#55: Golem Network — Anonymous, unstoppable, and censorship-resistant applications

We speak with María Paula Fernández, Mattias Nystrom, and Stefan Adolf about the Golem Network, and the implications of creating a future internet based on distributed computing, with more focus on privacy. The Golem Network The Golem Network is an accessible, reliable, open access and censorship-resistant protocol, which democratizes access to digital resources and connects users through a flexible, open source platform. As María Paula Fernández defines it, “At the highest level, Golem is a protocol for the exchange of digital resources. And not just digital resources like computing power, but also devices. It’s a constellation of digital marketplaces where you can exchange with users across the globe.” To enable these exchanges, Golem works with a reference implementation called the Yagna daemon. Mattias explains the daemon’s function, “The Yagna daemon helps you sort out your agreements as a requester, provider, or developer on the Golem Network.” Golem is anonymous and permissionless to join, so anyone can make use of the network and become a requester or provider. Golem uses Ethereum-based tokens, called GLMs, to enable the peer-to-peer exchanges. Golem solves problems with monopolies and deplatforming If you need more computing power or storage, Golem can help — but the network also goes beyond those issues. The motivation for Golem is not to be at the mercy of corporations which often don’t have your best interests in mind. María explains, “If the project you're running maybe doesn't fit with any of the tech giants like Google, AWS, Azure, Microsoft, or Instagram’s terms and conditions, which can be really vague, you risk being taken down, and you lose your work. If you get deplatformed and that’s your livelihood, that’s a really big deal. That’s why we need decentralized and censorship-resistant alternatives to the platforms that we have.” Try the Golem Network as a provider, requester, or developer. Platform.sh Learn more about us. Get started with a free trial. Have a question? Get in touch! Platform.sh on social media Twitter @platformsh Twitter (France): @platformsh_fr LinkedIn: Platform.sh LinkedIn (France): Platform.sh Facebook: Platform.sh Watch, listen, subscribe to the Platform.sh Deploy Friday podcast: YouTube Apple Podcasts Buzzsprout Platform.sh is a robust, reliable hosting platform that gives development teams the tools to build and scale applications efficiently. Whether you run one or one thousand websites, you can focus on creating features and functionality with your favorite tech stack.