hello world.

Well, it’s been a long journey, but we here at Collective Values are pleased to finally go public and announce to the world that we are getting ready to officially launch!

Collective Values: Our name reflects our values. We value the collectivism that the blockchain enables, and specifically, need to rely on collectivism to be able to validate blocks in a specific blockchain that uses delegated proof of stake(dPoS) for consensus and security. Value is collected by validating blocks, and this value is shared with the larger collective. When a group of people stake in a node, on some level, they share the same values, not just the monetary value of the rewards from block validation, but the shared vision and values of that particular project. Beyond Collective Values being a collective ourselves, we are also part of larger collectives(the network of nodes we belong to inside a particular network), and then again part of the larger collective of blockchain networks in general. Furthermore, this kind of collectivism is predicated on a symbiotic relationship with decentralisation. Collective Values collects value on behalf of the collective that we value. We are stronger together than apart, and in these systems, we need to rely on each other and pool resources to be able to achieve greater things than we would than if we had gone at it alone.

We here at Collective Values have an obsession with blockchain technology and spend copious amounts of time pondering where it can lead us in the future. Our shared belief is that this technology will be able to lead to a new age of global interconnectivity, allowing humans to have the capacity to reach new heights and usher in a more democratic, brighter, and more equitable future. While it would be easy to sit on the side lines, we’ve decided it’s our imperative to engage in this revolution, and be a part of something bigger than ourselves. This is a commitment we have taken very seriously.

The Collective Values team has spent considerable time looking at methods by which we can use to run a secure, efficient, and scalable system. The goal here is to deploy and operate nodes in systems that have value(and expected value), that have a shared ideology in open source and distributed democratic principles. Part of the research and development we have done was revolved around a few key points: First of all, we wanted to be scalable ourselves, as well as highly flexible which meant the implementation of a framework that allowed for rapid deployment and building. Secondly, we wanted to address the major bottlenecks we saw that could cause performance issues, as well as potential problems in the future, and made sure we’ve optimized performance for the long run. Thirdly, we saw storage volume expansion as a key point of interest as these blockchain databases can get quite big, and we wanted to be able to expand with minimum downtime(ideally none at all). Furthermore, we saw that the security and dependability of the framework was critical, so we spent extensive time designing stress tests and implementing them(with considerable influence from the “chaos monkey” concept from Netflix). This process was extensive and time consuming, however, we view this as an investment in the project and believe it will pay off in the long run.

Next, as we care about the planet and the people on it, we were determined to find the most green option possible for our hosting. The hosting service we chose allowed us to claim a few things; Not only do we have backup power, and industrial grade redundancies as part of our service package, but we also have geographical centralisation allowing for low-latency. But the biggest value to us was knowing that our servers are powered by 100% green renewable energy. We believe that going forward in time, the demand for “green certified” services will increase, and we want to be positioned for that well ahead of time. And of course, we personally want to be able to comfortably look ourselves in the mirror, and be able to rest easily at night knowing that we’ve done our part and made an honest effort.

The current team at Collective Values is made up of two individuals. The first is largely involved with the technical side. Their list of credentials include(but are not limited to) the following: 18 years experience in software engineering, graduation certificate from an accredited Canadian software engineering institution(with a pEng), and certifications, knowledge, and experience, such as: C++, Java, Javascript, ADA, unicode, pattern recognition, networking, virtualisation, remote sensing, imbedded systems, front end, back end, and mobile apps. These skills and experiences lead to being able to build the robust and trustworthy infrastructure that is competitive, flexible, and highly scalable. The second half of the foundational team has had varied experiences in a host of different areas, spanning the arts, textile/garment manufacturing industry, niche skilled labour, the film industry, logistics, and management(among others’). A networking and research expert who has a focus on education, writing, and community contributions. Through talking to teams, wrangling and writing questions for AMA’s, as well as contributing to research reports, high value opportunities in future dPoS networks have been identified. This is a team, not a single individual, and we are pledging to use our combined resources, skills, and knowledge to try and effectively service the community.

While we are treating this as a business on a certain level, as there are overhead costs involved and we’ve invested significant capital so far, the mission behind this project is pure. Our goal is to create efficient systems so we can pass the savings on to those who place their trust in us. We are committed to ask for the lowest possible commission, while retaining our ability to keep the lights on. Beyond that, our dream boards are filled with ideas of a potential future where we can use funds raised through running nodes to be able to start donating to open source initiatives like GitCoin. But in the end, we have a commitment to listen to our nominators/delegators, and members of the general communities we service, and to use the feedback to be pragmatic and proactive so we can institute necessary changes.

So while this post is to give an old school “hello world” and introduce ourselves to the world, we have a lot of work, building, networking, and problem solving to do still! While we are not announcing our first node yet, the announcement is imminent! Beyond that exciting news, expect other regular updates in the form of guides and explanations, in video and article formats. We want to set ourselves apart and go the extra mile for the community.

Cheers,

COLLECTIVE VALUES TEAM