WSPR: BLOCKCHAIN THE NEXT REVOLUTION OF THE LITERARY WORLD?

Perceived by many as the most important invention from the Internet

Will the blockchain become one of the biggest challenges in the publishing world?

In any case, this is the challenge of wespr, a collaborative publication platform built in blockchain and more specifically in the ecosystem of Ethereum. Contacted by ActuaLitté, Alexandre Rouxel, one of its creators, explains how this technology can revolutionize the world of publishing.


If you have heard of BITCOIN, you may have heard about the blockchain, known as the technology that has supported the emergence of this cryptocurrency. We are only beginning to realize the potential of using this protocol in multiple areas. This information storage and transmission technology, without a control body, is transparent, secure and decentralized.

The blockchain in the literary world:

According to wespr co-founder, "it is a technology that allows us to shape digital environments where individuals are the ability to build economic relationships independently, that is, without the need for a trusted third party to guarantee the effectiveness of the transactions. " In other words: "it is a process of liberal governmentality, which allows freedom and is oriented towards the common good".

Through blockchain technology, wespr plans to allow actors from the world of literature (authors, editors, designers, editors, translators, readers, literary critics, etc.) to come together in the same digital environment, build economic relationships, deposit books online, collaborate collectively in the writing of a book while collectively sharing labor rights, invest in a book, access financial support for publishers or even simply sell your work.

This is the idea shared by the creators of the platform: Alexandre Rouxel, PhD student in communication in Rennes 2, Nolwenn Jollivet, designeuse Thibault Boixière, journalist and doctoral student in contemporary literature, and Olivier Sarrouy, Sciences Professor of Information and Communication at the University of Rennes 2.

Why this idea? To give everyone an opportunity: "We wanted to create a more open space for all the actors in the book chain, a space conducive to meetings, exchanges and creation." This space would allow a multiplicity of works to gain visibility through the activity of the crowds on the platform and the linkage of the authors and readers, which allows corollary of a series of writers who leave the general silence of what they write, "says Alexandre Rouxel.

It is also to respond to the concerns of the organization and help small and medium publishers who suffer from the few employees and the excessive number of manuscripts they receive each day. It is difficult to deal with everything, to take the risk of publishing and keeping up when billing in bookstores is so impressive.

With the Wespr platform, editors like all other users can "access a wide range of indicators in the works such as reviews, tastes, comments, investment, views, hashtag, support portfolios for editing, etc. All these indicators can help to publishing professionals to take a new look at the current literary landscape, therefore, editors can encourage authors to present their work in wespr, and observe what happens there.

The potentials of wespr:

Wespr is based on the Ethereum ecosystem, which is implemented with blockchain technology. It is a decentralized, very open exchange protocol that allows the implementation by its users of "intelligent contracts" (contracts that are intelligent) that is, contracts negotiated and executed without the need of a third party. This involves reducing transaction costs.

Then, according to Alexandre Rouxel, developing this technology in the publishing world is interesting and practical at an organizational and political level.

But also at the level of economic exchanges that take place directly between the people on the platform. It is also in this area where liberalism expresses itself most. The users of the platform negotiate directly between them, without moderation, the rates of their work, with tokens (digital assets) and a cryptocurrency created for the platform: the Echo (ECH).

Another possibility: imagine that an author needs a model maker, but does not have much money, "can give a percentage of the actions of their work to the modeler, for example, 10%, which the modeler will affect every time the book is sold. on the platform if this type of contract has been established with the author.

The work becomes CAD (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), that is to say that it is possible to become co-author or co-creator of a work, if the owner of the work desires. In this case, the co-authors will have the opportunity to vote on the future of the work (their illustrations, production, translation, etc.) that becomes collective.

Open to collective writing:

Therefore, Wespr will also be a "collective writing platform" thanks to the Git computer protocol. "You are free to submit a manuscript and open your manuscript for collective writing.A job can be written by thousands of people and it is the author who decides whether to open the rights." Alexandre Rouxel says. And, of course, the sale price will be redistributed according to the rights holders.

If the evolution of the work does not satisfy more than 51% of the authors, it will be possible for the "forker", that is to say for "forking the basic protocol" and creating "an alternative work". and parallel to the original work. "Therefore," The protocol will allow observing all the modifications by which a job is passed. "

As a reader, it will be possible to invest in a job, "as long as the author has opened a part of his work to investors" to complete his doctorate in communication. This will be a portfolio of editorial support, which will then be returned to the publisher who wishes to publish the book. Easier for the author to find an editor, but little precision: "As for the investors, they have no right to work, nothing to do with the DAO.

When asked about free competition on the platform, Alexandre Rouxel responded that "this is not the best option". The works compete only if they follow the same financial interest. It is possible to open your work in the DAO, or arrive with a book already written, for example.

Do not ruin the lives of publishers, "as Amazon does"

Finally, the platform that Wespr claims as "The Amazon-Killer" (the Amazon killer). "We are anti-Amazon, because we try to go against logic," says Alexandre Rouxel. "Our goal is not to ruin the lives of small and medium publishers like Amazon does, nor do we need to create the worst managerial villains to make things work, nor resort to the latest algorithmic skills to drive book purchases on the platform, or even to exist in department stores where employees on the verge of suicide interact with the latest in robotics, we believe that decentralization can eventually make centralized entities like Amazon disappear. "

In addition, "unlike Amazon desktop publishing, we organize collective writing processes. (...) In addition, an author who will deposit his book will have 100% of the rights to his work, for him then see how he will distribute them, It does not concern us, we are simply providing a means, and this environment will not consume a penny in transactions. "

Finally, Alexandre Rouxel declares:

"We do not want to live in a separate world, Amazon exists more and more in an autistic bubble away from the world of traditional publication, unlike him, we do not want to do without the intelligence of the actors of the economy of the book or take advantage of people who try to live by the pen. "

 Auspicious, therefore, for the wespr platform. Its creators have clearly identified the next great challenge of creation. To follow…

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