Aion, it was recommended as potentially attractive for investment purposes, but what is it? If you find the cryptic world... well, cryptic, then you aren't alone. I usually find the descriptions for the numerous and various digital currencies to be quite cryptic. So here goes!
From the AION website (the wording in single quotes):
'Aion is the digital asset of The Open Application Network. Aion is used to secure and access The OAN.'
-Okay, this much is straight-forward. It is used to secure and access the open application network. This seems like a good purpose.
'As a public infrastructure, a global community of individuals, software companies, and institutions secure and maintain the operations of The OAN.'
-Alright, so this would make it and define it as an 'open' application. ie. public infrastructure, global community, etc. So far, so good.
'These critical functions are enabled and incentivized using Aion.'
-So, by using Aion to create open applications, a means along with an incentive to do so are provided. This is good.
The Open Application Network solves the unintended consequences of platform economies.
-One, what's a 'platform economy'? It appears to be a 'network of businesses' building their business in a 'platform' structure. This, to me, seems like a new way of saying networking your business. Though, with more openness and direct intention to do so.
Here's a good explanation provided by Donte Ledbetter, Senior Marketer at Yousician
https://www.quora.com/What-is-platform-economy
“The most basic definition of a platform is a technology that allows other businesses to connect and build on top of it. As the internet evolves, more businesses are shifting their focus to becoming a platform. Platforms enable smaller companies to build, innovate, and grow faster while the platforms ensure their parent companies that they will be relevant for years to come.
Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon have matured beyond their core products and have created mobile platforms that support thousands of businesses and products across the globe.
We now have entire ecosystems of products and companies built on top of other people’s technology, which didn’t exist just a few years ago. As the platforms mature, and user adoption increases, we’re only going to see the platform economy strengthen.”
-Two, what are the unintended consequences? This appears to be the age-old problem of where competition is natural in living life, growing businesses, businesses earning customers, etc., but is presented from a digital technology perspective. This may be difficult to 'fix' as it seems innate or inherent to the way things are, for example, if someone builds a better 'whatever' then most people will move towards it, simply because it's better, or at least perceived to be better.
In the words of Matthew Spoke, Aion CEO:
"Our mission is to create shared, neutral infrastructure for the consumers, creators and third-party stakeholders across platform ecosystems. We want to empower developers with the tools they need to test, validate, and commoditize standards of ownership. Create new incentive or governance systems that find better alignment between ecosystem stakeholders. And establish transparent and secure methods to coordinate capital amongst participants to fund shared objectives."
His entire article can be read here: https://medium.com/theoan/the-unintended-consequences-of-platform-economies-b40f36f97db1
'The OAN is an open source public infrastructure for the creation and hosting of Open Apps. Open Apps are programs that put users back in control and are universally accessible across platforms. The OAN is built on open standards and is owned by everyone that uses it.'
-It appears the Aion OAN project is wanting to level the playing field for all aspects of 'platform economy' business and all the players, from consumers to customers. There likely is a qualified need for this. Hopefully the project isn't about trying to remove an innate element of life that is impossible to remove, and that it is indeed a good investment.
By the way, I'm not promoting or advising anyone to invest in AION at all. I'm not a financial or crypto currency advisor. Nor do I want to be. I just want to no if there's a real world application for this blockchain.