Platform Revolution: Blockchain as the Operating System of the Digital Age, reviewed

We look at Don Tapscott’s latest book, Platform Revolution which features the work of seven experts, drawing from their contributions to the Blockchain Research Institute’s syndicated research program. You can see more about the book here.

Platform Revolution: Blockchain as the Operating System of the Digital Age, reviewed

We have reviewed several of Don Tapscott’s previous books, and we are big fans of his analysis of the future, and in particular his deep dives into the blockchain space too. This book, as with those previous books, aims to cover a wide range of use cases and to consider different ways in which this technology could impact our lives.

This book does deliver many good insights, and there are elements about it that we felt were useful and valuable for the reader. However with the early chapters there is a definite feel that many of these sections were simply text pulled out of the metaphorically dusty filling cabinet. In several sections diagrams are from 2017, and there are references which clearly date to text to four to five years ago, with comments that frame 2018 as a point run the future.

These sections let the book down, or at least detract from it’s value. A more rigorous editing process would have ensured that while some of these sections were clearly repurposed, they could have also been updated too. We have reviewed books recently, in this sector, which acknowledge that even in the time between finishing their text and going to print new developments have occurred, which reframe some of their analysis and insights. So therefore imagine how even more relevant this must be for those sections of this book that were written half a decade ago.

We are big fans of the Blockchain Research. Institute, and this book, in a second, updated edition, could / will offer a lot of value to readers. For the meantime though this variability in when different sections of the text was written does undermine the potential value and impact of this book sadly.

More about the book ->

Platform Revolution looks at blockchain as the foundational technology of the coming digital age, explaining how it will play an integral role in the governance and widespread adoption of innovations like digital identities, data analytics, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, autonomous vehicles, distributed energy infrastructure, quantum computing and more.

Edited with a preface by Don Tapscott, Platform Revolution features the work of seven experts, drawing from their contributions to the Blockchain Research Institute’s syndicated research program. Featuring insights from deliverables that have briefed some of the foremost leaders in enterprise and government, Platform Revolution consolidates these expert conclusions into the perfect guide for the current era of digital disruption.

More about the Blockchain Research Institute

The Blockchain Research Institute ™, in collaboration with the Washington DC based Chamber of Digital Commerce and other experts have produced a 120-page report on how the Biden-Harris administration could reimagine US technology strategy and policy—and take action to implement it.

The Biden-Harris administration arrives at a unique time in history. The pandemic exposed and exacerbated problems at all levels of government, creating a demand pull for transformation. The advent of the second era of the digital age, with a “trivergence” of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and blockchain technologies, is creating an innovation push.

This report recommends a series of actions that would position the United States for long-term digital leadership, co-authored by Don Tapscott, Kirsten Sandberg, and Anthony D. Williams, with a foreword by Tony Scott, former US Federal CIO under the Obama-Biden administration.

Below you will find an introductory video featuring Don Tapscott, as well as some convenient links to the full report, executive summary, and press release. You can also register for our NEW DIRECTIONS webinar series, which features experts covering a number of topics outlined in the report.

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