I’m Nick Macario, CEO of Remote.com and Dock.io, an Ethereum based protocol for a professional network. AMA

My question is a bit different. Why is there no way to get an answer from your support team in remote.com? and/or, why isn't there an email or a phone number so people can actually contact "Norma" or any other person who works there. When you were still outsource.com I lost $1900 dollars from a project because your security system didn't flag the person who hired me. You had given me 6 months subscription + credits to "fix" the issue, so since you turned remote.com on, all that is lost. I am more than happy to take this privately but been "the biggest remote work network" doesn't necessarily mean your ethics match that.

Or you can ignore the question. All good. I am used to it anyways.

jboxd, sorry to hear about your issue in the past. I can ask the team to take another look if you email [email protected] the information from this thread.

I will do right now. Thank you.

The email is sent.

Sounds like someone is helping you. Let me know if you have any issues.

Do you actually think you are solving a real problem, or just trying to cash in on the easy ICO money?

I do! We are solving a very real problem. Centralized platforms (even Reddit) control your data.

Why shouldn't you be able to take your Reddit karma or history to another platform --- why does Reddit own all the time and effort you have put in to building that Karma?

One small example of tens of thousands of centralized platforms. Nearly every consumer facing app owns and controls your information.

You don't need ethereum to implement a data export function, at all

You are certainly correct about that!

What we are building is a decentralized data exchange protocol. A network of sources exchanging data. Our Ethereum based token allows us to decentralize the process and incentivizes applications to allow users to share data.

If interested in understanding more and/or token mechanics check out our whitepaper - https://dock.io/whitepaper

I can just type my information in myself from LinkedIn to Glassdoor. So why do I need dock.io?

One of the use cases of the dock app is to instantly import your information to new apps you’re signing up for. Yes, you could spend up to an hour on some sites manually signing up and creating new profiles, or you could instantly import your information in seconds.

What you can’t do is manually add verified information from apps you use, even if you wanted to spend hours doing it. A few examples are 1) Your network of LinkedIn connections 2) Twitter Followers 3) Reddit Karma 4) Quora activity 5) Freelance reviews from Upwork 6) Online skills assessments or e-learning course certificates.

The goal of dock is to connect your information everywhere and automate your experiences online everywhere you go, with your control of where and how your information is used.

Thanks for the answer.

Do you think there are going to be websites that are not compatible with how the Dock app works? Because transferring data in an easy and fast way will be really useful.

We are going to make it easy for apps to be compatible. The larger we grow the more eager they will be to get involved and join the ecosystem.

Do you have your work backed up on a smart refrigerator just in case?

Of course!

Very cool project!

What got you interested in Crypto? & Why do you think its a better environment than just building something like a "google sign-in" application, that is focused on remote data transfer?

I've been personally passionate about crypto and blockchain for some time and I've been involved in other crypto projects through my network.

The crypto community works together to help each other build a better future. You don't see the same with traditional startups, not anywhere near the same extent anyway.

Google sign in is extremely limited. You can only import minimal data - Google is also a centralized power that can change rules and processes at any time.

How will blockchain impact the recruiting/professional industry?

• You will see companies like LinkedIn have far less control over what happens with user data. A reminder - user data (your resume/vc and network/connections) power hundreds of thousands of apps, and nearly every system in this industry.

• You will see data flow between apps more fluently with the user having much more control.

• You will see much more current information from app to app vs profiles and resumes which haven’t been updated in months or years.

How did you get involved in the professional networking space?

I’ve been involved in this space for a number of years. It evolved from one of my previous companies, which led to branded.me. I realized the power of a personal brand and how it could impact a career, as well as the impact a strong network could have.

Building networks and connecting people and information has become a passion, and I will continue to invest my time and career in this space for the foreseeable future.

Are you investing money in Ethereum ?

I do own Ethereum. I practice what I preach :)

When is the token sale for dock?

We have not set a date or publicly announced the dock.io token sale, but that should happen in the next few weeks.

We were initially set on creating tech and hitting milestones and that has happened as we just released the dock.io app - the alpha release.

If interested you can try it at app.dock.io - you can also start earning free tokens for various activities in the app.

FYI, on your website, if your browser is small, scrolling all the way to the bottom will put the footer over the main nav menu.

Example.

Sorry, I'm a web dev and that stuff sticks out to me.

Thank you for reporting.

Cool! How do I participate in the token sale?

Sign up for our newsletter at dock.io or the app at app.dock.io to learn more and stay up to date.

What sites is Dock.io competing with? Linkedin?

dock.io doesn't compete with sites like LinkedIn, it works with them. dock.io connects LinkedIn and other platforms, allowing users to transfer their information from platform to platform.

Now I'm interested. How does it get their information? Surely these other sites aren't giving it away willingly?

We are building an ecosystem of platforms (like LinkedIn) who will participate. We have several large scale partnerships confirmed. The more partnerships we secure the stronger and more valuable the network becomes, which will result in additional partnerships and a larger ecosytem.

What do you think the job finding / recruitment industry is going to look like in 5 to 10 years. How do you envision the role of blockchain technology (in particular smart contracts) in this future?

Processes will be extremely more efficient. Applying to jobs, connecting to people, these processes will be connected across the web, vs fragmented data silos which we have now.

As you connect with someone on LinkedIn that data will be automatically transferable to any app you wish. Data will be consistent and up to date everywhere on the internet, vs stale profiles you haven't updates in months or years.

Will you still be working as the CEO of Remote AND dock.io?

We have a strong team of talented people who operate as leaders and take initiative. This enables me to zoom out and focus on strategy, fundraising, or whatever it is I can best spend my time on.

These companies have a lot of synergy and work together to help each other become successful.

Remote is an early catalyst for the success of dock.io. It brings millions of users to a brand new network instantly, which is incredibly valuable in the early stages of a new network.

dock.io helps embrace Remote’s mission of “the future of work”. Remote is about pushing boundaries and rewriting legacy systems when it comes to work. Decentralizing user data and giving users more control is part of that, and we see blockchain as the future of nearly all systems. We will integrate blockchain and cryptocurrencies into Remote more and more moving forward - No ICO planned for Remote though ;)

Do you need anyone to help your company interface with the non-technical aspects of business? Client relations, sales, etc. If so, where are you located and when can I start?

Thanks RockyMountainDave.

Look for a careers page on our site in the coming weeks.

What was the motivation for starting dock?

This could go for a while, but I'll try to make it brief --

Experiences with the 3 platforms my co-founder and I have built in this space. We’ve experienced many issues as founders and operators and listened to million of users issues.

I can share one specific example with branded.me - branded.me started as a personal website builder. Users could import their LinkedIn information to our platform with one click and branded.me would instantly generate a customizable web page using this information. People loved it because in seconds they could build a really nice looking web page about themselves which helped them stand out online, appear tech savvy, and find more opportunities.

branded.me got viral fast and grew to nearly 500k users in a few months. 3 months in at 500k users and growing fast, LinkedIn made an announcement that it would restrict public API access for nearly all apps using the API - 30,000 businesses at the time - branded.me being one.

What this meant was users would no longer be able to instantly import their information, which forced us to change our business quite a bit. For us it was a blessing as we evolved, but many other thriving businesses died because of this change.

LinkedIn made this decision to strengthen their position and make it harder for others to become competition, which is currently the standard you see in nearly all companies,.

Innovation slowed because of this change. It’s harder for new innovative apps to become successful without this data - users don’t want to spend hours signing up to your new app, they don’t have time to waste, so they abandon the sign up process after seeing there are 10 steps remaining. Why can’t users import THEIR information to other platforms instantly? Why can’t companies work together creating a more efficient internet and economy?

These are questions I’ve lost sleep over for years. This is something we think we can change.

if another protocol that is substantially different from ethereum but turns out to be much better emerges, how quickly can you refactor your platform to use the newer protocol?

Great question - we chose Ethereum due to a strong ecosystem of projects and talented folks involved.

There are alternatives out there if we have issues with scalability. For now we are bullish on the Ethereum network and new technologies in the pipeline.

If you had to do a switchover, would your strategy be to rewrite your platform from scratch with a new team, acquire a company that has a head-start, or divert resources from your current staff to implement it?

Switching to a new chain wouldn't require rewriting our entire platform and surely wouldn't want to replace our team!

What applications will be able to use dock?

Any applications, as it will be decentralized.

We also proactively work to establish partnerships and have very strong confirmed partnerships, but have not publicly announced those yet as we are still finalizing a few items. One we can announce is Remote.com, which has 2.5 million users and is growing by more than 4,000 new users per day.

Why does your proof have the wrong date?

This was the picture I sent to mods in December. Tried to point that out in the description. Happy to take another one for you if that would help.

Naw man. Was just curious. I checked the tweet and it’s all legit. Thanks for the AMA!

Thank you for checking it out!

Thank you for doing an AMA.

What’s on your bucket list?

More traveling - a strange thing to say for the CEO of Remote.com.

I’ve been heads down for several years building companies and haven’t done enough traveling, but that will change sometime in the future :)

Can we ban pop ups?

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand the question?

How do you see the professional networking world changing in the next 5 years?

• You will see companies like LinkedIn have far less control over what happens with user data. A reminder - user data (your resume/vc and network/connections) power hundreds of thousands of apps, and nearly every system in this industry.
• You will see data flow between apps more fluently with the user having much more control.
• You will see much more current information from app to app vs profiles and resumes which haven’t been updated in months or years.

How exactly will dock.io help decentralize centralized networking platforms?

dock.io already has confirmed partnerships with large scale brands which are “centralized” platforms. Nearly all platforms currently are.

What dock.io does for these platforms is provide a different way to manage user data. Rather than restricting users on their platforms, they allow them to save of all of their information and activity on these platforms to the dock.io network(blockchain/IPFS), with a simple click of a button. Now user data on these platforms is much less centralized, and users can freely use their information across other platforms.

Hey Nick! Thanks for doing the AMA. Quick question:

What’s your best advice on finding and choosing a team to work with?

Hey Justin -

Make sure people are excited and passionate about what you are working on before anything else. If folks aren’t excited about what you are doing they aren’t going to be motivated to perform at their best. If they are passionate about what you are doing, work isn’t so much a job, and you will see team members excel to new levels and will be loyal to the project, team and mission.

Also make sure they are likeable - a bad apple can throw a wrench in things and team members become family. You’ll need people who can ride the ups and downs and tolerate one another through good and bad.

What's the biggest challenge you've found with working on a crypto project?

So many new things and unchartered territories. We, along with the entire crypto community, are creating new paths every day and learning new things as we go.

I've got $37 in my wallet. If I wanted to invest them in your company(ies) how could I? Also, when should I expect it to become a billion dollars?

k

Thanks

Even better, sign up for the app https://app.dock.io/ and earn free cryptocurrency.

Where is the best place to learn more about dock?

Our website is a great place to start. The whitepaper gets very deep into tech if interested.

Joining our group in Telegram is a great place to connect as well - https://t.me/dockio