Unless you are a Hive wizard or witch, you may not be familiar with all magical powers of Hive. The most powerful of them is custom JSON. When interacting on Hive we get used to its social applications and may build a misconception of Hive only being a social blogging and networking blockchain that rewards content creators and curators. Without any doubt social applications are indeed big part of Hive and one of the unique features that sets this blockchain apart from others.
However, it is only a proof of concept, a demonstration of a truly decentralized blockchain can do. The real magical power of Hive is hidden from the mere mortals. It is called custom JSON. As the name suggests, it enables wizards and witches create custom spells and build magical applications that are only limited to their imaginations. Let's back up a little bit.
When we publish a post or make comment on a post, this content is stored in Hive blockchain with a certain structure. Hive internally refers to all posts and comments as comments. When we upvote or downvote, these actions are also stored in the blockchain and these actions are linked to the posts/comments actions were on. Then there is rewards distribution system built around posting, commenting, upvoting, downvoting actions. These are all built in features of the blockchain.
Custom JSON is a completely separate entity from actions described above and by default has nothing to do with social blogging and rewards distribution. However, it is so powerful, by using it we can recreate similar social interactions and rewards distribution or come up with completely new systems and economies. The purpose and applications are not limited to social networking. It can be used for anything. We can build solutions for logistics, accounting, inventory systems, online orders, payments, gaming, education, etc. Anything!
It allows us to store text data in the blockchain. Since the language of the web JavaScript and common data structure is JSON, most likely we will use JSON structure when storing the data for use within apps, games, or any other software tools. We build our own custom data structure before storing in the blockchain, that's why it is called custom JSON aka custom_json.
If you know a little bit of python, you can use Holger's beem library to broadcast custom_json transactions. I will not bore you with lines of code today. But if you really are interested to see how it is done, feel free to read my Using Hive Blockchain Custom Json Operation with Python & Beem post which also includes some template codes to store some data as custom_json on Hive.
To take advantage of this magical power called custom_json, some wizardly or witch powers are needed. I am neither a wizard, nor am I a witch. I am only a seeker of a little bit of knowledge and skills. Playing with code gives us a deeper understanding of the this technology to see the possibilities. And they are limitless. If you haven't noticed yet, when I keep saying wizards and witches, I simply mean developers who have real coding skills. I am not a developer. I only code occasionally, and learned the basics here on Hive. Experimenting with various codes, I can see and image what can be possible to build on Hive if only one had proper skills, time, interest, and resources.
Many cool things are already built on Hive using this magic of custom json. Layer 2 solutions like Hive Engine and layer 2 economies has shown to be very attractive and interesting for many. The most popular crypto game Splinterlands uses custom json. Tribes like LeoFinance, ProofOfBraine, and others use custom json. Tribes experimenting with different economic and rewards models are utilizing custom json to make those ideas a reality.
When I read or hear when some people suggest ideas how Hive rewards can be improved, and often there are some good ideas, my reaction is - "No need to change Hive rewards, new ideas and systems can be built using custom json". This is available for everybody. There is no need to be a whale, or witness to work on building upon these ideas. There is no need for blockchain hardforks. Custom json just works.
There is something very important to remember though. Custom json takes its magical powers and energy from truly decentralized blockchain. If Hive wasn't decentralized custom json would be meaningless and have nothing better to offer than centralized database solutions. Hive being a decentralized blockchain network, makes custom json to be immutable, transparent, and incorruptible solution for wizards and witches to build their wizardly things and witchcraft.
Now let's take a look at couple examples what can be build using custom json. Possibilities are limitless. I am fond of cryptography, privacy and education. First example I would offer is a sort of a Facebook clone or social network with privacy features. This can be accomplished by storing data in an encrypted way and only let data decrypt based on data owners permissions. If I am an organization with 100 people in it and would like to create a platform for the people in the organization to communicate and collaborate with, I wouldn't want this data leaked to the public.
What I would do is store anything and everything in an encrypted form as custom json on Hive. Everybody using the app/platform would be able to do that. Then everybody can give permissions to other to view the content. This would only apply to text data. Images and videos take up a lot of space, they would probably need a different solution to be stored. One of the solutions can be the infrastructure and network Speak Network is building. Or we can go back to centralized database solutions. But the core integrity of these social or work related interaction will be preserved via custom json. Now we can scale this up and offer this solutions to any organization that would like to use it, or just people to start private social networking circles. Of course, everything doesn't need to be private. It is always good to have options for people to choose.
The second example is a lot simpler. One of the main methodologies used in education is testing the students to see how much of the material and knowledge students were able to retain. Common types of testing is multiple choice or true/false quiz. Let's say I want to build a quiz app and call Hive Quiz. I still want to be able to keep quiz questions private and not publicly available for everybody. I will store questions and answers in an encrypted format as custom json on Hive. Then I will be able to provide my students with a link and a passphrase to access the quiz. Once they take the quiz, the date, time, their answers and scores will be stored as custom json as well. Since all data is available in the blockchain and I have the access to decrypt, I will easily be able to view and grade the tests.
Over the years I will keep building my questions pool and improving. At the same time tens of thousands of teachers around the world, or maybe around my local area are doing the same thing. Teachers would be able to network with each other and share their quiz tests, and reuse them as they find fit. With many teachers getting involved the system will keep improving on its own. We can take this model and apply to testing outside of educational facilities as well.
What are your thoughts about custom json and what do you think is possible to build utilizing this powerful feature of Hive? Let me know in the comments.