More important than the protocol or the software are the people involved: The Storj Community.
Storj Labs
[Storj Labs Inc](https://storj.io/team). was founded in 2015 to push development of the protocol, and to help build demand for the network. We’re a team of hackers headquartered in Atlanta, with contributors around the world. We’re passionate about decentralization, free software, and the impact of technology on society. We’re dedicated to building better tools so developers can make better products. And we believe that the cloud was built for everyone: Anyone, anywhere can be the cloud!
Our role in the ecosystem is two-fold. First, we finance development of the network and tools. Our team of full- and part-time engineers churns out high-quality code night and day. We ensure that the lights stay on, the data keeps flowing and the bugs get squashed. Our code runs on thousands of users’ machines, all cooperating to make the network. And we understand how critical it is to keep all those machines running smoothly.
Second, we work to source demand for the network. It’s slower to upload data to the network than to farm, and it requires more development time. You have to integrate the network with an app, and then manage your own infrastructure to issue audits. We can help people discover and use those tools. Applications need reliability, and companies need a service-level agreement. We can provide those features as a company where a distributed network never could. Keeping demand high is essential to the security and viability of this network. After all, if nobody buys storage space there won’t be any farmers.
Be The Cloud
Storj is bigger than just a company – we’re a community! We’re a group of enthusiasts, developers, and farmers who are excited about building and being part of the future of cloud storage. Our vision doesn’t stop at the office door. Thousands of people participate in our community chat; the Storj codebase has dozens of contributors. People show up and help us because they share our passion and our goals.
Our community provides time, talent, ideas, and resources that we could never come up with on our own. We have community members speaking at conferences for us around the world, devoting a dozen servers to stress test the network, constantly answering questions, and helping others in our community chat. Community feedback has caught some of our strangest bugs. Our founders and several of our employees joined the community first, and the company later. The community has been critical to everything we’ve achieved.
As we move together towards a full release, we’re excited to spend more time and resources interacting with and supporting our community. Together we can build, teach, learn, and change the future of object storage. Be the cloud!
source: http://blog.storj.io/post/148001577503/what-is-storj-part-3-of-3-the-storj-community