifying Platform team was at DeveloperWeek 2018 where Blockchain was the dominant theme. The new California Gold Rush was fueled by connected technologies, as well as the opportunities they might bring to programmers, industry professionals and students.
Blockchain, distributed computing and cloud based operating environments played a fundamental role at DeveloperWeek 2018.
The hype surrounding blockchain — a way of encrypting information across a network — was immediately apparent.
Though the term blockchain was linked to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, little was said about ledger systems in general. How the need for more efficient information exchange created an applied solution based around cryptography. How blockchain as a form of applied mathematics may ultimately lead to secure networks in distributed or cloud based computing workflows.
The pathway to getting to this point was yet to be determined as of February 2018. That is, based on the hype cycle in play at DeveloperWeek and the San Francisco Bay Area in general.
Looking beyond buzzwords
The way in which buzzwords were used at DeveloperWeek made it hard not to draw parallels to the California Gold Rush of 1848–1855. This was especially the case every time the word blockchain was mentioned. It had clearly become the buzzword in the local technology scene — a signifier of knowledge used to normalize rapid change.
This aspect of the trip acted as a general reminder. Ingrained within the culture of the San Francisco Bay Area was the need for a perpetual sense of newness. It was something that had developed over a long period of time. Potential reward of a better life was perceived to come for those who reacted quickly to emerging opportunities – much in the same way it had done for the estimated 300,000 people who migrated to California as a result of its Gold Rush in the mid 1800s.
FriendUP
Rapid growth and change seldom lead to time for deep reflection. It was, however, interesting to reflect upon the idea of a new Gold Rush as DeveloperWeek played out around — especially when being at a conference with the team at Friend Software Labs. The Norway based company had taken time to develop its Friend Unifying Platform (FriendUP). It was not following a trend linked to connected technologies or blockchain. Instead, it spotted that the internet was evolving circa 2014. Private and public networks of information were becoming more affordable. FriendUP was the reaction to this fact.
FriendUP was well received at DeveloperWeek. It was a working product at a time when blockchain as a concept was still in its infancy for most people. The technologies and infrastructures upon which FriendUP was built were now in fashion. It was an exciting time for Hogne Titlestad — Chief Architect of the Friend Unifying Platform. The presentation he and Paul Lassa gave at DeveloperWeek also demonstrated that there was a demand for what he created.
FriendUP was four years old by the time DeveloperWeek came around. It was available to download and use through Github, which made it stand out at the Oakland Convention Center. Expectations linked to “the blockchain” clearly fell in line with the distributed computing ambitions for FriendUP. Person to person demonstrations and presentations like Using the Friend Unifying Platform to Empower Developers showcased its potential. The future of secure and efficient networked computing was not just conference floor hype. FriendUP demonstrated that the relationship between hardware, software and code had evolved.
Read more from Friend’s visit to DeveloperWeek 2018 by Adam Spring on our Medium page
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