---
title: "Blocksplain & column highlights"
date: 2018-03-08
author: "Richard MacManus"
featured_image: "https://ricmac.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/typewriter-1.jpg"
categories:
  - name: "Journalism"
    url: "/category/journalism.md"
tags:
  - name: "Blocksplain"
    url: "/tag/blocksplain.md"
  - name: "Stuff"
    url: "/tag/stuff.md"
---

# Blocksplain & column highlights

I’ve been doing a lot of writing recently. While I’m taking a break from the book world, I’ve been full-on with a new blog and my weekly newspaper column. Here are a few quick highlights…

My new blog about blockchain and cryptocurrencies, [Blocksplain](https://blocksplain.com/), has been making an impact in the emerging “Web 3” ecosystem. As I tweeted today:

> Thanks Mike! Have to say, so far [@blocksplain](https://twitter.com/blocksplain?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) is doing exactly what [@RWW](https://twitter.com/RWW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) did for me back in 2003/04: connecting me to the do’ers &amp; thinkers of a new Web era. Slowly building up readers, but more importantly it’s a networking magnet. Indie blogs still matter. <https://t.co/JAhaKeYuVg>
> 
> — Richard MacManus (@ricmac) [March 7, 2018](https://twitter.com/ricmac/status/971484834332733440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

If you aren’t yet following Blocksplain, you can get notifications of new posts [via RSS](https://blocksplain.com/feed/), email (see the website), or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Blocksplain). There’s also [a Facebook Page](https://www.facebook.com/blocksplain/), although I don’t think Facebook is ideal since it may not show up in your feed.

If you’re looking to insert yourself into the crypto community, I recommend signing up to Twitter (and following @blocksplain).

Check out [the Blocksplain index](https://blocksplain.com/index/), to see what I’ve been writing about so far. You can read about new blockchain and crypto startups (like [Filecoin](https://blocksplain.com/2018/03/06/filecoin-amazon-s3-for-web-3/) and [SingularityNET](https://blocksplain.com/2018/02/15/singularitynet-decentralize-ai/)), cryptocurrencies (like [NEO](https://blocksplain.com/2018/02/26/neos-quest-to-be-the-one/) and [Monero](https://blocksplain.com/2018/01/29/monero-privacy-coins-legit/)), and the latest [blockchain trends](https://blocksplain.com/tag/infrastructure-trends/).

As well as the new blog, I continue to write a weekly column at Stuff – New Zealand’s largest news website. Recently in my column I’ve discussed both the [pros](https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/101968811/never-mind-the-ai-apocalypse-ai-can-be-useful-too) and [cons](https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/101551642/ai-manipulation-is-on-the-rise) of Artificial Intelligence, weighing up [privacy costs](https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/101758465/how-much-privacy-would-you-give-up-for-a-useful-app) when using apps, and how to build a [decentralized Twitter](https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/101349742/building-a-blockchain-version-of-twitter). I also coined a new term: [vagueware](https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/101170703/vagueware-takes-over-the-tech-world).

If you have any suggestions for upcoming Blocksplain posts or Stuff columns, hit me up on Twitter (@ricmac) or by reaching out via my [Contact](https://ricmac.org/contact/) page.