One application for blockchain that has seen steady growth is social media. Steemit has certainly made an impact. According to Bloc’tivity, Steem has approximately 8 times the activity of Bitcoin. Other startup networks like Investfeed, Theta, Ong Social, and more are jockeying for position to be among the first movers in the social sphere.
FlipNpik is something relatively new. While Steemit attempts to take over all aspects of social media with D-Tube and D-Live, FlipNpik is specifically targeting the business use of social applications. Their goal is to create a collaborative and engaging net of businesses and individuals; an enterprise solution to help every industry enter the arena of blockchain.
FlipNpick was created by Euro-Canadian tech firm Fliptech SAS as they saw an opportunity to help floundering small businesses. With the rise of decentralization, many small, privately owned ventures are able to do business directly with their clientele and not have to rely on mediators, agents, and middlemen. FlipNpick is designed to give maximum visibility, so-called “digital identity”, to these businesses to help them stake a large position in the local social scene.
The application is like a combination of Yelp and Facebook. There are users and businesses. Users can find the goods and services they need and leave feedback or ratings for the future customers. Businesses have home pages and can attract users easily without the astronomical cost of advertising. It’s a peer-to-peer business-customer application on an immutable Stellar blockchain.
It is extremely collaborative. It requires users of the network to share as much information as possible, and thus incentivizes those who contribute. Businesses have free access to the network, but have the option of paying for additional services such as online shopping pages, more complex sales campaigns, interactive games, and eventually the incorporation of shopping in augmented reality.
The standard token that supports the FlipNpick community is “The FlipNpick Token” (or FNP) which is one the first tokens to operate on the Stellar Lumens platform. Users who stay active on the network are rewarded with FNP which they can then use to purchase from their favorite supported businesses. Businesses then use FNP for premium services or to increase visibility. The goal is to grow this model into a thriving ecosystem that benefits all involved.
In essence, FlipNpick has cornered a specific niche. The social media platform was launched in 2016 and is currently operational in parts of Europe, soon to be integrated throughout Asia. In
2018, they plan to introduce new games, user interaction and notifications (like messaging). By early 2019 they will propose new platron architecture to support augmented reality, which will be exciting to see, as retailers have yet to adopt and capitalize on this new technology.
The team is studded with high profile diplomas from international universities. Merits range from business to computer science and mathematics. FlipNpik appears to work closely with their American counterpart, FlipNpik USA, which has a much larger team. Among their advisors are some notable blockchain and bitcoin personalities such as Simon Cocking of CryptoCoinNews who was ranked #1 of 23,000 “People of Blockchain” according to icobench.com.
While FlipNpik aims to bring more attention to local commerce, it will be fascinating to see how blockchain developments improve the relationship between businesses and clients, a relationship that has struggled to develop with the rise of corporate globalism. Blockchain may be a grand concept, but its implications might be most effective on a local level, improving the lives of those who engage and participate.
Token pre-ICO sale begins July 1st, 2018, and the rest of the tokens are available after September 1, 2018. 75% of the sales will be locked up in marketing and development. 1 billion tokens will be created and distributed over the next 4 years. The ICO had hard cap of 100,000 ETH, but the iCO accepts a variety of payment options.
For more info, visit https://flipnpik.io
Author: Vincent Russo
Los Angeles News Desk
