import all the posts

blog/posts/01-the-lbry-opens.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
-date: 2015-05-24
 author: jeremy
 title: The LBRY Opens
+date: '2015-05-24 16:00:00'
 ---
 
 Hello, world.
@@ -10,19 +10,13 @@ It's just Jimmy and me here at the front desk. Our little library is lonely.
 
 Before it gets too crowded, some exposition is in order.
 
-For as long as preserved knowledge has existed, people have collected it. And once you start collecting it, well, you'll need some way to
+For as long as preserved knowledge has existed, people have collected it. And once you start collecting it, well, you'll need some way to keep it in order. LBRY is the next evolution of a desire as ancient as knowledge itself: to organize and access information.
-keep it in order. LBRY is the next evolution of a desire as ancient as knowledge itself: to organize and access information.
 
-However, if I ask you to imagine a library, you probably do not imagine a private archive of cuneiform tablets. Instead, you imagine a
+However, if I ask you to imagine a library, you probably do not imagine a private archive of cuneiform tablets. Instead, you imagine a public library. The earliest library of this form was created by [the Junto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junto_%28club%29), an 18th century discussion club founded by Benjamin Franklin. Their company sold shares to access their collection materials, and used that money to buy more books. [They still exist today](http://www.librarycompany.org/).
-public library. The earliest library of this form was created by [the Junto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junto_%28club%29), an 18th century
-discussion club founded by Benjamin Franklin. Their company sold shares to access their collection materials, and used that money to buy more books.
-[They still exist today](http://www.librarycompany.org/).
 
-Franklin's library existed in a time where information was intrinsically scarce. Not only did each book have to be printed, but books faced
+Franklin's library existed in a time where information was intrinsically scarce. Not only did each book have to be printed, but books faced expensive shipping costs from London.
-expensive shipping costs from London.
 
-In today's world, information does not face these constraints. Technology makes information as abundant as air or water. So why is it still
+In today's world, information does not face these constraints. Technology makes information as abundant as air or water. So why is it still so scarce?
-so scarce?
 
 We think it's scarce because people other than the creators and the consumers are in control.
 
@@ -32,5 +26,4 @@ We think it's scarce because there is no Junto of the 21st century.
 
 At least, not yet.
 
-LBRY is the next evolution of Franklin's library. Join us in putting more information in the hands of the people and more money in the hands
+LBRY is the next evolution of Franklin's library. Join us in putting more information in the hands of the people and more money in the hands of creators.
-of creators.

blog/posts/02-as-reddit-burns-it-powers-the-world.md

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 ---
-title: As Reddit Burns, It Powers The World
 author: jeremy
-date: 2015-06-11
+title: As Reddit Burns, It Powers The World
+date: '2015-06-11 11:34:52'
 ---
 
-As part of a company, [LBRY](https://lbry.io), that cares passionately about the freedom of information (in both the beer and information sense), I find myself incapable of keeping my mouth shut about what's going on at [reddit.com](http://reddit.com/).
+As part of a company, [LBRY](lbry.io), that cares passionately about the freedom of information (in both the beer and information sense), I find myself incapable of keeping my mouth shut about what's going on at [reddit.com](http://reddit.com).
 
 Yesterday, reddit.com [announced](https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/39bpam/removing_harassing_subreddits/) that they were banning five communities on the grounds of harassment.
 
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Today, these are the top 10 posts on /r/all:
 
 Perhaps my favorite internet moment ever has been given the indecently bland Wikipedia title of [AACS encryption key controversy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AACS_encryption_key_controversy). For the kids, non-nerds, and amnesiac nerds, a synopsis: the movie industry subpoenaed Digg to remove any references to the number **09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0** on the grounds that the number could be used to decrypt DVDs. Digg complied. Users revolted. The front page of Digg looked a lot like /r/all, except full of hexidecimal digits instead of fat people and swastikas.
 
-Watching the everyman rebel against censorship and control brought tears to my eyes. It was an absolute inspiration. Astute eyes can find a tiny free speech flag in [our footer](https://lbry.io/why).
+Watching the everyman rebel against censorship and control brought tears to my eyes. It was an absolute inspiration. Astute eyes can find a tiny free speech flag in [our footer ](http://lbry.io/why).
 
 Calling Ellen Pao a Nazi and posting pictures of fat people has not made me cry.
 
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ Aaron Swartz and Alexis Ohanian are two of the three people given credit for cre
 
 I never met Aaron Swartz but I've read most of his blog. He seems honest, brilliant, open-minded and thoughtful. He passes the Fitzgerald test for a first-rate intelligence with flying colors.
 
-Even more important than his words, I've seen what he did. Attempting to share JSTOR with the world was a beautiful thing. It puts him in the ranks of Manning, Snowden, Ulbricht, and other modern martyrs. While reasonable people may disagree with some of their actions, no reasonable person can disagree that following your conscience at personal expense to yourself is tremendous. On the balance, the world would be a far better place if everyone acted this way.
+Even more important than his words, I've seen what he *did*. Attempting to share JSTOR with the world was a beautiful thing. It puts him in the ranks of Manning, Snowden, Ulbricht, and other modern martyrs. While reasonable people may disagree with some of their actions, no reasonable person can disagree that following your conscience at personal expense to yourself is tremendous. On the balance, the world would be a far better place if everyone acted this way.
 
-I have met Alexis Ohanian, briefly. I have read Without Their Permission. Alexis' words aren't bad. He encourages entrepreneurship, attacking problems, and improving the world. He also encourages going around those who would protect the entrenched, obstinate, and broken status quo.
+I have met Alexis Ohanian, briefly. I have read *Without Their Permission*. Alexis' words aren't bad. He encourages entrepreneurship, attacking problems, and improving the world. He also encourages going around those who would protect the entrenched, obstinate, and broken status quo.
 
 When I met Alexis a few years ago, I had the chance to ask him a question. I asked him something like: if you believe in idea of routing around the rotten, why not put more energy into projects like that? Why not put resources into projects like Tor, Bitcoin, Bittorrent, or other technology that does the things he describes?
 
@@ -34,20 +34,24 @@ Alexis, at first, faltered. Then he gave me an answer about how there are diffic
 
 Alexis Ohanian is not Aaron Swartz. Swartz did what was right, regardless of consequence. Ohanian does what has good consequences for him, then comes up with a way for it to be right.
 
+---
+
 Reddit claims that the grounds for the bans is violation of rules regarding the harassment of individuals. Like Alexis' words, this is commendable. However, we must always compare words and acts. When they contrast, we have found hypocrisy. We have found evil.
 
-- Reddit [claims that it cares about transparency](http://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/35uyil/transparency_is_important_to_us_and_today_we_take/), but refuses to provide any details or guidelines on its rules. Nor will it provide specific examples of the grounds on which it banned the targeted communities.
+* Reddit [claims that it cares about transparency](http://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/35uyil/transparency_is_important_to_us_and_today_we_take/), but refuses to provide any details or guidelines on its rules. Nor will it provide specific examples of the grounds on which it banned the targeted communities.
 
-- Reddit claims it banned communities on grounds of targeted harassment, but users that have sited numerous specific examples of harassment from communities more politically favorable to Reddit's founders go ignored.
+* Reddit claims it banned communities on grounds of targeted harassment, but users that have sited numerous specific examples of harassment from communities more politically favorable to Reddit's founders go ignored.
 
-- Reddit claims that it banned the communities on grounds of targeted harassment, but has banned new subs created by unrelated users that have done no harassing.
+* Reddit claims that it banned the communities on grounds of targeted harassment, but has banned new subs created by unrelated users that have done no harassing.
 
-- Reddit refuses to admit that advertising or public perception has anything to do with its actions. It insists that it is only about harassment.
+* Reddit refuses to admit that advertising or public perception has anything to do with its actions. It insists that it is *only* about harassment.
 
-- Reddit claims that it is about "authentic conversations" and unrestricted speech, but has hired a CEO, Ellen Pao, who represents [the antithesis of those values](http://fortune.com/2015/06/05/ellen-paos-appeal-is-now-about-the-money/).
+* Reddit claims that it is about "authentic conversations" and unrestricted speech, but has hired a CEO, Ellen Pao, who represents [the antithesis of those values](http://fortune.com/2015/06/05/ellen-paos-appeal-is-now-about-the-money/).
 
 Reddit is truly an Ohanian company.
 
+---
+
 I've neglected to mention the second half of the title. It's an old joke, made by many. Let's go with the SMBC version:
 
 ![SMBC 2011 November 12th](http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20111112.gif)

blog/posts/03-5-questions-about-lbry.md

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 ---
-title: 5 Questions About LBRY
 author: jeremy
-date: 2015-07-01
+title: 5 Questions About LBRY
+date: '2015-07-01 13:09:20'
 ---
 
-As I recently traveled across Europe, and ultimately to PorcFest, I took time to talk to talk to entrepreneurs, technologists, and libertarians about LBRY. For the mutualistic education of myself and others, below are the questions and answers to five frequently asked questions.
+As I recently traveled across Europe, and ultimately to [PorcFest](www.porcfest.com), I took time to talk to talk to entrepreneurs, technologists, and libertarians about [LBRY](http://lbry.io). For the mutualistic education of myself and others, below are the questions and answers to five frequently asked questions.
 
 ## Five Questions
 
@@ -12,16 +12,29 @@ As I recently traveled across Europe, and ultimately to PorcFest, I took time to
 
  As we recently Tweeted, we're extremely close to releasing a POC client:
 
-To make sure you hear as soon as it is available, join our mailing list below or follow us.
+ <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LBRY&#39;s doors are locked, but gaze through the glass and one behold&#39;s the hazy form of a proof-of-concept <a href="http://t.co/93ViBCx72g">pic.twitter.com/93ViBCx72g</a></p>&mdash; LBRY (@LBRYio) <a href="https://twitter.com/LBRYio/status/616333374878281728">July 1, 2015</a></blockquote>
+<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
-Join Mailing List
+ To make sure you hear as soon as it is available, join our mailing list below or
+[follow us](https://twitter.com/lbry_io).
 
-Email Address
+##### Join Mailing List
+
+<div id="mc_embed_signup">
+<form action="//lbry.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=6dff893a9da0ab62d6704afc9&amp;id=7b74c90030" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate>
+    <div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll" >
+      <div class="mc-field-group" style="margin-bottom: 10px">
+        	<label for="mce-EMAIL">Email Address </label>
+        	<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL">
+      </div>
+      <div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;"><input type="text" name="b_6dff893a9da0ab62d6704afc9_7b74c90030" tabindex="-1" value=""></div>
+      <div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Subscribe" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
+    </div>
+  </form>
+</div>
 
-Subscribe
 
 ### 2. What happens if someone uploads infringing content to LBRY?
-
  LBRY changes the way information is shared. LBRY's decentralized nature makes it impossible for LBRY Inc. to control any information published to the LBRY network. LBRY Inc. cannot censor or remove content from the network.
 
  That said, a user who initially uploads infringing content to the LBRY network may be liable for civil or criminal copyright infringement under their local laws. A patron who accesses infringing content via the LBRY network may also be liable for copyright infringement. LBRY Inc. strongly encourages creators to refrain from publishing content which may infringe upon copyright and urges patrons to wait for authorized providers to source content.
@@ -40,19 +53,19 @@ We will also be releasing the source of LBRY so that others may stand upon us.
 
 ### 4. What's the difference between LBRY and MaidSafe (or X)?
 
-There are several attempts to build a decentralized computing platform. LBRY is not one of them; it exists only for information. Products that subsume the information problem, such as MaidSafe or Ethereum, will crumble under their own weight at the worst and not approach LBRY's performance at their best. Building an information delivery network inside of a larger decentralized platform is guaranteed at a fundamental level to result in worse performance, greater expense, or both.
+ There are several attempts to build a decentralized computing platform. LBRY is not one of them; it exists only for information. Products that subsume the information problem, such as [MaidSafe](www.maidsafe.com) or [Ethereum](www.ethereum.org), will crumble under their own weight at the worst and not approach LBRY's performance at their best. Building an information delivery network inside of a larger decentralized platform is guaranteed at a fundamental level to result in worse performance, greater expense, or both.
 
-Other crypto-data solutions are about providing reliable and known data-access methods for publishers (i.e. they give you a name, frequently gibberish, and attempt to promise that data will remain available at that name). LBRY is about creating best experience for consumers, who care less if names change than if a name gives them the information they desire.
+Other crypto-data solutions are about providing reliable and known data-access methods for *publishers* (i.e. they give you a name, frequently gibberish, and attempt to promise that data will remain available at that name). LBRY is about creating best experience for *consumers*, who care less if names change than if a name gives them the information they desire.
 
-LBRY's reservation-based approach to names means is unlike any other existing solution. We've leveraged Nobel Prize-winning economics to create a system in which names are extremely likely to resolve to what user's desire as well as be owned by the proper content creator. Greater user experience + greater creator experience = WNNNG1.
+LBRY's reservation-based approach to names means is unlike any other existing solution. We've leveraged Nobel Prize-winning economics to create a system in which names are extremely likely to resolve to what user's desire *as well as* be owned by the proper content creator. Greater user experience + greater creator experience = WNNNG<sup>1</sup>.
 
-1 New LBRY policy: when disemvoweling, aim for maximum confusion.
+ <small><sup>1</sup> New LBRY policy: when disemvoweling, aim for maximum confusion. </small>
 
-### 5. Allowing anyone to bid a higher price for a name is insane|brilliant.
+### 5. **Allowing anyone to bid a higher price for a name is insane|brilliant.**
 
 First, for clarity, here is LBRY's naming system as succinctly as possible:
 
-whoever pledges the most credits against a name holds it, subject to a defined window for a counter-bid
+> whoever pledges the most credits against a name holds it, subject to a defined window for a counter-bid
 
  Our instinctual desire to have confident possession of our property makes LBRY's resveration-only name system feel off. However, it has strong economic underpinnings. Famed economist Ronald Coase made the insight that as long as property rights are clearly defined and there are sufficiently low transaction costs, an efficient outcome will result regardless of the initial allocation of property.
 
@@ -70,4 +83,4 @@ Exposing even a straightforward creation to the public is daunting. LBRY, with s
 
 Despite this, no one said "I don't get it" or "you're crazy". Some people certainly got it faster than others, but everyone saw the need and the opportunity. People were excited. While we'll admit our early testing grounds are favorable (tech groups and a liberty festivals), the reaction has been equally favorable. Every interaction leaves us more inspired to create the most egalitarian, efficient library the world has ever seen.
 
-LBRY Screenshot
+![LBRY Screenshot](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CI2n8ClWsAAFlrG.png)

blog/posts/04-meet-the-lbry-founders.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
-title: Meet the LBRY Founders
 author: jeremy
-date: 2015-07-28
+title: Meet the LBRY Founders
+date: '2015-07-28 15:00:00'
 ---
 
 Here about LBRY straight from the horse's mouth. If there were two horses, that is. And the horses had created a revolutionary system for distributing information.

blog/posts/06-lbry-promo-video-raw-footage.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: LBRY Promo Video Raw Footage
+date: '2015-08-06 17:08:53'
+---
+
+<iframe width="770" height="433" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5HSKK1tbD-o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"></iframe>

blog/posts/09-introducing-lbry-the-bitcoin-of-content.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: 'Introducing LBRY: The Bitcoin of Content'
+date: '2015-09-09 13:28:35'
+---
+
+### New Startup Applies Blockchain Technology to Music, Movies, and More
+
+Welcome to LBRY (pronounced “library”) – the first decentralized, open source, fully encrypted content distribution service built using the same blockchain technology that underlies Bitcoin.
+
+File sharing went mainstream with Napster. For the first time, content could be shared easily on a peer-to-peer basis – but only within a closed ecosystem. Since then, BitTorrent has made file sharing safer and faster – but requires websites to post links and depends on individual hosts to offer content for free. LBRY is the next evolution.
+
+“BitTorrent is too complicated, too centralized, and has bad incentives,” said Jeremy Kauffman, co-founder of LBRY. “LBRY solves the problem using blockchain technology, encryption, and a built-in marketplace. What Bitcoin is doing for money, LBRY will do for content.”
+
+Content in LBRY is encrypted by its publisher, then cut apart and distributed to a decentralized network of host servers. LBRY hosts do not know the content of the encrypted files they store, and nobody can access the complete content without the publisher’s unique decryption key. The publisher can exchange the key for a specified number of LBRY credits – a cryptocurrency native to the LBRY protocol.
+
+Not only do LBRY publishers literally hold the keys to their content, the end-user experience is vastly improved compared to torrents. By encrypting and distributing content across the blockchain, LBRY provides a one-step streaming and downloading experience to the content-consuming patron.
+
+Here’s what a publisher and patron relationship looks like in LBRY:
+
+1. Filmmaker Jessica wants to release her new original documentary, Library of the Future.
+
+1. Jessica reserves a LBRY name – lbry://futurelibraryfilm – that points to her content. This LBRY name can also include a description and photos of her content.
+
+1. The film is encrypted and sliced into many pieces. These pieces are distributed to hosts. Jessica has now “published” her film in LBRY.
+
+1. Patron John wants to watch the movie, so he visits lbry://futurelibraryfilm and pays 5 credits to decrypt and watch the film. Those credits go to compensate Jessica for publishing the work and the many hosts for storing the content.
+
+1. John’s LBRY client seamlessly streams or downloads the film by collecting the pieces from the hosts and reassembling them.
+
+Every party to this transaction has had a better experience than they would have with ad-supported platforms like Youtube, subscription services like Netflix, or hunting for torrent links.
+
+For publishers, LBRY is the least expensive content distribution platform available – and increases the likelihood that they will get paid for their content. Content remains entirely in the control of the publisher, with no licensing or other claims by LBRY. In fact, by design, the content publisher retains complete control of their works – LBRY has no “admins” who even have the ability to remove content from the network. They can also offer their content at memorable, branded names like “lbry://futurelibraryfilm”, rather than pointing patrons to a centralized URL or complicated magnet link.
+
+Meanwhile, patrons get more available content due to better incentives and a seamless experience that even technophobes can understand.
+
+LBRY is the latest of a series of crypto-apps released over the past year that utilize the blockchain to provide maximum decentralization of services, and certainly the first designed for users outside the tech community. When it goes to full release in Q4:15, LBRY’s founders expect it to immediately improve the lives of any user who produces or consumes content. It may be the vehicle that takes blockchain tech to the masses.
+
+*The creators of LBRY are extending members of the press a first-peek preview and demonstration of the system. You are invited to a live demo hosted by co-creator Jeremy Kauffman on Tuesday, September 15th at 11am ET. Please RSVP by contacting press liaison Mike Vine at 917-719-6333 or mike@lbry.io.*

blog/posts/10-slides-from-media-demo.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Slides From Media Demo
+date: '2015-09-16 14:05:13'
+---
+
+<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eKr0GOj8dn6IsTpvGOhNXYZPbrF4MwN_Wkab4QUgNHc/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=60000" frameborder="0" width="760" height="456" allowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true"></iframe>

blog/posts/11-testimony-to-subcommittee-on-hb552-to-legalize-bitcoin-for-payments-of-taxes-and-fees.md

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: "Testimony to Subcommittee on NH HB552, To Legalize Bitcoin for Payments of Taxes and Fees"
+date: '2015-09-17 02:49:17'
+---
+
+*(This is prepared testimony on [NH bill HB552](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2015/HB0552.html) to be given Thursday, September 17th, 2015. Thanks to Christopher David of [Leonine](http://leonine.io/) for setting this up!)*
+
+Honorable Representatives of the Committee:
+
+As an expert on these issues and someone would like to bring more technology jobs to this state, I would be remiss if I did not testify on this bill.
+
+First, some background. At 30, in just the last few years, I have built a company that processes tens of millions of dollars in online merchandise and employs nine professionals. With my latest venture, I expect to do better. And I’d like to do better right here in New Hampshire.
+
+Along with most technologists, I am resolutely convinced that the innovations of Bitcoin will play a tremendous impact on the future of the world. However, that innovation also means changing the ways that things are done. Innovation can also upset people who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.
+
+Some states, like New York, have reacted to this change with fear. They’ve created a climate that is actively hostile to electronic currencies. What is the result? An exodus of startups from New York. Those aren’t my words by the way -- [they’re from Fortune magazine](http://fortune.com/2015/08/14/bitcoin-startups-leave-new-york-bitlicense/).
+
+If you’re not a nerd under 35, you might not realize how much press this will get among a crowd of people that are tremendously desirable to this state. The types of people that bring jobs and tax revenue.
+
+This bill is an opportunity. An opportunity for the New Hampshire legislature to broadcast to technology companies around the entire world that this is the place to come and build your business. The fact that this is a place where laws like this are even being considered caught my attention and was part of why I moved here. Please, do not pass up this chance to trumpet your support for innovation and technology.
+
+Additionally, I’ve answered the 3 questions proposed by Treasurer Ohm.
+
+*1) Should the Treasurer accept commodities for payments? (The IRS has classified bitcoin as a commodity)*
+
+With no offense to Mr. Ohm, no one is asking for him to accept payment in Hard Red Wheat #3. A better way to ask this question is, “Should the Treasurer accept a method of payment that is desired by the people and their representatives, costs the state little money and no risk, and has the potential to bring jobs to the state?”
+
+My answer is a resolute yes.
+
+*2) If so, what commodities should be accepted? Stocks, bonds, gold bars, bitcoins, etc?*
+
+My answer is inferable from above. The Treasurer should accept any method of payment that is desired by the people and costs the state little money or risk. Jobs are just a bonus.
+
+Also note that Bitcoin is not like the other items mentioned as it is a payment system.
+
+*3) What are the risks in liquidating the commodity?*
+
+Bitcoin processors offer an ability to convert to dollars instantly. You can be absolutely, 100% guaranteed that you will get the exact dollar amount specified as due by companies backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital. Bitcoin processors are not dubious operations, they are highly reputable. Practically every major bank in the entire world is pouring millions of dollars into this technology right now.
+
+Additionally, whichever processor lands the New Hampshire government will be a huge coup for the company. The ability to award this contract alone will offer immediate positive effects.
+
+
+Thank You,
+
+Jeremy Kauffman
+Entrepreneur, CEO of [LBRY](http://lbry.io) and [TopScore](http://usetopscore.com)
+
+![LBRY](http://lbry.io/img/header-logo-dark.png)

blog/posts/12-why-not-use-bitcoin-a-dialogue.md

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Why Not Use Bitcoin? A Dialogue
+date: '2015-09-23 17:57:00'
+---
+
+One of the most common questions we're asked is, "Why not use Bitcoin?" This post uses a pair of conversations to look at one of the biggest reasons we can't. If you aren't concerned with this question or the technical specifics of LBRY, this post probably won't interest you.
+
+### Dialogue #1
+
+Characters: **User**, a potential user of a generic blockchain; **Thin Node**, a partial node for a generic blockchain; and **Full Node**, a complete node for a generic blockchain.
+
+*User enters the view, where Thin Node has been sitting around patiently waiting and consuming virtually no resources. Thin Node does not have a copy of the whole blockchain, because that would eat up resources, and User doesn’t want him doing that. Maybe User doesn’t have 40 gigabytes of space on the device he’s using, or is not interested in wasting bandwidth downloading each new full block that comes across the network. All the User wants to know is what a name resolves to on the blockchain.*
+
+User: Hey Thin Node, would you mind finding some information for me?
+Thin Node: Hey User, glad to see you again. I’d love to help if I can.
+User: Can you tell me what the name ‘wonderfullife’ resolves to on your blockchain?
+Thin Node: Let me see what I can do.
+
+*Thin Node opens up a connection to Full Node, which uses non-trivial amounts of resources to keep a full copy of the blockchain.*
+
+Thin Node: Hey Full Node, my User asked me for the value of the name ‘wonderfullife’ on our blockchain. Can you help me with that?
+Full Node: Sure, it’s *<insert 8 kb of data>*.
+Thin Node: Thanks. Can you prove to me that your answer is correct? This is a blockchain after all, so if possible, I’d like to trust nothing except the blockchain consensus.
+Full Node: Sure, I can send you all of the blocks that are relevant.
+Thin Node: But wait, what if you’re holding relevant blocks back from me? Aren’t I still trusting you?
+Full Node: Ya, I guess. Do you want the full copy of the blockchain?
+Thin Node: No, User told me not to do that. I guess I’ll just have to trust you.
+
+*Exit Full Node.*
+
+Thin Node: Hey User, that was kind of a weird experience. I think the answer is *<insert 8 kb of data>*, but I’m basing that on trusting some random node on the internet.
+User: Aren’t you a blockchain client? Why aren’t you using blockchain consensus to verify that?
+Thin Node: I’d have to download the whole blockchain, and you told me not to do that.
+User: You’re worthless! Why were you designed this way?
+
+*Exit User.*
+
+Thin Node: I am worthless. Why was I designed this way?
+
+
+
+
+### Dialogue #2
+Characters: **User**, a potential user of LBRY; **Thin Node**, a partial node for LBRY; and **Full Node**, a complete node for LBRY.
+
+*User enters the view, where Thin Node has been sitting around patiently waiting and consuming virtually no resources. Thin Node does not have a copy of the whole blockchain, but instead watches the network to see which chain is the longest. He keeps the latest few hundred block headers, which each consume around 100 bytes of space and therefore at most a few kilobytes per hour of bandwidth. He believes that if a block header has several block headers following it, and he can’t find a longer chain of block headers following any other block header at that height, then it’s safe to assume the network has come to a consensus on the validity of that block header at that height.*
+
+User: Hey Thin Node, would you mind finding some information for me?
+Thin Node: Hey User, glad to see you again. I’d love to help if I can.
+User: Can you tell me what the name ‘wonderfullife’ resolves to on your blockchain?
+Thin Node: Let me see what I can do.
+
+*Thin Node opens up a connection to Full Node, which uses non-trivial amounts of resources to keep a full copy of the LBRY blockchain.*
+
+Thin Node: Hey Full Node, my User asked me for the value of the name ‘wonderfullife’ on our blockchain. Can you help me with that?
+Full Node: Sure, it’s *<insert 8 kb of data>*.
+Thin Node: Thanks. Can you prove to me that your answer is correct? This is a blockchain after all, so if possible, I’d like to trust nothing except the blockchain consensus.
+Full Node: Sure, do you see that extra field in our block header which no other blockchain has?
+Thin Node: Ya, I see it.
+Full Node: Great. You’ll use that field shortly to prove my answer to yourself. First, though, what’s the hash of a block header that you have trusted using blockchain consensus?
+Thin Node: It’s *<insert hash>*.
+Full Node: OK, here’s a teeny tiny fraction of all of the data stored in our blockchain. It’s just enough for you to prove to yourself cryptographically that I’m not lying to you, as long as you trust that number you sent me and modern cryptography in general.
+Thin Node: Wow, it all checks out! I’ll let my User know. Thanks Full Node!
+
+*Exit Full Node.*
+
+Thin Node: Hey User, that was an awesome experience. The answer is <insert 4 kb of data>, and I’m as sure of that as I am that the whole entire blockchain I’m based on is secure. And I verified it quickly and easily, without having to use tons of network resources and storage space!
+User: That’s awesome, Thin Node! I love you!
+Thin Node: I am awesome. I love you too, User.
+
+*And they lived happily ever after.*
+
+
+### Conclusion
+
+LBRY is best thought of as an application or a protocol, not a cryptocurrency. As such, it requires a blockchain designed specifically to solve the problems that LBRY faces.
+
+If you found this interesting and would like to check out LBRY, go to [lbry.io/get](http://lbry.io/get).

blog/posts/13-mike-vine-joins-lbry-as-technology-evangelist-2.md

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Mike Vine Joins LBRY as Technology Evangelist
+date: '2015-10-22 15:55:07'
+---
+
+*Manchester NH (October 22, 2015)* - LBRY Inc., creator of a new blockchain-based content distribution platform, announced Mike Vine has signed on as the first addition to its executive team. As LBRY’s Technology Evangelist, Vine will be charged with explaining the value proposition of what looks to be among the first-released of a new generation of “cryptoapps” based on Bitcoin’s blockchain architecture.
+
+![Mike Vine](http://i.imgur.com/SY0Th7W.jpg?1)
+
+Vine has been involved in the world of Bitcoin since 2011, when a writer at his media agency Centinel Consulting taught him about the emerging digital currency. After going “down the rabbit hole,” as Bitcoiners are fond of describing their initial infatuation with the technology, Vine bought his first bits through the first prototype Lamassu Bitcoin ATM at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum in 2012. Since then, he has watched friends become millionaires – but more importantly to him, also witnessed the big influence they’ve had in enabling individual freedom. Vine would go on to organize PorcFest X, a massive libertarian festival which at the time set the record for largest face-to-face Bitcoin marketplace in the world.
+
+Professionally, Mike Vine has worked in marketing communications for 6 years, starting at a brokerage house on Wall Street before founding his own firm in 2011. Centinel Consulting has since worked with clients on both Wall Street and Main Street, with an emphasis on helping everyday investors understand economics and the markets. Centinel has been profitable from inception and employs 7 people from its offices in Portsmouth NH.
+
+Though LBRY may seem to be a departure from his roots, Vine begs to differ:
+
+“LBRY is basically a way to distribute content, like music, films, and ebooks – but what makes it tick is a deep understanding of economics. LBRY can have a very simple naming system for finding content thanks to the theories of Henry George and Ronald Coase. It has a built-in currency for micropayments to publishers that is the result of sound money advocates from Ludwig Von Mises to Ron Paul. On the front end, this system allows users to just get the content they want quickly and easily. But behind the scenes, there is a heady brew of technology and scholarship that allows it to function so well.”
+
+LBRY is now in invite-only alpha release. Vine’s first major initiative is to recruit a swarm of developers to poke and prod the platform until it’s ready for beta, and then full release this winter. Meanwhile, he will be speaking to the press and public about a future where Netflix, Youtube, and iTunes are replaced with a decentralized network that puts the power of publishing and consuming media in the hands of the individual.

blog/posts/14-lbry-gets-content-creators-out-of-precarious-position-daily-decrypts-amanda-b-johnson.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: "LBRY Gets Content Creators Out of Precarious Position - Daily Decrypt's Amanda B. Johnson"
+date: '2015-10-26 15:10:51'
+---
+
+*This is a guest post from Amanda B. Johnson of [The Daily Decrypt](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNCLd2r19wpWWQE6yDLOOQ).*
+
+I am the host of *The Daily Decrypt*, a newscast about cryptocurrency and P2P tech. We publish our videos on YouTube, and our podcasts go on SoundCloud. These platforms allow us to potentially reach millions of people, which is great, but they also come with one glaring risk that hardly anyone talks about:
+
+Our content could be taken down at any time.
+
+![Video Unavailable](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/YouTube_blocked_country_en.png)
+
+This has happened to others before. YouTube celebrities like [Nicole Arbour](https://pedestrian.tv/news/entertainment/youtuber-responsible-for-dear-fat-people-told-to-s/c0f16051-d842-479a-a488-c7303cdefeb7.htm) have posted videos expressing unpopular opinions, and not only have their videos been deleted by YouTube, but their entire channels have been suspended. Other content creators like [Heather Feather](https://www.patreon.com/heatherfeather?ty=h), whose channels are comprised solely of original footage, have had trolls file false "copyright" pings on their channels to disable the monetization of their videos.
+
+Nicole Arbour and Heather Feather make their livings from their YouTube videos. When all it takes is a single act of censorship to shut down a business in part (or wholly), content creators are at risk.
+
+This risk has a simple name: single point of failure. The more single points of failure an operation has, the more likely the operation is to experience failure at some point. And censorship isn't even the only risk!
+
+For example, what if YouTube were DDoS'd for a week straight? Or what if SoundCloud went out of business? What if an Indian ISP started blocking SoundCloud and some of my listeners could no longer access my content? Hell, what if an executive at YouTube decides that my haircut is stupid and that I should be banned from having a channel? (This is an extreme example, but it is perfectly possible.)
+
+These risks are what attracts The Daily Decrypt team to LBRY. The LBRY protocol incorporates the benefit of BitTorrent – that is, multiple users sharing content to avoid single points of failure – and cryptocurrency run on a blockchain, which ensures that monetary incentives are correctly directed at content providers, hosts, and network miners.
+
+In Bitcoin, if one or a hundred or even a thousand "hosts" go offline, Bitcoin still lives on. And so it would be with LBRY. A loss of LBRY hosts would not spell a loss of LBRY content itself; not spell a loss of content creators' hard-built businesses.
+
+This is what censorship-resistance looks like. As information itself becomes more integral – not only to our livelihoods, but to our lives – the most censorship-resistant tools will emerge as the preferable choice. The Daily Decrypt hopes to be among the first to host our content using such a tool.
+
+![Amanda](http://tracesofreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/amanda-billyrock.jpg)
+
+**Amanda B. Johnson** is host of [The Daily Decrypt](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNCLd2r19wpWWQE6yDLOOQ). She has written on cryptocurrencies for Bitcoin Magazine, CoinTelegraph, Bitcoin.com, and Liberty.me.
+
+*Are you a content creator who is tired of middle men standing between you and your audience? [Sign up](http://lbry.io/get) to be reminded when LBRY launches and we'll see you there!*

blog/posts/15-renowned-ip-attorney-kinsella-joins-lbry-cryptoapp-as-legal-advisor.md

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Renowned IP Attorney Kinsella Joins LBRY As Legal Advisor
+date: '2015-10-29 13:57:25'
+---
+
+LBRY Inc., the startup behind a new blockchain-based content distribution platform, now has some serious intellectual and legal muscle on board with the addition of one of the country’s leading experts on intellectual property law.
+
+Stephan Kinsella has joined the executive team of LBRY Inc. as Legal Advisor, helping the company navigate complex US and international copyright laws as they seek to radically upend the media industry.
+
+![Stephan Kinsella](http://i.imgur.com/oKoXXO2.jpg?1)
+
+*<p style="text-align: center;">Stephan Kinsella, J.D. LL.M., Author and IP Attorney</p>*
+
+LBRY is the first decentralized, open-source, fully encrypted content distribution service built using the same blockchain technology that underlies Bitcoin. Kinsella was inspired to get involved by the platform’s potential to empower individual content creators, allowing them to connect directly with consumers, thereby cutting out mammoth distribution middlemen like iTunes, Netflix, and YouTube.
+
+“People have asked me to get involved in all manner of projects to help independent artists and consumers avoid the licensing quagmires of the ‘Big Six’ major media companies. It’s a Herculean task. Yet LBRY is amazingly well thought-out and implemented, and I think it might have a shot at really making a difference. I am pleased to be able to help navigate the legal challenges of launching a venture of this scale,” he said.
+
+Kinsella practices as an independent registered patent attorney in Houston. He is the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom. Kinsella was formerly a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group of Duane Morris LLP and served as general counsel for Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. He brings over twenty years’ law firm and in-house experience in patent, IP, and general commercial and corporate law to the LBRY team. Kinsella also maintains a high profile in the academic world, publishing numerous articles and 5 books, including *International Investment*, *Political Risk*, *Dispute Resolution: A Practitioner’s Guide* (Oxford University Press, 2005), and *Against Intellectual Property* (Mises Institute, 2008).
+
+Kinsella received an LL.M. in international business law from King’s College London, a JD from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU, and BSEE and MSEE degrees from LSU.
+
+LBRY Technology Evangelist Mike Vine said he was thrilled with the addition of Kinsella to the team, noting that he brings unparalleled legal expertise to the table:
+
+“Stephan Kinsella is exactly the man you want on your team when starting a content revolution. As a distinguished practitioner of IP law and also a fierce critic of its excesses, Stephan understands why the world is ready for LBRY. His advice will be invaluable as we create a marketplace for content unlike any that have come before.”

blog/posts/16-digging-into-lbry.md

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: 'Digging Into LBRY: Our Inspiration & The Future of Content'
+date: '2015-11-05 21:08:22'
+---
+
+In the past week, LBRY was featured in two major Bitcoin publications – CoinTelegraph <a href="http://cointelegraph.com/news/115518/lbry-the-lovechild-of-bitcoin-bittorrent-storj" target="_blank">LBRY: The Lovechild of Bitcoin, BitTorrent & Storj</a> and Bitcoin.com <a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/lbry-decentralized-sharing-platform/" target="_blank">LBRY: The Decentralized Sharing Platform</a>. Both articles are lengthy interviews with our team. We've excerpted some of our favorite questions below.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/cVOaKZK.jpg" alt="Digital content at your fingertips"></p>
+<p style="text-align: center;">
+
+<p style="text-align: center;">**<a href="http://cointelegraph.com/news/115518/lbry-the-lovechild-of-bitcoin-bittorrent-storj" target="_blank">CoinTelegraph</a>: What was the inspiration for LBRY?**
+
+**Jeremy Kauffman:** LBRY was inspired by a number of things. It was clearly inspired by Bitcoin – seeing the power of the blockchain in reaching consensus without a central authority. It was also inspired by BitTorrent, which is an absolutely brilliant protocol with an unfortunately flawed incentive structure.
+
+It was inspired by the fact that governments, ISPs, and media companies seem to want to treat their customers as something between supplicants and criminals. It was inspired by AirBnB and Uber in that LBRY empowers small-scale entrepreneurs and increases the efficiency of unused resources.
+
+It was inspired by the love of markets and an appreciation for how they facilitate human flourishing. It is inspired by economics, the Coase theorem, and too much time listening to EconTalk. It is inspired by the awful behavior that the biggest torrent clients demonstrate towards their users.
+
+It is inspired by the fact that there has got to be a better way to find, buy, and sell something as simple as a number.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;">**<a href="http://cointelegraph.com/news/115518/lbry-the-lovechild-of-bitcoin-bittorrent-storj" target="_blank">CoinTelegraph</a>: What has been the biggest challenge in development? What about the greatest reward?**
+
+**Kauffman:** One unique difficulty in developing a blockchain-based protocol/application is the difficulty in revising it. Great products are typically created through iteration. But by design, it’s nearly impossible to revise a cryptocurrency once it’s in the wild. To mitigate this, we’re trying to roll out LBRY slowly, as well as have several of its aspects be conventions rather than core properties.
+
+The greatest reward by far is the feeling that you are on to something absolutely huge. The potential to significantly improve the efficiency of sharing information and knowledge and make a buck doing it? Who wouldn’t want to wake up to that?
+
+<p style="text-align: center;">**<a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/lbry-decentralized-sharing-platform/" target="_blank">Bitcoin.com</a>: What are some of the current flaws within the system today that LBRY helps solve?**
+
+**Mike Vine:** There isn’t really a system. There are many systems, and some are better than others. Services like NetFlix and Hulu helped to break cable’s monopoly on TV content. YouTube allowed anyone to upload original content for a mass audience. But these are still centralized services. They are corporations that offer particular services according to their Terms of Use – or effectively, at their pleasure.
+
+The risks of this came to the fore just last week with <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/21/an-offer-creators-cant-refuse/" target="_blank">YouTube strong-arming publishers into its new “Red” premium service</a>. Another example from a different industry is a few years back when Facebook starting throttling Page owners’ access to their own followers – many of which they had paid to accumulate. The lesson is that if you’re using a system that has a higher authority, you’re always vulnerable.
+
+LBRY is an open-source protocol, like the ones that form the backbone of the internet. LBRY Inc. supports the development of the protocol, but it doesn’t control it. With the advent of the blockchain era, I think the internet will fulfill its promise of radically decentralizing the flow of information. We hope LBRY will be a big part of that.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;">**<a href="http://cointelegraph.com/news/115518/lbry-the-lovechild-of-bitcoin-bittorrent-storj" target="_blank">CoinTelegraph</a>: The IPFS is probably the most similar concept to LBRY right now. Why do you think that incorporating a native blockchain with user payments is superior to IPFS's approach?**
+
+**Jimmy Kiselak:** LBRY is about distributing data fast, and to do that it needs to be able to handle the fact that not all data is alike. IPFS relies on the same sort of planned sharing incentives as BitTorrent.
+
+We believe that if we don’t lay down rules for where data should be and who should be uploading it, but instead create a decentralized market where users directly pay hosts for the data they’re downloading, entrepreneurs will do a far better job of figuring out how to deliver data than any planned system like BitTorrent or IPFS could.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;">**<a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/lbry-decentralized-sharing-platform/" target="_blank">Bitcoin.com</a>: How does this service resemble BitTorrent?**
+
+**Kauffman:** It resembles BitTorrent in the ways that the data is actually transferred. LBRY is driven by a distributed hash table quite similar to the one that BitTorrent uses. It was also inspired by BitTorrent in that BitTorrent is generally a community of people interested in sharing access to information and knowledge. LBRY shares the same goals and extends existing torrents as a way of bootstrapping it’s network.
+
+**Vine:** LBRY can actually accept torrent links as key values on the blockchain. So out of the gate, it will function as the world’s easiest torrent client. Instead of sending someone a complicated hyperlink, an independent artist can just say “Go to LBRY and type in hipster shorts to find my films.” But we expect LBRY’s built-in content hosting model to supplement or replace BitTorrent over time because of better incentives for everyone involved.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;">**<a href="http://cointelegraph.com/news/115518/lbry-the-lovechild-of-bitcoin-bittorrent-storj" target="_blank">CoinTelegraph</a>: Which use-case in particular do you believe would be LBRY's "killer app"? Listeners looking for new music? Indie cultists looking for obscure French films? Something else?**
+
+**Kauffman:** We’re hesitant to speculate. LBRY is designed to gracefully extend BitTorrent, so at a minimum we expect LBRY to be a better BitTorrent client.
+
+However, we think LBRY will be far more than this and be used in ways we cannot imagine today. All we can say with confidence is LBRY is a fundamentally better way to distribute and access all consumer-oriented information, full stop.
+
+**Vine:** LBRY is definitely designed with the independent artist in mind. Unlike BitTorrent, LBRY’s protocol actually incentivizes hosts to make available “obscure French indie films,” as you say. With BitTorrent, the greater number of people seeding and leeching a file, the faster it goes for everyone. That’s bad for obscure works.
+
+LBRY’s hosts are motivated by what price people are paying for a given piece of a file, so as long as those indie cultists are willing to pony up a few more credits to get Un Chien Parlez-vous, it should remain readily available. Also, artists don’t have much of an incentive to make their works available on BitTorrent because there is no built-in payment system.
+
+With LBRY, artists have a turnkey publishing, distribution, and payment platform – all encapsulated in a neat little LBRY name like lbry://hipstershorts. Over time, LBRY’s killer app will be its lower cost and greater reach than centralized media.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;">**<a href="http://cointelegraph.com/news/115518/lbry-the-lovechild-of-bitcoin-bittorrent-storj" target="_blank">CoinTelegraph</a>: Do you envision content distributors, hosts, or miners being able to make a living by their LBRY work?**
+
+**Kauffman:** The “big five” of media (film, video games, TV, music, and books) see over US$2 trillion per year. We think LBRY can play a role in the distribution of all of this. This answer is a verbose “Yes!”
+
+**Vine:** Not only a living, but that mythical unicorn of the working world: a passive income. Instead of Uber, this is more like a ridesharing app where people can fill empty seats in your car for whichever direction you might be headed. But unlike with human travelers, data is not too picky about where it sits or what route it takes to where it’s going.
+
+So devoting hard drive space or bandwidth to LBRY is like suddenly filling your car on daily commutes with paying customers who keep to themselves and get out where you tell them. It’s a pretty sweet deal.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;">**<a href="http://cointelegraph.com/news/115518/lbry-the-lovechild-of-bitcoin-bittorrent-storj" target="_blank">Read the full CoinTelegraph interview here.</a>
+<a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/lbry-decentralized-sharing-platform/" target="_blank">Read the full Bitcoin.com interview here.</a>**

blog/posts/17-rpi-hackers-meet-lbry-rcos-presentation.md

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: RPI Hackers Meet LBRY (Notes and Slides from RCOS Presentation)
+date: '2015-11-17 01:29:07'
+---
+
+Last Friday, we had the pleasure of presenting LBRY to [RCOS](http://rcos.rpi.edu/), the Rensselaer Center for Open Source Software. Jimmy was a member of this group when he attended RPI and I certainly would have if I known it had existed! In the years since I attended RPI it's grown from a handful of students to this:
+
+![RCOS 2015](http://rcos.rpi.edu/site-media/rcos/images/spring2015-group.jpg)
+
+### Our Slides
+
+We gave a short overview of LBRY aimed at an audience that would already know BitTorrent, Bitcoin, and programming. On the slide that shows how LBRY works from a user's perspective, we gave a live streaming demo.
+
+<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eS1nFGjbPHOt_B8aMVqrylvYNnSRm2J_vI7BACztmVY/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=60000" frameborder="0" width="760" height="456" allowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
+
+
+### Reaction
+The RCOS attendees expressed a lot of interest in LBRY and asked some great questions like:
+
+* How is this different from [Sia Coin](https://sia.tech/)? (Sia makes promises we do not and our naming/design is focused on discovery. We have clearer path to traction by extending BitTorrent.)
+* What can you do to keep content infringing on copyright off the network? (We cannot remove it, but we cannot emphasize enough that this is a terrible idea and that you are liable if you do this. We are allocating a lot of resources to getting right's holders on board.)
+* Can you be sure LBRY's naming system will result in right's holders owning names? (You can never be certain of anything, but we think economic theory sure makes it likely.)
+* How does LBRY extending BitTorrent work? (Metadata stored in LBRY blockchain maps to a torrent hash.)
+* I've literally never been as excited about anything as this in my entire life. (Thanks, Jimmy's brother.)
+
+We were also able to listen to a number of presentations by students, with the most interesting being [Pandamonium](https://github.com/mwdewey/pandamonium), a "network emulator for testing chaotic environments". In our estimation, one could certainly test chaos with this device indeed.
+
+Additional thanks to [Mukkai Krishnamoorthy](http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~moorthy/) who hosted us.
+
+
+

blog/posts/18-its-time-to-liberate-anne-franks-diary.md

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: It’s Time To Liberate Anne Frank’s Diary
+date: '2015-11-18 14:27:39'
+---
+
+It’s time to liberate Anne Frank’s diary so it is available to all of mankind.
+
+But extreme US copyright law may keep that from happening. The current battle over the diary illustrates one of the biggest problems with centralized systems – their potential for abuse.
+
+You’re probably familiar with *The Diary of Anne Frank*, also known as *The Diary of a Young Girl*. The book features the writings of a young teenage girl as she hid from the Nazis for two years in the occupied Netherlands.
+
+Anne died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945 at the age of 15. Herein lies the roots of the copyright battle over her diary.
+
+The Anne Frank Fonds now holds the copyright. The foundation was set up by Anne’s father, Otto Frank, before his death in 1980. Under the law, the diary should become public domain on January 1, 2016 – 70 years after Anne’s death. But Anne Frank Fonds now claims Otto was a coauthor, even though he was previously considered the “editor.” The foundation now insists Otto’s coauthorship extends the copyright to 2050 – 70 years after *his* death.
+
+Of course, Anne Frank Fonds stands to collect a significant amount of money in royalties over that time.
+
+"It is wrong to assume that the copyrights to Anne Frank’s Diaries would be due to expire in the near future, or that anyone would be free to use and publish them without permission," the organization said.
+
+As the Los Angeles Times put it, this is “[a disturbing perversion of copyright principles](http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-anne-frank-s-diary-20151116-column.html).”
+
+Michael Hiltzik goes on:
+
+> “Instead of providing a limited monopoly to creators to promote the flow of artistic works to the public, it's become a practically limitless source of income to creators' heirs – sometimes generations removed – and corporate rights holders.”
+
+The truth of the matter is it’s not generally creators’ heirs that reap the financial rewards. It’s often large corporations that use the law like a billy club to keep things out of the public domain and maintain the flow of royalties.
+
+An article on [BoingBoing](http://boingboing.net/2015/11/14/copyfraud-anne-frank-foundati.html) characterized Anne Frank Fonds’ legal maneuvering as “fraud.” By suddenly and inexplicably transforming Otto’s role from a mere editor to a coauthor, the foundation insured itself a steady stream of revenue for years to come. As a result, the general public may will likely be denied general access to this historically significant work.
+
+As Rick Falkvinge argues, these archaic copyright laws simply [don’t work in the Internet age](https://torrentfreak.com/anne-frank-scandal-an-underreported-copyright-monopoly-abuse-151115/):
+
+> “The Internet is the single most important piece of infrastructure we have, and policymakers are letting an old printing monopoly decide how it can and cannot be used – which should be cause for revolts and uprisings. Instead, oldmedia are collectively treating it with a yawn, while tech writers who understand the issue are calling a spade a spade.”
+
+
+The real question is why should the distribution of Anne Frank’s diary be limited to one or two players in a monopoly system? If information were set free, you could access the diary in formats and with commentary limited only by our collective creativity.
+
+If not for the archaic copyright monopoly, LBRY could add this significant historical work to its collection. That would make it accessible to people around the world, even in places where traditional book distribution is difficult, or where authoritarian governments might want to censor access to it.
+
+Anne Frank’s Diary wasn’t written to make a buck. It is part of the heritage of humanity and it should be available for everyone to experience.

blog/posts/19-free-lbry-credits-come-and-get-em.md

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: 'Free LBRY Credits: Come and Get ‘Em!'
+date: '2015-11-24 19:43:59'
+---
+
+We are fast approaching the deadline to earn free LBRY credits (LBC) by being an alpha tester of the LBRY protocol. That’s right – we’re giving away 1,000 LBC to anyone who just **tries** to install LBRY, then completes our survey. [Get it here](http://lbry.io/get) and be the first on your block with LBC.
+
+A warm shoutout to Amanda Johnson, who reminded her viewers of this opportunity in the most recent regular episode of [The Daily Decrypt](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNCLd2r19wpWWQE6yDLOOQ/featured).
+<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/rH04oCZ.png" alt="The Daily Decrypt plugs LBRY"></p>
+Here’s what she had to say:
+> "LBRY is an alpha stage protocol right now, which would make content viewable on URIs [Uniform Resource Identifier] which are not HTTP, but rather LBRY-specific URIs. Basically, combining the functionality of BitTorrent with the incentives of Bitcoin and the file storage capabilities of STRJ. They’re looking for people to just try to download and use their alpha software, which has to be done from the command line. If you’re comfortable with that and you’re willing to just download it and tell them how it felt for you, they’ll give you 1,000 LBRY tokens. You just fill out a survey once you’ve completed the download process, send it back to them, and you get the bits."
+
+You may remember Amanda from her guest blog post here last month – [LBRY Gets Content Creators Out of Precarious Position](http://blog.lbry.io/lbry-gets-content-creators-out-of-precarious-position-daily-decrypts-amanda-b-johnson/).
+
+LBRY also owes a thank you to Joël Valenzuela of Liberty Upward, who wrote an article about us last week – [LBRY Leads the Decentralized Information Revolution](http://libertyupward.com/lbry-leads-the-decentralized-information-revolution/). We’re excited to watch people like Joël get excited about LBRY. Free market and blockchain enthusiasts quickly grasp the powerful but simple evolution in content distribution LBRY represents. Joël writes:
+
+> "With LBRY, no one can stop you from publishing your content, or getting compensated. Power is exclusively in the individual’s hands.
+
+> "We’re entering an unprecedented era of free-flowing information. The days of large companies playing the role of gatekeeper between creators and their audience are numbered. At this point, it looks like LBRY is leading the charge."
+

blog/posts/20-open-a-valve-to-gush-classic-movies.md

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Open a Valve to Gush Classic Movies
+date: '2015-12-02 19:04:36'
+---
+
+Hundreds of classic films remain locked away in musty movie studio vaults, just waiting for somebody to make them available to the public.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Au1b610.jpg" alt="The Wild Party, featuring Clara Bow"></p>
+
+Movie history experts estimate some 700 films from the 1930s and 40s are sequestered in the vaults of Universal Pictures alone. As the LA Times points out in a recent article, [a lot of people would love to have access to these classics](http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20151025-column.html):
+
+>“Will McKinley, a New York film writer, is dying to get his hands on a copy of ‘Alias Nick Beal,’ a 1949 film noir starring Ray Milland as a satanic gangster. For classic film blogger Nora Fiore, the Grail might be ‘The Wild Party’ (1929), the first talkie to star 1920's ‘It’ girl Clara Bow, directed by the pioneering female director Dorothy Arzner. Film critic Leonard Maltin says he'd like to score a viewing of ‘Hotel Haywire,’ a 1937 screwball comedy written by the great comic director Preston Sturges.”
+
+Universal and other movie studios recognize the marketable value in classic films, as well as publicity value in serving as responsible stewards of cultural assets. But studios still face a daunting question: how do they make their treasure trove of films accessible to the public in an economically viable way?
+
+Producing DVDs gets expensive, and the market remains limited by the retail distribution network. It costs a lot to employ people, pay rent, and keep the lights on – even if you’re an Amazon warehouse. Some studios have created their own streaming services, but thereagain, the studios incur the cost of developing and maintaining the infrastructure.
+
+"The studios seem to be sitting on a lot of films, but they're limited by budget and by their projected return on investment," Alan Rode, a director of the Film Noir Foundation, told the LA Times. "But it's not like you open a valve and films come gushing out. If they can't realize a profit on it, they're not going to do it."
+
+In fact, LBRY is a valve that could literally gush movies.
+
+The LBRY platform allows movie buffs like Will McKinley and Nora Fiore to connect directly to content published by anyone – including major movie studios. It also lets producers distribute content to niche markets in an economically viable way.
+
+Universal could easily publish “Alias Nick Beal” at the URL lbry://AliasNickBeal. Classic film lovers searching for the movie by title or keyword could then access the link and spend credits to watch the movie. Universal gets paid and the user gets a hassle-free, seamless movie-viewing experience, all without any reserving server space or negotiating complex licensing deals.
+
+LBRY provides just the outlet movie studios need to bring these wonderful classic films out of their musty vaults and into the living rooms of eager movie fans. Let’s open the valve!

blog/posts/21-gmu-economist-alex-tabarrok-joins-lbry.md

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: GMU Economist Alex Tabarrok Joins LBRY
+date: '2015-12-07 17:33:37'
+---
+
+LBRY Inc., the startup employing Bitcoin’s blockchain technology to revolutionize how the world distributes and consumes digital media, has added another renowned advisor to its team.
+
+Economist Alex Tabarrok has joined LBRY as the company’s Economic Advisor. Tabarrok is Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and director of The Center for Study of Public Choice at George Mason. He is a well published author in the field of law and economics, and is perhaps best known for his blog [Marginal Revolution](http://marginalrevolution.com/), a collaboration with fellow GMU economist Tyler Cowen. Tabarrok will provide expert guidance in creating incentives to maximize the utility of the LBRY content marketplace.
+
+<img src="http://lbry.io/img/alex-tabarrok-644x450.jpg" alt="Alex Tabarrok, Economic Advisor to LBRY">
+
+LBRY is the first decentralized, open-source, encrypted content distribution service. It allows content producers to connect directly with consumers, bypassing middlemen like Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and YouTube. LBRY addresses many of the flaws inherent in top-down, centralized content distribution systems, and could fundamentally alter they way we share media.
+
+“LBRY is designing the rules for a new global market that will let suppliers and demanders of information trade more easily, quickly and securely than ever before,” Tabarrok said. “As an economist, the opportunity to help engineer an open, decentralized, incentive-compatible institution with global reach is thrilling!”
+
+His specialties align well with the effort. Tabarrok is a recognized expert in the study of entrepreneurship, the role of structural incentives in the functioning of markets, and patent system reform. These subjects were addressed at length is his most recent book, *Launching the Innovation Renaissance*.
+
+Tabarrok’s deep understanding of how markets function, and his ability to apply timeless economic ideas to new technologies will help move LBRY Inc. forward as it prepares to launch its platform. Tabarrok said:
+
+>"Markets were operating for thousands of years before their principles were well understood. Today, we are using those principles to code new markets with the potential to unlock vast sources of wealth."
+
+Interested in speaking with Tabarrok for a news or tech publication? <a href="mailto:mike@lbry.io">Please email Mike Vine</a>, LBRY's Technology Evangelist, to schedule an interview.

blog/posts/22-building-the-web-3-0-decentralizing-content-in-an-age-of-centralization.md

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: 'Web 3.0 with Albert K Lu: Movies, Songs, and Books with No Gatekeepers (Sorry iTunes)'
+date: '2015-12-09 16:38:00'
+---
+
+Still trying to wrap your head around LBRY? Mike Vine, our Technology Evangelist, explained the nuts and bolt in this interview with Albert K. Lu on *The Power & Market Report*. Vine emphasized that LBRY's vision is to create a decentralized standard for sharing content in an increasingly centralized Internet:
+
+> "One of the key pieces of what I'm calling 'web 3.0' – this new, completely decentralized Internet that runs on blockchains – is that in the world we live in, unfortunately, centralization presents certain risks that are just unavoidable. You can have the most benevolent company in the world, but if a government comes knocking and says, 'You need to take down that content or we're going to shutdown your bank account,' or 'You need to stop accepting bitcoin or we're going to put you out of business,' [the company will] generally make the rational choice to continue on and deal with that. But that makes us all vulnerable."
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u-03CWZeLpc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
+
+**Are you excited about LBRY? Do you want to get involved in building the Internet of the future? Become an alpha tester today and earn 1000 LBRY credits – [sign up here](http://lbry.io/get).**

blog/posts/23-bravenewcoin.md

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: 'BraveNewCoin Compares LBRY to Alexandria: Who Will Be the First to Supplant BitTorrent?'
+date: '2015-12-17 21:55:57'
+---
+
+If you haven't heard, LBRY has a little competition – Alexandria, "The People's Library". Now don't get us wrong; LBRY welcomes competition! In fact, we're enthusiastic supporters of anyone who wants to put more power in the hands of individuals by building more effective markets for information. Heck, we even engaged in some innocent crypto-flirting with Alexandria this week:
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/KFfWju3.png" alt="LBRY & Alexandria crypto-flirt on Twitter"></p>
+
+Perhaps our biggest critique of Alexandria is their waste of money in buying all those vowels ;).
+
+But to the point. [BraveNewCoin published the first side-by-side comparison of LBRY and Alexandria this week](http://bravenewcoin.com/news/alexandria-vs-lbry-which-will-be-the-file-sharing-application-of-the-next-generation/). The article is thorough and fair, highlighting what we believe to be one of LBRY's strongest asset:
+
+>"Perhaps the most interesting difference is the naming system, which works a lot like the internet's Domain Naming System (DNS).
+
+>"LBRYIn much the same way you would register a domain name for your website that starts with an 'http://', in LBRY, you would register a name for each piece of content that you want to share, and those start with 'lbry://'.
+
+>"The idea is that web browsers will eventually read those links automatically, so that you can simply click on an URL like 'lbry://wonderfullife'  in order to watch the movie 'It's a wonderful life.'"
+
+There's just one detail BraveNewCoin gets wrong in their conclusion:
+
+> "Both Alexandria and LBRY have their strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps both will find a niche and thrive. Without accepting bitcoins, however, LBRY could have a very hard time convincing users to buy and use an additional currency. Meanwhile, Alexandria has a clear lead in development. No matter which succeeds, we can all look forward to new ways for publishers to distribute content."
+
+The truth is that the LBRY protocol will allow patrons to pay publishers and hosts in BTC, though the default is LBC (LBRY credits). So as far as the patron is concerned, LBRY can run on bitcoin. The only time a user must use LBC is to reserve a name to ​**publish**​ content.
+
+You don't have to take our word for it – start playing with the LBRY protocol yourself! [Sign up here to become an Alpha Tester and earn 1,000 LBC](http://lbry.io/get).
+
+
+
+
+

blog/posts/24-our-christmas-surprise.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Our Christmas Surprise!
+date: '2015-12-24 02:27:31'
+---
+
+We at LBRY have spent the past several months talking up our protocol. It’s the world’s first decentralized, censorship-resistant, open-source, peer-to-peer information marketplace. It’s one part Bitcoin, one part Bittorrent, and one part improved DNS. It takes uploaded media, encrypts it, splits it into a thousand pieces, and sends it to hosts around the world – only to reassemble it instantly when you click “Stream” or “Download.” That is to say, it’s a fancy and complicated piece of machinery.
+
+“But what can we *DO* with it?”, you ask.
+
+Today, we reveal the answer.
+
+All of our talk of indie artists and global content distribution was really a red herring. LBRY is actually designed to do one thing and one thing only: play the film *It’s A Wonderful Life*.
+
+We’re actually shocked how many of you didn’t notice this. In all of our promotional materials, only one piece of content is ever accessed. That’s right, *It’s A Wonderful Life*.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KqwbsTbeEgo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
+
+We have put the genius of Satoshi Nakamoto, Bram Cohen, and Ronald Coase together to deliver the whole world just what they wanted to watch on Christmas Eve: *It’s A Wonderful Life*.
+
+Heck, you could use LBRY to watch *It’s A Wonderful Life* any day of the year!
+
+It can play *It’s A Wonderful Life* on VLC, Quicktime, Windows Media Player. You name it, we have found a way to play *It’s A Wonderful Life* there.
+
+I know what you’re thinking…
+
+“That’s exactly what I’ve been waiting for!”
+
+We know, and you’re welcome.
+
+Happy holidays, and have a wonderful new year!
+
+*Want to get us something for Christmas? [Sign-up to become an Alpha Tester](http://lbry.io/get) and earn 1,000 LBRY credits!*

blog/posts/25-huemer-joins-lbry-ethical-advisor.md

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: LBRY Blockchain App Can Now Tell Right From Wrong
+date: '2015-12-30 14:59:29'
+---
+
+**<p style="text-align: center;">Professor Michael Huemer To Help Guide LBRY As Ethical Advisor</p>**
+
+Songwriter Steve Taylor painted a grim picture of our modern day ethical landscape:
+
+*Took a class, big fun / Modern ethics 101 / First day learned why / Ethics really don't apply*
+
+We might have our moments of cynicism, but we don’t buy into the ethics-free business model prevalent in the world today. That’s why we are excited to announce the addition of Professor Michael Huemer as Ethical Advisor to LBRY Inc.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/VlXnnM6.png" alt="Michael Huemer joins LBRY as Ethical Advisor"></p>
+
+Huemer is a rising star in the world of ethical philosophy, with several books to his name and a [hit TED talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JYL5VUe5NQ).
+
+Huemer is professor of ethics at the University of Colorado with a focus on ethical intuitionism. He’s written on a wide range of subjects including philosophical skepticism, the problem of induction, ethical intuitionism, moral realism, free will, and deontological ethics.
+
+In addition to his clear expertise in putting big words together to sound important, we believe that this background will enable Prof. Huemer to ensure that LBRY does the right things for the right reasons, as we endeavor to develop the first decentralized, open-source, encrypted content distribution network.
+
+Huemer understands people are wary as new technologies develop that they will be used to undermine established moral norms. However, he said:
+>“If you believe, as I do, that society benefits from an easier, faster exchange of information, then LBRY is unequivocally a good thing. Inventions from the printing press to the internet have helped to make people wiser and happier by lowering the cost of sharing art and ideas.”
+
+Huemer continued:
+>"The LBRY founders know that they are pushing boundaries here, and have enlisted me to advise them on making choices for the right reasons. After speaking with them, I am convinced that they are ethically and intellectually serious people, with something valuable to offer to the rest of us.”
+
+Prof. Huemer earned a doctorate in philosophy from Rutgers in 1998. He’s written several books, including the *Problem of Political Authority*, *Ethical Intuitionism*, and *Skepticism and the Veil of Perception*. He’s taught courses in ethics, social philosophy, logic, epistemology, philosophy of science, and metaphysics.
+
+With decentralization at its core, LBRY is designed to be a “trustless system,” without the gatekeepers and middlemen inherent in the way we share information today. But LBRY Inc. will surely remain a guiding authority on the development of the protocol and its mass adoption, and co-founder Mike Vine said he was thrilled to have somebody with Huemer’s credentials to help guide the process:
+
+“Professor Huemer studies a subject few will touch nowadays: ethics. He's known for starting from premises everyone can agree on and arriving at profound conclusions – simply by following a logical train of thought,” Vine said. “If LBRY succeeds, the executive team will face decisions that will affect multitudes of people. I'm glad to have someone on board who can serve as an independent voice if we lose sight of our mission, or start rationalizing short-sighted decisions. Many people will question what use a company has for an Ethical Advisor; the better questions is why every company doesn't have one.”
+
+*Want to join Professor Huemer and the rest of the LBRY team? [Become an Alpha Tester and receive 1,000 LBRY credits (LBC)](http://lbry.io/get).*

blog/posts/26-jack-robison-escaped-60-years-in-prison-now-hes-revolutionizing-the-internet.md

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Jack Robison Escaped 60 Years in Prison; Now He’s Revolutionizing the Internet
+date: '2015-12-31 17:10:59'
+---
+
+Today, we officially announce the addition of Jack Robison to the [LBRY team](http://lbry.io/team) as Core Developer. Jack has been working on the project for some time, and we thought it was about time to recognize his growing role.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://lbry.io/img/jack-robison-644x450.jpg" alt="Jack Robison, LBRY Core Developer"></p>
+
+We value Jack for his bursts of creative energy. In fact, Jack has quite a history with explosions. In high school, some of his homemade chemistry experiments caught the attention of law enforcement. The incident quickly became national news and goes to show that Jack doesn’t do anything half way, which makes him a perfect fit for the LBRY team.
+
+> “When I was in high school my interest was chemistry, starting with energetics. Rockets and cannons fascinated me, and I wanted to know how they really worked,” Jack explained. “I pursued the answer to that question, and after a couple years I’d synthesized many of the common explosives used in the military, and I was experimenting with some compositions of my own design. That interest got cut short by the law, fortunately the outcome didn’t involve any orange jumpsuits.”
+
+The case involved big booms, YouTube videos, and overzealous prosecutors. He faced up to 60 years in prison. [You can read more about it here](http://www.masslive.com/localbuzz/index.ssf/2009/06/actionreaction_how_one_teens_c.html).
+
+That experience pretty much nixed Jack’s passion for explosives. As he put it, "I pretty thoroughly lost interest after they indicted me.” So he redirected his focus into other areas of chemistry, specifically designing compounds for medical use.
+
+This might sound like a wild story, but it’s actually more common than you’d think. [Peter Thiel revealed in his book](http://valleywag.gawker.com/peter-thiel-admits-the-paypal-mafia-built-bombs-in-hi-1632734435) that several of the co-founders of Paypal built explosives in high school. It’s not that tech companies look to hire firecrackers. It’s just that people who disrupt industries have to be willing to take risks in the name of creating something cool. Jack has just that mentality.
+
+We’ve seen him hone various aspects of our nascent protocol with a laser-like focus. This is common for people on the autism spectrum, which Jack discovered of himself after his indictment. In fact, his atypical mind may have blinded him to the possibility that his explosions were anything more than the ambitious chemistry experiments he saw.
+
+Jack’s acquittal made him something of a celebrity in the “Aspie” community and he continues to advocate for autism rights. He has spoken on the subject around the country, even appearing on [National Public Radio](http://www.npr.org/2012/01/18/145405658/learning-to-love-and-be-loved-with-autism). The New York Times published a feature-length story about his activism and life, [which is well worth a read](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/us/navigating-love-and-autism.html?_r=1).
+
+Jack later developed interests in economics and Bitcoin. That led him to us. As he puts it:
+
+> “LBRY quickly caught my interest; I don’t know how a distributed content marketplace and delivery platform couldn't. It has the right incentives to get people to act as they should, and by doing so, makes content available at the most efficient price. The market for information is muddled with friction throughout; LBRY gets rid of that. It’s a good time to be a nerd for markets! The blockchain has the potential to enable direct person-to-person transactions on an unprecedented scale.”
+
+Having successfully pushed the boundaries in the autism community, he’s now ready to focus his talents on pushing the boundaries of technology and the Internet.
+
+LBRY co-founder Jeremy Kauffman is thrilled to be working with Robison:
+
+> “Jack is one of the sharpest and most creative minds I’ve ever met. It’s surreal to think that mind could have gone to waste if things had gone a little differently. We’re all very glad we’re in the universe where Jack did not go jail, and I'm personally excited to have such an innovative mind working on LBRY.”
+
+Jack jumped into LBRY with both feet and we quickly discovered he is an amazingly fast learner. His sharp mind and astute problem solving skills are quickly turning Jack into a leader on the LBRY team.

blog/posts/27-lbry-adds-chief-growth-officer-josh-finer.md

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: LBRY Means Business With Addition of Josh Finer, MBA
+date: '2016-01-06 15:11:11'
+---
+
+Every team needs a guy who can do stuff.
+
+All kinds of stuff.
+
+We’re excited to announce that Josh Finer will be “that guy” on the LBRY team.
+
+Finer’s official title is Chief Growth Officer, but we just think of him as Mr. Problem Solver.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/EJxY422.jpg" alt="LBRY's Chief Growth Officer, Josh Finer"></p>
+
+Josh is as comfortable in the suit-and-tie world of business and finance as he is in the nerdy world of computers and coding. As he put it, “Walking the line between technical and business issues is my pastime.”
+
+That means Josh brings a lot to the LBRY table. His expertise runs the gamut from finance, to programming, to advertising, to internet traffic conversion.
+
+Josh started using the Internet in 1990 when he was about 13 years old, utilizing free university dial-up access to telnet to multi-user-dungeon games. You could say he’s grown up with the World Wide Web. That makes him a natural fit for a startup looking to revolutionize information and content sharing on the Internet.
+
+Josh has come a long way from playing online dungeon games. He developed a fascination with cryptocurrency in 2013 and got involved in the crypto world early on. He rapidly constructed a 5TH/s SHA mini-farm as well as a 100MH/s Scrypt GPU farm.
+
+He had thought about joining a crypto-team, but failed to see the right combination of people, skills and technologies – until he was introduced to LBRY:
+
+> "LBRY has bright, motivated people and sits at the convergence of two important technologies: blockchain and p2p. I was immediately attracted to the technology, but the team really put me over the top. They are technical and diverse, but perhaps most of all, passionate about what they are doing," Josh explained.
+
+It wasn’t only the people who caught Josh’s attention. He said the revolutionary potential of the LBRY platform was a major selling point: “LBRY has the potential to both unlock a ton of currently unavailable content, as well as increase the efficiency of content distribution as a whole.”
+
+On top of his technical and business savvy, Josh loves animals. And who doesn’t like a guy who has a soft spot for kittens and puppies, right? In fact, Josh loves animals so much, he founded a successful business to help vets run their practices. Veterinary Payments of America processes millions of dollars in electronic payments for veterinary clinics and hospitals nationwide.
+
+In addition to cofounding Veterinary Payments of America, Josh serves as president for Finer Payments, a more broad-based credit card processing company and Finer Technologies, a boutique Google AdWords Agency and Internet consultancy. He has also been involved in a number of other financial and Internet based companies.
+
+Mike Vine, LBRY’s Technology Evangelist, said that he is thrilled to have a professional jack-of-all-trades on the team:
+
+> “We’ve only just started working together, and I already see what Josh brings to the project. I am anxious to tell the world about using a blockchain to deliver content into every living room, and Josh is going to make sure that message reaches key audiences. We’re looking for developers, artists, and investors to come together to make this work. We’re already moving forward, but Josh will turn our steps into leaps.”
+
+
+***<p style="text-align: center;">[Become a LBRY Alpha Tester and earn 1,000 LBRY credits (LBC)](http://lbry.io/get).</p>***

blog/posts/28-the-dmcas-chilling-effect-on-security-research-and-innovation.md

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: The DMCA's Chilling Effect on Security Research and Innovation
+date: '2016-01-14 16:31:51'
+---
+
+You walk into a Barnes and Noble, pick up a copy of *[Look Me in the Eye](http://www.amazon.com/Look-Me-Eye-Life-Aspergers/dp/0307396185)*, hand the cashier money, and leave the store. The book now belongs to you, right? Of course it does. You are free to write notes in the margins, sell it second-hand to a friend, or even rip it up if you felt so inclined. What you can’t do is copy portions of it and claim them as your own work; you own your copy of the book, but not the copyright.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/9n0MQwP.jpg" alt="The Battle of Copyright"></p>
+
+This is pretty straightforward and doesn’t violate most people’s understanding of copyright and ownership. But let's say you skipped the Barnes and Noble and instead went to Walmart to buy a Sony PS3. Is it any different? Actually it is.
+
+When the PS3 was released, many tech enthusiasts were eager to buy such a powerful computer for such a low price, despite it masquerading as a gaming machine. They would install linux on their PS3 and use it as a desktop computer. To their dismay, Sony responded with lawsuits claiming copyright violation. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), corporations have gained sweeping powers to effectively retain ownership even after the item has been sold. Apple has given the same treatment to iPhone owners who have had the audacity to try to install software that Apple hasn’t personally signed off on, i.e. iPhone owners who “jailbreak” their phones.
+
+Copyright has gone far beyond its original intent and beyond how most people understand it to work. Instead of being used to prevent copying, it is now also used to prevent modification – even if there is no commercial angle to the modification and the only purpose is better satisfying the desires of the owner. Maybe taking notes in the margin of your favorite book isn’t so clearly legal after all; the fact that such an argument could be made demonstrates the ridiculousness of the DMCA and how it hurts customers.
+
+Auto manufacturers have exploited the you-own-what-you-buy-except-for-when-we-don’t-like-how-you-use-it DMCA too. Want to reprogram your car’s engine control unit? You might be violating the DMCA. Really, any work done on the electronics in a car risks violating the DMCA. This exposed tinkerers and independent shops alike to a tremendous risk, leaving official dealerships as the only safe route for these repairs. But fret not, all of that changed this past fall. In a first, [the government has issued an exception to the DMCA](http://stfi.re/dbgdwo) to explicitly allow tinkering with automotive electronics and software.
+
+So what pushed the government to do this? In large part it was the recent Volkswagen scandal. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) [argued that the DMCA had prevented independent shops and tinkerers from testing and identifying VW’s deception](http://stfi.re/beoyap) for years – and the government listened. That said, it’s a real shame that it takes a very public deception being uncovered to change the law. And it raises the question – how much deception, negligence, and incompetence is still being covered up in all of the areas without a DMCA exemption? Don’t expect an answer, because as the EFF has pointed out, the DMCA has a chilling effect on security research.
+
+Researchers of both the academic and DIY types steer clear of looking for such problems, because by finding them they may violate the DMCA and come under legal pressure. That means the only major efforts to root out security vulnerabilities and misrepresentations are under the table, and the hackers doing such work don’t tend to have the good of the public in mind.
+
+The new DMCA exemption is a great start, but in the grand scheme it is a mere baby step. The DMCA prevents you from having products you can trust. It is also quite telling of how corporations view their customers when they pursue unpaid volunteers trying to fix product mistakes. You’d think they’d be happy such people are out there. To be sure, some corporations appreciate these types of customers – but the good guys don’t have the same lobbying power. That’s because DMCA supporters view their customers as their own assets, as subjects who are only allowed to play with the toys they’ve bought within the officially sanctioned sandbox. I hope the trend reverses, but to get there we’re going to need to expose deception, negligence, or the more benign incompetence in far more areas than the automotive industry alone.

blog/posts/29-lbry-app-sneak-peak-big-questions-answered-lbry-on-blocktalk-last-night.md

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: 'LBRY App Sneak Peak + Big Questions Answered - LBRY on #Blocktalk Last Night'
+date: '2016-01-15 19:17:12'
+---
+
+The LBRY team spoke with the guys at [Decentral Vancouver](http://decentralvancouver.com/), one of many Bitcoin-focused collaboration spaces popping up around the world.
+
+The most notable part of the thorough interview was a live demo of the latest LBRY browser app, which is where the video below begins. Our new user interface is damn pretty.
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/StVUjT9wMow?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
+
+Other highlights from the conversation include:
+
+* Mike Vine coining the term "appcoin" to describe LBRY Credits. Find out what it means starting at 16:32.
+
+* Discussions of the collapse of Cryptsy, [Mike Hearn's "crisis of faith" in bitcoin](http://stfi.re/bedxrb), and LBRY's bitcoin price predictions.
+
+* The answer to the question – should we compare LBRY to Alexandria, Storj, or IPFS?
+
+* Why LBRY is so much more than a marriage of Bitcoin & BitTorrent.

blog/posts/30-try-lbry-on-os-x-el-capitan.md

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Try LBRY's Graphical Interface On OS X El Capitan
+date: '2016-01-23 00:15:31'
+---
+
+We're pleased to announce a new Alpha version of LBRY featuring a browser-based graphical interface for OS X El Capitan. Anyone with an up-to-date Mac can now test out the library of the future – and earn 1,000 LBRY credits. [Try it now](http://lbry.io/get). Here's a demo:
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2KmqQD6qK1c?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
+
+**Note** – This is still just an Alpha test of the LBRY protocol. When you get it up and running on your OS X machine, the only functionality will be to search for "It's a Wonderful Life" and stream that movie.
+
+
+Nevertheless, testing this functionality is very helpful to us and we're more than happy to reimburse alpha testers who install the protocol, then answer our short survey. [Get started now](http://lbry.io/get).
+
+**<p style="text-align: center;"><u>Call For Crypto Developers</u></p>**
+
+LBRY is expanding its team! If you're a talented dev interested in changing the future of information, <a href="mailto:jeremy@lbry.io">please reach out</a>. Triple bonus points if you have experience with installers and application packaging on Windows, OS X, and/or Linux.

blog/posts/31-annefrank2.md

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Wikimedia Forced to Remove Anne Frank's Diary
+date: '2016-02-12 19:21:53'
+---
+
+US copyright law seems hell-bent on keeping The Diary of Anne Frank out of the public domain.
+
+When the copyright in the Netherlands for this seminal autobiographical work on the Holocaust expired in January of 2016, it was uploaded to several locations, including by the Wikimedia Foundation. However, it wasn’t long until [Wikimedia was forced to take it down](https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-copyright-law-forces-wikimedia-to-remove-public-domain-anne-frank-diary-160211/), citing concerns over the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which states that copyrights extend 95 years after the original date of publication (as opposed to with the Netherlands’ 70 years after the author’s death).
+
+According to Jacob Rogers, counsel for the Wikimedia Foundation:
+
+>“Today, in an unfortunate example of the overreach of the United States’ current copyright law, the Wikimedia Foundation removed the Dutch-language text of The Diary of a Young Girl.”
+
+[We previously mentioned](http://blog.lbry.io/its-time-to-liberate-anne-franks-diary/) how, through a twisted abuse of copyright law, Anne Frank Fonds, the foundation holding the copyright for The Diary of Anne Frank, hopes to keep it out of the public domain for **another 34 years**. The foundation made a last-minute claim that Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, co-authored the book, rather than simply serving as an editor. Instead of entering the public domain in 2016, 70 years after Anne’s passing, this would extend the copyright until 70 years after Otto’s death (2050 AD) – allowing Anne Frank Fonds to continue to rake in royalty checks for another few decades.
+
+Archaic and easily-abused copyright law, supposedly put in place to protect authors, instead smothers the free flow of information. We hope US legislators release their grip on Anne Frank’s diary so its profound insights can be shared with the world.

blog/posts/32-if-lbry-succeeds-humanity-wins-lbry-ceo-on-lions-of-liberty-podcast.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: 'If LBRY Succeeds, Humanity Wins: LBRY CEO on Lions of Liberty Podcast'
+date: '2016-02-17 17:45:37'
+---
+
+Marc Clair interviewed LBRY founder and CEO Jeremy Kauffman on the [Lions of Liberty Podcast](http://lionsofliberty.com/2016/02/17/185/) this week. The concise, 1/2-hour conversation covers everything you need to know about LBRY in accessible, non-tech-geek language. From the basics of Bitcoin and the blockchain to the trouble with corporate media monopolies, Kauffman explains LBRY from the ground up:
+>"We think of [the LBRY protocol] as one box that is going to let you search and find any piece of media or information that has ever been created or that anyone wants to publish to the network. That can be music, movies, books, video games, any piece of static digital content… We think it is going to be a far better way to access, discover, and pay for these things than any system we have today."
+<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9LavXUvcQfw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
+Kauffman also didn’t shy away from the tough questions Clair asked concerning questionable content on LBRY, the use of the Nobel Prize-winning Coase Theorem to design LBRY’s naming system, and who the real losers are if LBRY succeeds.
+
+>"The winners are basically humanity as a whole, everyone. We think the outcome of this is more art created, more things created, more things published. The only real losers are rent seekers in the middle. People who use certain methods to extract more money out of both artists and consumers and don’t, frankly, deserve it, in our opinion. They’re not contributing that much. They’re getting in the way...
+
+>"The publishers, the creators, the people who actually make the stuff – if they don’t end up making more money in this [LBRY] system, we’ve failed, and it was absolutely not what we intended."
+
+**<p style="text-align: center;">It's not too late to become an Alpha Tester of the LBRY Protocol. Earn 1,000 LBC (LBRY credits) for installing the protocol and completing our brief survey. [Get started now](http://lbry.io/get).</p>**

blog/posts/33-zarghamjoins.md

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: LBRY Exposes Itself to World; Adds Mad Scientist to Team
+date: '2016-03-02 18:12:13'
+---
+
+LBRY hit some pretty significant milestones since the first of the year, and the momentum just keeps building with the addition of a new core team member and the opportunity to showcase our “magic box” to the crypto community.
+
+For those new to our project, LBRY harnesses the same blockchain technology underlying Bitcoin to make sharing media radically inexpensive and censorship-proof. It’s the first decentralized, open-source, fully encrypted content distribution platform, and we have  iTunes, Netflix, the Kindle Store, and other Silicon Valley titans in our crosshairs.
+
+Things are moving at breakneck speed...
+
+**In February, we released an alpha version of LBRY's Graphical Interface on OS X El Capitan** and [unveiled our software publicly for the first time with a live demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu-yk5NYy1o) at [Liberty Forum 2016](http://nhlibertyforum.com) (sorry for A/V quality - we're saving money by doing all recording on a stack of spare VHS tapes from 1982).
+
+
+**Today, we are excited to announce the addition of data scientist Dr. Michael Zargham to the LBRY team.** Zargham is going to open up a lot of avenues for us through his intense intellect and professional associations. He’s the guy that can take complex datasets and mathematical equations and put them to practical use. He earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and has over a decade of experience building problem-solving tools for businesses. Zargham has [more than a dozen academic papers to his credit](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mczargham) and his work has been cited extensively.
+
+**The crypto community will have an opportunity to meet the LBRY team this weekend at the [2016 MIT Bitcoin Expo](http://mitbitcoinexpo.org).** This will be our first chance to show off the LBRY platform to the community that literally built our foundation.
+
+We’re excited about connecting with our roots, but make no mistake: our mission is to grow a platform that will put cryptocurrency in every living room – whether or not users care that it’s there!

blog/posts/35-why-doesnt-lbry-just-use-bitcoin.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: Why Doesn’t LBRY Just Use Bitcoin?
+date: '2016-03-17 13:31:10'
+---
+
+LBRY employs blockchain technology, but doesn’t use Bitcoin itself. Instead, we use our own cryptocurrency, LBRY Credits (LBC).
+
+Perhaps the most-asked question we receive is: Why have you created LBC, rather than using Bitcoin? Wouldn’t it be simpler to employ an existing cryptocurrency already in wide use around the world, rather than make a whole new one? Aren’t there already way too many cheap Bitcoin knockoffs floating around?
+
+There are three important reasons why we must use LBC instead of Bitcoin. Some of it is highly technical, so please bear with us as we attempt to translate into plain English.
+
+**Reason #1 – Using LBC instead of Bitcoin makes verifying content ownership possible for lightweight clients.**
+
+In blockchain-based systems, data (in the case of Bitcoin, transactions) are grouped into multiple packages called blocks. These blocks are “chained” one after another to form the public ledger known as the blockchain. Each block starts with a block header, a comparatively tiny piece of data, which has some metadata about the block such as the time it was mined and a reference to the block that came before it. That metadata also includes a cryptographic value which can be used to prove to someone who doesn’t have (or want) the whole block, but has all of the block headers, that a given transaction was included in that block and therefore into the blockchain. This is used by so-called *lightweight clients*, which make it possible for people to use bitcoin on devices that wouldn’t be able to handle the full blockchain, like web browsers and smartphones.
+
+LBC block headers contain an additional piece of information: a value which can be used to cryptographically prove to lightweight clients that a particular name maps to a particular value, according to LBRY’s unique naming system. For example, when a lightweight client asks, “What content does the name ‘wonderfullife’ refer to?”, a client with a full copy of the LBC blockchain can send back the answer and prove using cryptography that it has given the correct answer. Without that additional piece of information in the block header, lightweight clients (web browsers and smartphones) would not be able to securely use LBRY.
+
+This is necessary for LBRY because unlike systems built on Bitcoin or other existing altcoins, LBRY’s naming system assigns ownership over content through an ongoing auction. Whoever pledges the most credits against a name holds it, subject to a defined window for a counter-bid. These bids are stored in a special tree-shaped data structure on the hard drives of all miners. Whenever the winning bid for a name changes, that change has an effect which spreads all the way up the tree and into the special piece of information stored in LBC block headers.
+
+**Reason #2 – LBRY could easily overwhelm the maximum transaction volume allowed by Bitcoin.**
+
+LBRY intends to thrive on microtransactions that are looking increasingly implausible with Bitcoin. By now, everyone interested in cryptocurrency is all-too-intimately familiar with the limitations of Bitcoin’s current block size. Currently, Bitcoin has a limit of one megabyte of data per block. If enough transactions happen over the network that the one-megabyte limit is reached, all additional transactions are considerably delayed. That’s why we’re currently seeing reports of transaction times in the high double-digits.
+
+The problem is a double bind. If the block size stays low, then transactions grind to a halt as volume goes up. But if the block size grows to accommodate greater volume, then the blockchain gets too big for most miners to validate it, which pushes towards centralization. A different approach altogether is needed, one that allows the platform to scale while not taking away from its distributed nature. We think a [lightning micropayment network](https://lightning.network) is the answer, but it requires some changes to Bitcoin that might not happen in a timely fashion, as they have to be approved by a supermajority of miners. Because LBC is new, our smaller mining pool could more readily incorporate lightning networks when they’re ready for primetime.
+
+If LBRY starts growing exponentially, we don’t want to worry about contributing to the delinquency of the Bitcoin blockchain by overwhelming it with microtransactions. And in the immediate future, we don’t want to see payments to artists eaten up by Bitcoin’s rising fees.
+
+**Reason #3 - Decentralization and independence are good for progress.**
+
+One of the main draws of Bitcoin has always been its relative decentralization of control and independence from existing legal and financial systems. Similarly, using LBC as an “appcoin” gives LBRY some healthy autonomy from Bitcoin while allowing for the technical innovations explained above.
+
+An appcoin, as described by LBRY’s Mike Vine on [Decentral Vancouver’s “#Blocktalk”](http://blog.lbry.io/lbry-app-sneak-peak-big-questions-answered-lbry-on-blocktalk-last-night/) and in [CoinTelegraph](http://cointelegraph.com/news/the-appcoin-revolution-interview-with-mike-vine-of-lbry), is a cryptocurrency that is designed specifically to power an application, with only that application’s precise functions in mind. The purpose of this appcoin is not to compete as a better form of money than Bitcoin, but to function as a special purpose tool in ways Bitcoin cannot. Creating a special tool in the form of a new coin allows us to start fresh, customizing features like the initial allocation and blockchain rules.
+
+In the early days of our protocol, LBRY Inc. will be making a concerted effort to deploy LBC in a non-neutral way. We will be incentivizing early adopters, amazing content publishers, and even nonprofits which share our vision of a free and open internet. We will be retaining a portion to finance continued development of the ecosystem. LBRY Credits will work on behalf of development of the LBRY content distribution network, not the other way around.
+
+Bitcoin was created as a grand experiment to demonstrate blockchain technology and liberate the world from legacy banking, but it couldn’t possibly have been designed to be all things to all applications. We believe our appcoin is the best tool to succeed at our mission of putting every film, song, book, and game ever made onto a blockchain – without trying to displace Bitcoin as a global currency.
+
+**Wait! This is also relevant to your interests:**
+
+Converting from fiat money to cryptocash is hard. But converting between cryptos is super-easy, especially since the launch of [ShapeShift.io](http://www.shapeshift.io/). So LBRYians can earn LBC and quickly convert it to BTC to save or spend. And Bitcoiners can easily convert a bit of their holdings to LBC to get great content on the LBRY network.
+
+One of our key goals is for LBRY/LBC to be easy to access for everyday people. Initially, users will get some just for downloading the app. And anyone will always be able to earn LBC by offering some of their disk space to store encrypted file slices for the LBRY network. Because it won't involved linking bank accounts to exchanges or even converting any of their precious fiat, we hope LBC will serve as an easy entry point for John Q. Public into the world of cryptocurrency. They might not even realize at first that's what they're using!

blog/posts/36-built-for-artists-by-autists-lbry-takes-autism-personally.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+author: jeremy
+title: 'Built for Artists by Autists: LBRY Takes Autism Personally'
+date: '2016-03-21 20:06:18'
+---
+
+Understanding autism is personal for us.
+
+<img src="http://i.imgur.com/gDip22e.jpg" alt="Built for Artists by Autists: LBRY Takes Autism Personally">
+
+A recent New York Times [op-ed](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/an-experimental-autism-treatment-cost-me-my-marriage/) by John Elder Robison tells the story of his life before and after taking part in a groundbreaking experiment into using an innovative electromagnetic therapy to perhaps remediate a core disability of autism. Robison, who is on the autism spectrum had a successful career and family life, but nevertheless faced personal challenges and decided to try TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, to gain greater insight into the emotional cues and nonverbal communications of other people. Researchers hoped to  gain better insight into how TMS might help address these challenges. Robison hopes these insights will one day form the basis of therapies, and he himself experienced great rewards - even from this early stage experiment. The treatment granted him the ability to better read and feel emotions, but it was quite a ride. His marriage fell apart, and many of his personal relationships became strained for years. Conversely, with new eyes, he formed many new relationships, he re-married, and many others relationships grew stronger.
+
+John’s son, Jack Robison, is LBRY’s own core developer. Jack, also on the autism spectrum (and who once [faced 60 years in prison](http://blog.lbry.io/jack-robison-escaped-60-years-in-prison-now-hes-revolutionizing-the-internet/) for misunderstood high school chemistry experiments), has been a steadfast advocate for autism rights. To say autism awareness and understanding is an issue near and dear to our hearts is an understatement.
+
+What’s more, we plan to put our credits where our mouth is and grant a significant sum of LBRY credits to [William and Mary’s neurodiversity program](http://www.wm.edu/sites/neurodiversity/) to further research, education, and outreach into autism.