ICPSquad Weekly: Hope and Hodl

A lot has been happening in the world of ICP lately. I want to focus on three important NNS proposals, but first, let's address controversy and a new contender for ICP development.

A lot has been happening in the world of ICP lately. For example, we'll soon have an article about HTTPS callouts, which is fully functional on the mainnet. In this week's newsletter, however, I want to focus on three important NNS proposals.

ICP in the Trenches

First though, I would be remiss if I did not address current controversies within the ICP user ecosystem. We at the Dfinity Community strive to be a neutral party and an enthusiastic advocate for the good of the growing Internet Computer base. We encourage our readers to be the best version of themselves online and offline. We are not taking sides, for example, regarding recent allegations against FTX about undermining ICP. We want everyone to wait for the evidence. Let's concentrate on building a positive Web3 experience on the Internet Computer.

On a personal note, lots of people, globally, are feeling the squeeze of financial pressures, and it can be tempting to give into the temptation to infighting and despair. I feel your pain and am also in a tough spot. A grim feeling has spread across the crypto world. Don't lose sight of our collective mission though - launching the next social media revolution on a decentralized and democratized Web3. Given the power and influence of Big Tech and enduring human tendencies toward fragmentation, it was never going to be an easy task.

I think a lot of us, myself included, were naive and assumed the Internet Computer and other blockchains would simply automatically dominate the digital market and displace traditional API relatively effortlessly. We imagined ourselves easily riding the wave of victory to fame and fortune. But in reality, the process of building Web3 involves information warfare, and like with all war, sacrifice and diligence are required, innocent people get hurt, and things get messy.

Hang on, and rise above.

Kyle Langham's thoughts on social media

Speaking of social media revolutions, Kyle has some fascinating thoughts about the current state of Web2 and how the transition to Web3 will unfold. It's certainly going to be a bumpy ride. In brief, here are his proposed phases:

1. Phase One: Fragmentation - The network effect on major platforms will begin unraveling, with people no longer wanting to use only one application to connect to everyone. Users will increasingly coalesce on platforms that match their ideological and political preferences. Polarization will accelerate online and offline.
2. Phase Two: Algorithmic Scramble - To stop hemorrhaging and entice new users, traditional platforms will begin offering people to choose among algorithms to explicitly customize the content they see. However, this will spell the end of advertisers and influencers being able to count on being seen. The era of a monolithic idea culture will end. Polarization will begin eating its own. For influencers, data and content ownership will become as important as it is to users as money from advertisers dries up or diversifies.
3. Phase Three: The Rise of Curated Experiences - The end, in some ways, can already be glimpsed. People want three different products: one that helps them manage their data, one that is their algorithm of choice for curating data, and one that provides the user experience (the skin). History has shown time and again, for better or worse, quickly or slowly, people inevitably get what they want. Content creators, the primary controllers of the means of industry in the digital space, will win. Advertisers, and Big Tech, will lose. The broader economic implications will be vast and potentially quite negative at first.

Internet Computer Services

But enough about the future - let's look at the present, at a new contender for developing on Web3. Internet Computer Services has been quite active lately, encouraging users to use its platform to build, ship, and manage dapps faster.

Three Important NNS Proposals

To close this week's newsletter, I want to make sure our readers are aware of three important NNS proposals. Please be sure to check the NNS frequently and vote on governance proposals to make your voice heard.

Force-Lock Seed Investors’ Neurons for 8 Years - 87478

Smaug argues, "All seed investors’ neurons which have not yet unlocked should be automatically staked for 8 years. This would stop the monthly dumps of several millions of ICP. Rewards would remain on their current schedule. This would stop or significantly slow the outward shift of the supply curve, which might be enough to cause price to stop falling."

Understandably, this is controversial and strong feelings exist on both sides. Some prominent members of the community have called for an NNS Constitution of sorts to establish rights, safeguards, and limitations on what kind of proposals can be voted upon.

At the very least, constructive conversations are taking place.

Motion to introduce composite queries - 87599

Here's a much less controversial proposition: "Canisters have two types of methods: updates and queries. In contrast to updates, queries are not composable. In other words, a query cannot call other queries. This limitation makes it difficult to build scalable dapps that shard data across multiple canisters. Supporting calls in query methods is one of the most requested features."

The motion to introduce composite queries looks set to pass, but it will likely take 1 to 2 years before it rolls out on the mainnet due to the engineering feats required.

Temperature Check: NNS Treasury - 86639

The NNS has proposed having its own independent treasury. "This proposal is a Temperature Check of the NNS governing body to better understand if there is general support for the NNS Treasury idea that has been in deliberation in several locations including Twitter and the forum. This proposal is not intended to represent any concrete ideas. It serves to gauge interest from the voters about whether the NNS should independently own and control an ICP treasury. Specific details around purpose, funding mechanisms, and fund distribution would be developed in working groups and approved by the NNS at a future date."

Although many in the community support the idea, with so few details, a surprising number of neurons have voted against further exploration. This proposal is a simple temperature check, but it will be interesting to watch this topic as it develops, especially as some prominent community members have explicitly come out against the idea of an NNS-controlled treasury.

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