In an era where visual media is omnipresent, the old proverb “A picture is worth a thousand words” reminds us of the once-powerful impact of photography and film. In the past, a picture was considered an unshakable proof of reality—a moment captured and immutably preserved.

In the pre-digital manipulation era, images symbolized authenticity: They conveyed emotions, contexts, and events with a directness that words alone could not achieve. Think of iconic shots like the “Napalm Girl” from the Vietnam War or the “Falling Man” on September 11. These images shaped collective memory because they were perceived as mirrors of truth — unretouched, unembellished, and immediate. They helped spark societal debates, evoke empathy, and demand political change, condensing the complexity of the world into a single frame.

Yet in our hyper-connected present, this wisdom has turned on its head. Today, one might say:

“A picture lies more than a thousand words.”

Is the medium the message?

With the rise of artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and simple editing tools like Photoshop or video manipulation apps, images and videos are no longer guarantors of truth. They become tools of deception, inventing, distorting, or creating realities from scratch. From a sociological perspective — recall Marshall McLuhan’s thesis that “the medium is the message” — these fake contents not only shape our perception but also our social structures.

They amplify polarization by feeding filter bubbles and sowing distrust, leading to societal fragmentation. Philosophically, this evokes Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: We stare at shadows on the wall that we take for reality, but now these shadows are artificially generated and manipulative. Or, in Jean Baudrillard’s words, we live in a world of simulacra, where the copy surpasses originality and hyperreality replaces the real world.

This development raises fundamental questions: What does truth mean in an era where seeing is no longer believing? And how can we as a society still build trust when visual evidence is so easily faked?

The consequences of fake images and videos

The consequences are alarming and extend deep into politics, society, and the economy. Consider recent examples: In the context of the Ukraine war, a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy circulated in 2022, seemingly calling on his army to surrender. This video, spread by Russian sources, aimed to break the morale of Ukrainian troops and undermine international support — a clear case of political manipulation with the potential to influence the course of the conflict.

Similarly, a slowed-down video of US politician Nancy Pelosi went viral, making her appear drunk, and was shared by Donald Trump, which contributed to eroding public trust in political leaders and fueled debates on fake news.

In society, a fake video in India in 2018 led to deadly mob violence: A manipulated clip depicting a child abduction went viral on WhatsApp and triggered panic, costing at least nine innocent lives. Economically, deepfakes and fake news cause immense damage — a study estimates they cost the global economy around $78 billion in 2020 alone, through fraud or market disruptions.

Another example: In 2023, a fake image of an explosion at the Pentagon led to a temporary dip in the stock market as investors panicked. Such cases show how fake content not only destroys individual lives but can destabilize entire systems.

These reflections invite us to pause and ponder our role in this digital flood. As humans, we do ourselves no favors by flooding each other with fake images and videos — we undermine the foundation of societal cohesion, which rests on trust and shared reality. Yet Pandora’s box is open; the technology is too accessible, too powerful to stop completely. Instead, we need appropriate countermeasures to restore the integrity of images and videos.

It is precisely from this societal impetus that we at vali.now develop image integrity solutions — from real-time deepfake detection in live videos to forensic analyses for science and law enforcement. Let us together advocate for a world where images convey more truth than lies.

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Philosophical Foundations of Trust

Philosophy has long grappled with trust as a fundamental human vulnerability. Trust involves a willingness to be exposed to risk, relying on others’ goodwill without guarantees. As one key perspective notes, trust is essential for cooperation but inherently dangerous, as it opens the door to betrayal. Ethically and epistemologically, trust underpins knowledge-sharing and moral interactions; without it, coordinated activities like friendships or governance falter. Philosophers like those examining betrayal highlight how violated trust evokes not just disappointment but a deep sense of moral injury. From ancient Chinese and Indian traditions to modern existential views, trust is seen as a moral disposition that evolves with experience, often diminishing as life teaches caution. At its core, trust demands honesty and integrity, forming the bedrock of any relationship.

Sociological and Anthropological Insights

Sociology views trust as a social construct, a measure of belief in others’ honesty, fairness, and benevolence. It’s not just individual but systemic, enabling social order and reducing complexity in interactions. Theories emphasize trust as a willingness to accept vulnerability, often tied to norms and morals rather than personal knowledge. Social trust fosters cooperation and well-being in communities, acting as a normative force.

Anthropology complements this by examining trust in cultural contexts. In diverse societies, trust isn’t universal but shaped by norms, often troubling abstract notions by highlighting power dynamics and inequalities. It’s a relational practice, entangled in social imaginaries where humans are predisposed to trust unless extreme circumstances intervene. Evolutionary anthropology suggests that trust and trustworthiness have co-evolved as survival mechanisms, promoting cooperation in groups. In peaceful societies, trust manifests through shared personhood and community bonds.

Psychological Dimensions

Psychology delves into the internal mechanics of trust. Key factors include benevolence (good intentions), integrity (moral consistency), competence (ability), and predictability (reliability). Trust is influenced by personal traits like propensity to trust, reputation, and even gender, alongside situational cues. Familiarity breeds trust through positive past interactions, while personality facets like agreeableness and neuroticism play roles. Meta-analyses reveal trust as a dynamic process, shaped by cognitive evaluations and emotional bonds. Over time, trust can increase with age as individuals learn to discern reliable partners.

Historical Evolution of Trust

Has interpersonal trust changed over time? Evidence suggests yes, with a notable decline in modern eras, particularly in Western societies. In the U.S., the percentage of people believing “most people can be trusted” dropped from 46% in 1972 to 34% in 2018. This erosion is linked to societal shifts: urbanization, individualism, and media fragmentation have fostered skepticism. Globally, survey data show varying trends, but overall, interpersonal trust attitudes have fluctuated with economic and political stability. Interestingly, analyses of historical paintings from 1500–2000 indicate rising perceptions of trustworthiness in facial cues, perhaps reflecting cultural optimism during industrialization. Age-period-cohort studies reveal generational differences: older cohorts often exhibit higher trust, while recent periods show declines due to events like economic crises or pandemics. In essence, trust has become more conditional, shifting from community-based to institution-mediated forms.

Challenges in the AI Era

The advent of AI amplifies these dynamics, presenting unprecedented hurdles for human-to-human trust. One major issue is misinformation and deepfakes, eroding confidence in shared realities and interpersonal communications. AI’s opacity — lacking transparency in decision-making — fuels distrust, as users struggle to verify outputs. Overreliance on AI can diminish human creativity and empathy, with surveys showing younger adults fearing AI will worsen independent thinking. Cybersecurity risks, loss of human interaction, and biased algorithms further complicate trust, potentially leading to societal fragmentation. In healthcare and governance, premature AI adoption risks privacy breaches and safety issues, undermining trust in institutions. Paradoxically, while AI can facilitate initial trust in online spaces, sustaining deep ties becomes harder amid algorithmic manipulations. Rebuilding trust requires ethical AI design, emphasizing empathy and verifiability to preserve human connections.

Conclusion

Trust is a multifaceted gem, polished by philosophy’s introspection, sociology’s structures, anthropology’s cultures, history’s timelines, and psychology’s inner workings. While it has waned in recent decades due to societal shifts, AI introduces fresh fractures — demanding we adapt to maintain authentic human bonds. In this intelligent age, the question “Whom do humans trust?” increasingly includes machines, urging us to foster transparency and resilience. Ultimately, trust isn’t static; it’s a skill we must cultivate to thrive.

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Since business model innovation comes down to making changes to how a business earns its revenue, incurs its costs, and manages its risks, it should be seen as a continuous process rather than an organizational project task. Additionally, the procedural aspect comes another pre-condition for sustainable business model innovation: decentralization. Decentralization entails the non-existence of a central authority that aggregates power and defines all decision-making and the necessity to collaborate. Working in a decentralized network, all participants must co-ordinate their individual responsibilities and work packages. They have to agree upon a governance framework that defines the network’s rules and processes.

At first sight, decentralization is nothing you would expect to take place in a typical enterprise. Typically, companies or other organizations are hierarchically structured, with strategy and major decisions defined by an executive level, and lesser important aspects organized downwards in the org chart. Some organizational structures, e.g., the matrix organization, have implemented elements of decentralization. However, you won’t find a traditional organization besides cooperatives that would do without a top-down command chain. 

Since I have never been a huge fan of classic centralized structures, Blockchain technology has been warmly welcomed. For the first time, a foundational technology allows for decentralized structures and processes in the real world — by leveraging its inherent components of trustlessness, immutability, and security. For me, Blockchain is the paradigm shift needed to build and develop future businesses aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. In decentralized systems, enterprises become part of an overall protocol to add their organization-specific elements, s.a., brand, expertise, products, and services. Mechanisms ensure that each participant receives a fair return on investment into the network, depending on their contributions.

The Next Level Of Business Model Innovation — The Decentralized Network

On the basic level of a decentralized system, all participants collaboratively build, develop, and maintain foundational aspects of technology, legal, regulatory and organizational affairs. On the second level, participants cooperate in running transactions in the decentralized network. On the third layer, participants can compete with one another, building their individual applications on top of the jointly created platform. This 3‑layered Network Model is sustainable and resilient against economic downturns. However, it is far from being easily created. The challenges of setting up such a model mostly lie in overcoming the traditional beliefs of many top-level and most middle-level managers in enterprises, who try to preserve legacy organizational structures and processes. For them, terms, s.a. open-source, decentralization, or collaboration sound harmful to the economy. At least they are signs of weakness: who would collaborate or share IP if profits should be maximized when used proprietarily?

The simple truth is that the size of the economic cake isn’t fixed. And, the more enterprises collaborate, the lower their fixed costs. In other words,  collaboration pays-off. It does not only pay-off but is an indispensable presupposition for environmental-friendly, sustainable businesses. While many large enterprises have learned that cooperating on individual levels makes sense, only a few of them are ready to move to the next level and integrate not another model in their organization, but — vice versa — integrate their organization in a new (business) model. A generally more negative economic outlook, combined with the actual COVID-19 pandemic, will motivate more enterprises to think about entering the new level of business model innovation and joining decentralized networks in their respective industries.  

A Foundational Layer for Micromobility

I’m quite positive about the GAIA‑X Federated Data Infrastructure for Europe initiative that we, with Datarella, have joined recently. Its general approach is a truly decentralized one: (competing) enterprises and organizations from different domains come together. They are asked to join forces to create a n open, non-discriminating data infrastructure. In the mobility space, this will be used for all kinds of efficiency improvements, such as a better utilization of parking space, and for new offerings, such as shared micromobility services that allow for a seamless travel experience even in densely populated areas, both with significant positive environmental impacts. In 2021, we will see whether the GAIA‑X participants will make the open, decentralized intent come true!

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The issue here is no scaremongering but resolving global challenges that each of us is confronted with, individually. There has been an ongoing migration of poor, desperate people from regions unliveable due to the climate crisis, poverty, and wars. We can watch — live on TV — how people drown in the sea, being prevented from reaching safe land. We also watch live on TV how incompetent, corrupt, but democratically elected heads of states issue rules and guidelines while ignoring domain experts and scientific advice. We, in the first world, discuss, demonstrate, and donate in order to add our fair share to the fight against global threats. But, is that enough?

Many of us share a feeling of an increasing exasperation, the notion that even our aggregated efforts could not suffice to save planet earth as a liveable habitat. Some have started working on escape plans by exploring other planets as potential habitats. But, even the best of these alternative scenarios would most probably translate in very limited living spaces for a fraction of the 1%. So, let’s forget about these, for a moment.

In The Mindful Revolution, I share my thoughts about how human beings must — and can — change in order to save our planet. My perspective is a very individual one: I don’t try to solve global problems by operating giant levers, e.g. by influencing the heads of the United Nations or states to improve their regiments.

The Mindful Revolution — Entering the next evolutionary level.

My perspective is, first and foremost, inward-bound. Based on my layman’s knowledge of neuroscience, combined with my entrepreneurial experience in several technologies, I have developed the thesis of a possible reconnection of our brain with our body (or: intuition) that allows for entering a higher level of understanding and addressing global challenges. As with all technologies, after a certain duration of development, each technology reaches the final stage of its inherent potential. For instance, look at combustion engines. Car manufacturers have fine-tuned car engines to the max — we have now reached the point where each additional incremental improvement would take tremendous efforts that, in turn, would overcompensate the gains. Thus, the advent of the electric vehicle: a completely different technology is needed to move forward and to allow for individual transport in the future.

In the same way, EVs displace the combustion engine, a higher level of awareness attained by leveraged human capabilities through the reconnection of brain and body can take over from our limited, linear, first-order-thinking-based strategies to run the world. There’s no time to discuss and ponder, we have to act. In The Mindful Revolution I propose a peaceful, scientifically-proven, and low-cost way to enter the next level in the evolution of mankind. Looking forward to your feedback!

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A DAO is a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation — a network comprised of several, if not many, individual entities — or: nodes — that have agreed on working together on some specific purpose. The basis for their work is a set of rules, a so-called governance model. This governance model not only defines the rules and processes of the DAO but also comes with an implemented incentivization scheme that incentivizes each node to actively participate in the network.

DAO — Brainstorming On Decentralised Autonomous Organisations

As of 2020, there are several blockchain protocols providing software and governance to create DAOs. My goal for today is to get your feedback on the below mentioned specific DAO ideas — or: applications if you will.

DARFT

Decentralised Autonomous Request for Tender

• There is a Request for Tender RFT process
• A smart contract defines the complete RFT process 
• All participants are provided with user interfaces for input and output of their respective data
• Approval criteria for each step of the process are programmed in the smart contract that automatically decides about reaching the next step for each participant
• Financial transactions due to individual steps of the process are automatically triggered and payments are sent to the participants
• After the final round, the winner is selected based on the approval rates received in each round
• The winner receives the payment and a briefing for the first milestone

DACOMMS

Decentralised Autonomous Communications

• There are content owners with the need to communicate their contents
• Content owners use the DACOMMS to decentralize their communications
• Content owners publish a job; i.e. content they want to be communicated, incl. a budget (metrics-based, e.g.number of redirected visitors, leads, etc.)
• Potential communicators apply for this job by providing their credentials; i.e. brand, website, Online/Social Media reach (based on public metrics provided by respective services)
• Communicators are selected based on the criteria programmed in the smart contract initially provided by the content owner
• The job is opened to every communicator meeting the requirements described in the smart contract
• Communicators start with their work and report the results back to the smart contract
• The job ends as soon as the budget is consumed
• Communicators automatically receive payments according to their performances

These are two very basic ideas around DAOs. I have not thought them through in detail, yet. Please tell me what you think about these DAO ideas. Do you feel that I better should forget about them, or do you think both ideas or one of them should be worked on? Then let’s collaborate! 

Thank you for your feedback!

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In a normal environment, systems become more complex due to a growing number of participants, new aggregations and categories of entities, and typical systemic challenges resulting from the misuse of structures and processes within the system. From within, no system has ever tended to less complexity. History has shown that exogenous shocks, s.a. wars, revolutions, natural catastrophes, etc. were the only category of events that could trigger a complex system to either collapse or shrink to their core values in order to be re-built without regard to legacy elements, created in a completely new and better way.

One exogenous shock of that category is the Corona pandemic. Comparable to a natural disaster, s.a. an earthquake or Tsunami, it caught the world on the wrong foot. Although many countries are quite well organized, run elaborated health systems, and have plenty of experience with virus outbreaks like SARS, or Ebola, nobody was geared up to the needs of a pandemic spreading with a speed like the Coronavirus.

As a natural accompaniment to any major event, lots of experts jump in with their explanations, opinions, and criticism of those who are trying to handle the situation. In Germany, the proverb of being a country with 80 million soccer coaches (stemming from the profound expertise everybody seems to have when it come to how to win a soccer match) has already been changed into “80 million virologists” who consult the German government, and, of course, anybody else, in the “only correct way” to handle the crisis.

The Media

Torn between fake news, and the need to sell more online subscriptions, German media, which has been struggling with finding its economic way out of declining newspaper and magazine revenues, is trying its best to somehow evaluate what’s happening. Maybe it’s due to the German „Angst“-DNA, even serious papers often lack substantiated research and argumentation, when declaring that after Corona nothing would be the same, that Corona proved our economic system as defunct, and so forth. The usual naysayers and prophets of doom and gloom have entered the stage to declare the end of capitalism, humanism, democracy, and everything else. So-called futurologists, who have lived in the shadow in recent years, are offered spots on the first page or in TV shows to present themselves and their lofty opinions. While under normal circumstances nobody listens to the types, it seems to be out of place to amplify their voices in times like these.

Wise People

The Corona crisis is a severe challenge for our society. Located in Germany, faced with exit restrictions, but not a complete curfew, we are much better-off than e.g. our Italian friends who experience the worst times since WWII. However, in all democratic countries, and even in many autocratic ones, most people are behaving in a calm and prudent way. There is no panic at all, and even panic buying seems to be mostly happening in the media, whereas e.g. in Munich, everybody is shopping prudently, being highly sensitive regarding social distancing, and supporting each other — many people volunteer to do the groceries for the elderly, etc.

Wise Governments

Our governments, on the national level as well as on the federal level, have demonstrated a clear and determined will to support German citizens not only regarding health aspects but also regarding economic and social aspects. Beside unconditional financial support, government representatives are doing a fantastic job explaining the necessity of exit limitations, resulting in a limited lock-down — which, of course, is far from being a free democrat‘s dream. Chancellor Angela Merkel made it very clear, that we are moving on a fine line between necessary, live-saving restrictions and otherwise unconditional freedom of movement. My feeling is, that an overwhelming majority of Germans know exactly what is at stake and accordingly comply with these quite exceptional limitations.

Wise Businesses

A relevant share of Germany‘s economy depends on car manufacturers. While this industry recently has come under pressure due to the climate crisis and strategic mismanagement, it has completely stalled for the time being. Together with the government, business leaders have discussed their options — and beside the typical call for a bailout, some of them have come up with ideas of adapting their production lines from car components to health components. Of course, you can‘t transform VW into a health company, but you can think outside the box and create new opportunities with existing means of production.

Leveraging Points — Locations For Small Changes In A Complex System

Maybe, the Coronavirus helps to simplify and manage our complex ecosystem. There are hundreds of examples of simplifications: from fast-track aid, to production line switches to support for the neighbors. Maybe, Corona illustrates that we as a society have more important challenges and tasks to solve than many of those we typically deal with. Perhaps this crisis serves as a lesson in prioritization. From system analysis, we know that in complex systems there are so-called leverage points: places where a small shift in one thing can produce big changes in everything. People typically know intuitively where leverage points are. The only problem — it‘s a backward intuition: complex systems are counterintuitive; i.e. either leverage points are not intuitive, or, if they are, we intuitively use them backward, systematically worsening every problem we are trying to solve.

Most people intuitively know that our financial system is put to a test during the Corona crisis. Unfortunately, in most cases it will turn out as a backward intuition: many people intuitively ask for a ban of short-selling or the high-frequency trading of financial assets. As we know from hundreds of years of experience, these instruments are of high systemic value, especially when markets need liquidity to function. However, every time a financial situation turns challenging, people start asking regulators and lawmakers for these counterintuitive market interventions.

Needless to mention that in case you have found the leverage points resulting from Corona, nobody will believe you because of counterintuitiveness. This phenomenon can turn into frustration if you have not only analyzed the leveraging points but if you want to use them to make the world a better place.

However, if you aren‘t a misanthrope, you can and will always give it a try. Here‘s a list of places to intervene in a (complex) system — in increasing order of effectiveness:

12. Constants, parameters, numbers (such as subsidies, taxes, standards)

11. The sizes of buffers and other stabilizing stocks, relative to their flows

10. The structure of material stocks and flows (such as transport networks, population age structures)

9. The lengths of delays, relative to the rate of system change

8. The strength of negative feedback loops, relative to the impacts they are trying to correct against

7. The gain around driving positive feedback loops

6. The structure of information flows (who does and does not have access to what kinds of information)

5. The rules of the system (such as incen- tives, punishments, constraints)

4. The power to add, change, evolve, or self-organize system structure

3. The goals of the system

2. The mindset or paradigm out of which the system—its goals, structure, rules, delays, parameters—arises

1. The power to transcend paradigm

Gratefulness

I‘m not a big fan of doomsayers, and I neither recommend to make critical decisions in times of unrest. If history is a good teacher, we will have experienced the most negative impact of the Corona crisis until the end of April. In May, we will hopefully see no new infections, there will be life on the streets, again, situations in hospitals should have been relaxed, and all patients will get the treatments they deserve. When the worst is over, the not-exactly-as-bad aspects will dominate our lives — when health detriments have been solved, financial problems will be the next challenge. A country like Germany should be able to manage this financial crisis relatively well. I expect the worst financial challenges to be solved at the end of this year. Of course, we all will have to work hard and pay back debts for the years to come — I‘m just speaking of the worst part.

It‘s kind of difficult to evaluate a crisis when being right in the middle of it. However, experiencing how my family, friends, colleagues, and everybody else I know of, are dealing with Corona, I am grateful, once again, living in times like these. Apparently, mankind has made significant progress in some aspects of social competence. I hope that my above-mentioned expectation won’t prove to be too far from reality — and I invite everybody to become as grateful and positive as I am — today! If you find it difficult to be grateful and find your inner calm, try this daily routine — it works! Let’s actively manage the Coronavirus crisis to make the world a better place!

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At EXPO REAL 2019, Europe’s largest real estate fair, we presented the first details. We now received the final approval by German financial regulatory body BaFin and have started with the sale of Connex Coin, open to Friends & Family. Here’s the story of Connex Coin.

The idea of Connex Coin was born in 2018. Then, we discussed digitization projects in the field of real estate funds with Thomas Meyer, founder, and CEO of Wertgrund Immobilien AG, a residential real estate fund manager. Shortly afterward, we started a similar conversation with Hans Hammer, founder, and CEO of Hammer AG, a commercial real estate developer. It became clear within weeks: we should have these conversations together, as a team.

Fast forward: In July 2019, we founded our new company RAAY Real Estate (RAAY RE) as a joint venture of Hammer, Wertgrund, and Datarella. The purpose of RAAY RE is to offer blockchain-based products and services to the real estate industry, which itself is a late adopter regarding digitization efforts. We decided to start RAAY RE with the tokenisation of a Hammer-owned property, located in central Munich. With the Connex building, we have a first-class property in one of the best real estate locations in Europe, with first-class tenants — in short: the best product you can imagine for the start of a product category in your company! 

By tokenizing this property, we provide the perfect investment opportunity — especially for retail investors — since individuals can become real estate investors starting at 10 EUR. The Connex Coin token sale will take place from March to May 2020. Connex Coin owners will receive an interest of 3% on their investments and can sell Connex Coin back to the issuer. In the first phase, there will be no public trading of Connex Coin, since at the moment there are no EU-compliant cryptocurrency exchanges that offer trading security tokens. As soon as there is approval from financial regulators, Connex Coin will be one of the first security tokens listed on exchanges in Europe.

Connex Coin is the first token issued by RAAY RE, others will follow. We are planning to launch more token sales for self-owned real estate properties in 2020. Additionally, we will offer tokenization as a service to players in the real estate industry. This offering comprises the complete tokenization process, including technical, legal, and regulatory elements, based on an existing long-term real estate expertise.

In addition to our tokenization service, at RAAY RE we offer a variety of tools and products that can be used by real estate developers, owners, and funds, ranging from KYC onboarding processes, to smart digital (crypto) wallets. Our clients benefit from the in-depth technical expertise of Datarella, known for running large blockchain projects on a global level.

With the launch of Connex Coin, RAAY RE can prove that blockchain technology can be leveraged to make payment and transaction processes within real estate more efficient, thus paving the way to a digitized future for the real estate industry.

The acquisition of this investment involves considerable risks and can lead to the complete loss of the invested assets.

Risk Disclosure § 12 VermAnlG

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As with any new technology, the first months were tough, since nobody had heard of Blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology DLT, as the engineers say. It was totally unclear if Blockchain would be adopted by the market since it comes with a paradigm shift: its distributed nature requires decentralized decision making and the finding of consensus in a network of nodes that might not know each other. In other words: running a blockchain requires a trusted consensus mechanism, a governance model, and a token design — all things not needed or unheard of, before. Next, IT departments typically tend to defend incumbent soft- and hardware infrastructures against newcomers, since past investments have to pay themselves off, and everybody had been trained in using and maintaining this legacy and is unwilling to switch to a completely different technology stack.

Humanitarian Blockchain #1
Since we had been absolutely convinced of Blockchain from day one, we tried to find use cases and partners in regions and industries that weren’t obvious for introducing high-tech. In 2016 we started working on a payment system that we installed in a Jordan refugee camp on 1 May, 2017, mandated by the United Nation’s World Food Programme WFP. Think twice about that: the latest technology is being installed in a high-security refugee camp in Jordan… In early 2020, nearing its 3rd birthday, the system is running flawlessly and saves the WFP tons of money. Furthermore, it makes financial transactions more secure and provides realtime reporting which, again, is a significant cost saver. These savings help WFP and the UN making their work more efficient and add trust towards the donor countries. In short, Blockchain makes aid distribution safer and more efficient.

Humanitarian Blockchain #2
In 2018, we started another way of applying Blockchain: together with UKAid, DFID / FTL, and logistics partners, we created a tracking solution for aid deliveries. When disaster strikes, aid agencies have to send out relief supplies, on very short notice. Our blockchain system helps to track and trace these supplies on their way to their destinations. Knowing all about the whereabouts and having realtime information about other product features allows for efficient logistics management, which in turn, saves a lot of money. and time. All participants of the network have realtime access to relevant supply chain data which eliminates the need for inefficient communication and additional paperwork. Again, Blockchain makes aid safer and more efficient. In early 2020, we are working on the next phase of our Track & Trust product: the last mile tracking of aid supplies with the help of a LoRa mesh network and a satellite uplink.

Humanitarian Blockchain #3
In mid-2019, we were asked to join the Baraka project in Dakar, Senegal, by YOU Stiftung. In this several years project, the Baraka slum in central Dakar has been rehabilitated into a modern village for former slum, now village dwellers. This project was started by UNESCO Special Ambassador Ute Ohoven and her daughter Claudia Jerger, who head YOU Stiftung, a Düsseldorf-based foundation that runs several development projects, mainly on the African continent. The construction work for the new village, called Nouvelle Baraka, has been done by Casa Orascom, a subsidiary of Orascom, a world leader in construction. With Datarella, we installed a Blockchain-based payment system for community fees for Nouvelle Baraka. In this case, Blockchain is used for eliminating fees of financial intermediaries, and for adding trust towards the village welters: they have visual proof of their payments. Since February 2020, the Soreba Manager, the system’s name, is up and running, saves money, and adds trust.

Humanitarian Blockchain #4
Also in 2019, we started to support the grassroots Rohingya Project. The Rohingya had been forced to leave their home country, Myanmar, their passports were removed, and with that,  in essence, they lost their identities. The grassroots project tries to re-empower the Rohingya step-by-step. With Datarella, we have built the R‑Wallet, a crypto wallet for the management of tokens in exchange for Rohingya community services. In this case, Blockchain is used to securely manage tokens in a digital wallet, which enables the Rohingya to autonomously participate in a financial network. Blockchain empowers the individual and allows for efficient financial transactions. Everybody was proud of learning the project has won the Malaysian National Recognition Reward!

The Humanitarian Blockchain — DLT Applications for Social Good

Datarella is developing Humanitarian Blockchain applications for social good: payment, disbursement, supply chain, and tracking products. However, we do not exclusively work in the humanitarian space. We have clients and partners in the fields of IoT, Finance, and Supply Chain in less sensitive environments. However, we have learned that Blockchain has its biggest impact on countries and environments with developing infrastructures and processes. Here, Blockchain does not have to fight against legacy tech infrastructure and there often is a green-field situation in place: solutions have to and can be built from scratch, if possible with the latest technology at hand — Blockchain.

In this regard, we at Datarella experience two great advantages in developing the humanitarian blockchain: 

1. We use Blockchain technology for good causes, and this is very satisfying on a personal level.
2. We achieve the biggest impact by leveraging Blockchain’s inherent benefits, which is paying off on the economic level.

Personally„ I’m very proud of my team at Datarella and grateful to be part of this endeavor!

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If you plan to choose a healthy diet, you should address:

• what you eat and drink,
• how much you eat and drink, and
• how often you eat and drink.

Most diet recommendations are limited to the first aspect of what you should eat. Obviously, this is important, since as we say in the information business: „shit in, shit out“, which means if your food intake is of low quality, your organism won‘t be able to achieve good results. If you opt for the so-called Mediterranean diet, that‘‘s perfect. If you want to know more about specific diets, have a look here

Next, it seems also obvious that the amount of (the calories of) food intake defines your BMI.  Calorie restriction  (CR) is the best advice if you‘re heading for a good, long life. Scientists working in the field of aging, cite CR as the ultimate recommendation for longevity.

The last aspect, however, is the third relevant criteria of a healthy diet: the frequency of your food intake results in short-term effects, such as losing or gaining weight, but much more relevant are the long-term effects, its impact on your health span — that part of your overall life span you do not suffer from chronic illnesses, which is, on average, roughly the last 10–15 years of your life. After food intake, our bodies need time to digest, to make use of the input. It takes about six to eight hours for food to pass through your digestive system. Food then enters our large intestine for further digestion, absorption of water, and, finally, elimination of undigested food. It takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire digestive system. All in all, from the time we swallow food to the time it leaves our bodies as feces, it takes about two to five days, depending on the individual.

Obviously, nobody waits for 3 days to start eating again. However, the recommendation here is to provide your digestive system with enough time to do its work. Religions and philosophies, such as Christianity, Buddhism, or Sufism, teach us to fast for 8 hours before start eating again. In the health and wellness area we speak of Intermittent Fasting (IF). IF can be done in various ways — the best-known version is 16:8, which means you don‘t eat for 16 hours, and you eat in a time window of eight hours. Another famous version is the Fast-Five diet, which recommends only eat in a time window of 5 hours, ideally from 5 pm-10 pm. In this period, you can eat what you want and how much you want, the proponents of this version argue (I’d be skeptical, and I’d recommend to mainly eat high-protein and high-carb food if you opt for Fast Five).

On Healthy Eating — How To Choose A Healthy Diet

Whatever version of IF you choose, my advice is to go for one that best fits into your daily schedule and that is socially acceptable. I, personally, only choose behaviors that I can fit into my overall lifestyle for an extended period of time. IF for me means 14:10 on typical days, i.e. skipping breakfast (going for green tea and espresso, only). Then, I try to have 8 hours between lunch and dinner without food intake. Roughly 14 hours after food intake, a key homeostatic mechanism called autophagy kicks in. Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate new, healthy cells.

For me, that 14:10 regimen is always the goal, but I don’t see it in a dogmatic way. If I’m offered fresh fruits or very dark chocolate during an afternoon meeting, I eat some. It fascinates me, that our bodies provide us with several options to regenerate and rewire ourselves, physiologically as well as mentally.

A little trick for those days you have to travel: just skip meals you typically would not have actively chosen yourselves, s.a. snacks on the plane, fast food at the airport, or bad finger-food at receptions. Especially when being in transit, it is easy fasting by not opting for bad choices.

On Healthy Eating — How To Choose A Sustainable Diet

To sum it up: eat only good food, but less, and less frequently. That‘s the simple nutrition program that should work best for everybody who is prepared for a minimum of commitment to a regimen. If you combine this diet with the Daily REWIRE Routine, you should become quite old while staying healthy!

The post On Healthy Eating — How To Choose A Sustainable Diet appeared first on MICHAEL REUTER.

We tend to defend ourselves and to hide behind the armour. Driving an SUV, might — in a way — be comparable with driving a tank: sitting in an elevated position that provides a good overview of the surroundings, shielded by a spacious vehicle with a typically aggressive appearance and a high engine performance. One needs only to think of the latest Tesla model, the Cybertruck. 

Living in the most peaceful period of time in history, we apparently feel a need to protect ourselves from threats, or, the other way round, we want to demonstrate strength, dynamics, and willingness, or to recklessly pursue our personal interests.

The psychological explanation of this behavior is simple: it’s fear. We live in fear of losing something, of falling behind, of not winning, or of being overlooked.  Can we generalize this diagnosis?

At the age of 15, I quitted classic guitar lessons and started playing the electric guitar in a school band. Before our first gig, the band was ultra nervous. How would our classmates and other concert-goers react? Would they be friendly and applaud, or would it be the greatest disaster of our high school careers? After 90 minutes, there was a relief: It was a great success — after a few songs, we were getting cooler and performed well. The audience cheered — simply because we had over-delivered based on their non-existing expectation level. 

What I personally learned from this and subsequent concerts is the power of vulnerability. Imagine some 15-year-olds entering the stage and performing a few Rock’n’Roll songs with their rather thin high voices, imitating famous rock stars. There is a fine line between looking silly or cool. And the harder we had been trying to look cool, the funnier it would have looked. Instead, we did not try to imitate AC/DC, but to be ourselves and to interpret the songs the best we could. Apparently, this authenticity was the key to our success, not necessarily the quality of our performance. We were visibly vulnerable, and the audience dealt with that in a friendly, open, and sympathetic manner. 

This was my first personal experience with open vulnerability. Later on, I learned that the art is not to actively expose one’s vulnerability but to let it be discovered by removing one’s armor. Today, I would not necessarily tell everybody all about my faults. However, if someone realizes a fault or weakness of mine, I don’t try to hide it, but I allow it to be and to be accepted — or not. 

Vulnerability is power, not weakness — it might take some time to understand this concept. We all are vulnerable, even Achilles was. So why hide behind armor? Why not removing the armor, stopping playing a role, and becoming authentic, with strengths and weaknesses? Just try it — allow yourself to be vulnerable! It‘s good for your health, you‘ll feel less stressed, and your partner, kids, and friends will love it!

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