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Blockchain Gospel: Answering the question, what is blockchain tech?

Blockchain Technology
December 18, 2017

Three Central Iowa entrepreneurs will explain what blockchain technology is and how it’s applied to the real world with a subscription newsletter.

Blockchain Gospel is a tech blog dedicated to blockchain technology and explaining it for the technical and nontechnical reader to understand. Blockchaingospel.com will publish five stories a week and utilize graphics and other techniques to make the information easily digestible.

Subscriptions start at $4 a month.

Andrew Zalasky is a co-founder of Blockchain Gospel and the primary content creator; Clayton Mooney and Nate Rippke are the two other founders.

Zalasky said he was approached by Mooney to start Blockchain Gospel because there was an opportunity to, “Educate the masses on blockchain technology” and “the potential that it has to transform the way people transact

“In a similar way the internet changed the way we communicate,” Zalasky says. “We are starting with the most basic of concepts and as we explore deeper and get further down that rabbit hole, we will get more complex as our readers do. Everything will be written by us, we are not going to copy, paste and push. I’m writing primarily and researching stuff online, figuring out how it works myself, then pushing that content out.”

Zalasky admits that he’s still learning the basics of blockchain.

“But we are trying to uncover exactly what it (blockchain technology) is, how it operates and what the practical application of it is right along with our readers,” Zalasky says.

Any crypto communities in Iowa?

Mooney says he hasn’t heard of any crypto communities in Iowa but that he did meet with a student at Iowa State University who is starting a blockchain club on campus next semester.

“We will have some crypto info out there,” Zalasky says. “We hope to build momentum right here in Iowa and that Iowa seizes on the opportunity to be a national and international leader in the development of blockchain technology.”

Zalasky has worked in communications in the healthcare industry for two decades. He says blockchain can transform the industry.

“Transactions are as secure as anything that has ever been available,” he explains. “Because in the healthcare space, they are handling incredibly sensitive information.

“There’s the potential for blockchain to completely change the way electronic healthcare information is stored,” Zalasky continued. “And that’s just one industry that it has a chance to have a transformational impact on.”

 

8 Comments

  • Brock Hager
    Posted December 18, 2017 at 1:12 pm

    Hey guys! I’m Brock from the Des Moines Bitcoin and Blockchain group! Would like to get connected with you. brockhager@gmail.com

    0Likes
  • Clayton Mooney
    Posted December 18, 2017 at 1:50 pm

    Just emailed you, Brock. Thank you for reading and reaching out!
    – Clayton

    0Likes
  • Kate Milligan
    Posted December 19, 2017 at 9:09 am

    Check out the crypto community in Fairfield, a chapter of the Association for Digital Currency. “Local chapters of the ADC, such as the Fairfield Iowa Association for Digital Currency are volunteers educating the town on the coming currency of the Age of Enlightenment.”
    http://www.FIADC.com
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/digitalcurrencyassociation/

    0Likes
    • Post Author
      Joey Aguirre
      Posted January 2, 2018 at 2:15 pm

      Could we talk with somebody from the Association for Digital Currency?

      0Likes
      • Kate Milligan
        Posted January 2, 2018 at 3:34 pm

        A man named Rick Shaddock is admin of the ADC group in Fairfield and posts regularly to the group’s Facebook page. I recommend him as a first step. A profile was published by the Des Moines Register on a UIowa student and bitcoin expert named Cameron Schorg – another potential connection apart from the Fairfield group.

        0Likes
  • Clayton Mooney
    Posted January 2, 2018 at 12:41 pm

    Hi Kate! Thank you for sharing this. Fairfield is close to where I grew up (Blakesburg), and where a business partner is located. Awesome!

    0Likes
  • Leif Segen (@mr_segen)
    Posted January 15, 2018 at 9:52 am

    Hi! Computer science educator here – in Cedar Rapids. I’m a middle school CS teacher and a facilitator for NewBoCo / Code.org’s CS Principles teacher training program.

    I’d like to start exposing my middle school students to cryptocurrency technology. By the time they get to college, there will be degrees available on the topic. They’ll be better prepared to engage if they gain familiarity early on. Could you keep me in the loop? LSegen _ cr.k12.ia.us

    0Likes
    • Clayton Mooney
      Posted January 15, 2018 at 10:13 am

      Hi Leif! Great to hear you’re helping students and plugged into NewBoCo!

      You’ll want to jump over to https://blockchaingospel.com/ and register for a free account. We already have quite a few article posted; ranging from blockchain 101, to cryptocurrency speculation. Feel free to pull any content which helps. Cheers

      0Likes

Comments are closed.

Blockchain Gospel: Answering the question, what is blockchain tech? | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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