December 08 2021
Where Data Lives in an IPFS/Filecoin World with Mikeal Rogers
About the episode
Kevin is joined by Mikeal Rogers, engineering manager at Protocol Labs, the team behind Filecoin and IPFS. Here, they try to answer the important questions around decentralized storage, like where our NFTs and data live in a Web3 world — especially when a marketplace (like Hic et Nunc) goes down. Also, they discuss what Filecoin is and how it works with IPFS, when major browsers will support IPFS, how we can speed up IPFS image loading, and much more.
About our guest
Mikeal Rogers
Mikeal Rogers is an engineering manager at Protocol Labs, where he leads a team working on decentralized persistent data structures and bringing the Web to Web3.
Topics covered
EPISODE LINKS
- Connect with Mikeal Rogers: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Medium | GitHub
- Protocol Labs
- Decentralized Storage Network | Filecoin
- IPFS Powers the Distributed Web | IPFS
- Hash | Investopedia
- BitTorrent
- Juan Benet: Long Term Info-Structure | The Long Now Foundation
- Your Home for NFT Media | Pinata
- HicEtNunc.art
- Wayback Machine | Internet Archive
- Why the Internet Needs IPFS Before It’s Too Late | TechCrunch
- A Blockchain Designed to Evolve | Tezos
- Authentic Digital Art Marketplace | SuperRare
- Brave Browser
- Store Data Permanently | Arweave
- How Do CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) Work? | TechTarget
- The Web Performance & Security Company | Cloudflare
- Chia – A New Cryptocurrency Launching Soon, Built by Bram Cohen, Founder of BitTorrent | Modern Finance
- What Is Proof-of-Work? | CoinDesk
- What is Proof of Space and Time? | Chia Network
- Store Your Data | Estuary
- GraphSync with Hannah Howard | Filecoin
- Cloud Object Storage | Amazon S3
- A Digital Nation | Axie Infinity
- Collect and Trade Moments in NBA History | NBA Top Shot
- Build Crypto Apps That Scale | Solana
- The Blockchain for Open Worlds | Flow
- Rust
- Solidity Programming Language
- Node.js
- Web1, Web2, and Web3 with Their Differences | GeeksforGeeks
- Ajax | Wikipedia
- How Google Maps and Gmail Will Distort Human History | Popular Mechanics
- MapQuest
- Was AOL Its Own ‘Internet’ or Was It a Website or What? | Quora
SHOW NOTES
- Who is Mikeal Rogers? [00:54]
- What is the IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), and how does it improve upon the way the web works? [02:41]
- How does hashing work? [04:25]
- Where is a file actually stored in a decentralized system? [05:58]
- Is IPFS one protocol, or a family of protocols? [06:50]
- What’s the incentive for someone to support IPFS? [07:43]
- What keeps data alive in an IPFS system when a site goes down (case in point: Hic et Nunc)? [08:45]
- How can someone easily ensure their NFT collection (or any stored personal data) is preserved in case of a site outage? [14:04]
- How does a service like Arweave, which guarantees data storage for hundreds of years, interplay with IPFS? Do they complement or compete with each other? [16:12]
- How do we get to a point where decentralized services perform as quickly and smoothly as centralized services? [18:29]
- Who will cover the costs of these services? [20:22]
- What is Filecoin, and who uses it? [21:01]
- How does Filecoin process its data? [23:33]
- What is the bull case for Filecoin? How does it compete with comparable services, and where does Mikeal see it in 10 years? [25:57]
- Is there currently a dead simple Filecoin experience for developers who have been spoiled by the ease of, say, Amazon S3? What hurdles remain to keep it from being fully decentralized? [27:43]
- Other than Brave, are there any browser developers truly embracing decentralization right now? What might change the game? [29:51]
- Ways to utilize Filecoin. [32:36]
- How does Filecoin handle deals? [34:03]
- Is Filecoin competing for contemporary data storage companies’ existing share of clientele, or is it looking to capture a different demographic? [36:18]
- Discovering new projects and admiring how far people are willing to experiment by looking at interesting blips in the data. [40:06]
- Why Mikeal’s team is especially bullish in trying to bring storage fees down now more than ever. [41:20]
- Mikeal’s thoughts on Solana. [42:48]
- Rust vs. Solidity? [44:14]
- Why Mikeal is excited about NFTs as a high-growth ecosystem and considers the climate “probably the biggest opportunity” he’s ever experienced, and Kevin finds it reminiscent of his Web2 days. [45:08]
- Parting thoughts. [49:19]
