Notion, UTXOs & Platform Decoupling

Happy Monday!

If you didn't get a chance to view it, I published 9 lessons from 90 days of writing for my weekly roundup yesterday.

Today, I'm going to talk a bit about why I think Notion is set up to harness a future Bitcoin/blockchain world that leverages something called UTXOs (Unspent Transaction Outputs), and how that will change the way we secure and view data for our own content.

Here's what I'll cover:

1. What is Notion?

2. What UTXOs?

3. How would UTXOs help decouple data from platforms?

4. Notion's relational databases

5. Notion as a "super wallet database reader"

Let's dive in.

What is Notion?

Notion is an all-in-one "project management and note-taking platform." However, based on my use of it over the years, it's proving to be much, much more than that. It is quickly becoming a single source of truth for all data I want an overview of. 

What are UTXOs?

UTXO stands for “Unspent Transaction Outputs” and is what Bitcoin, Cardano, and other Proof-of-Work systems leverage.

Ethereum, on the other hand, uses an Accounts-based system, which is actually what most people are used to today. It’s a lot “simpler” to use because it’s familiar. And because it is familiar, it is popular.

You can learn more about UTXO basics on my blog here.

How would UTXOs help decouple data from platforms?

So how do blockchain wallets, UTXOs and Notion come together? Well, this idea got sparked again after reading a tweet from Dan Koe:

In this tweet, he highlights a few key problems:

1. Content idea generation

2. Posting to all platforms

3. Automating clients & sales

4. Working under 4 hours a day

At this point in time, I use Notion + Zapier to manage a lot of what Dan talks about. But there's still an issue with current automation workflows:

1. Most data is being hosted solely on Notion (i.e. third-party platforms/servers)

2. I need to re-write or duplicate content onto social media scheduling platforms

3. Zapier connections run the risk of breaking somewhere

Because I'm involved in the blockchain space, I can see how UTXOs could help secure my data better, while also protecting my privacy as it interacts with other 3rd-party tools or platforms.

Using a UTXO-based blockchain, I could have more visibility over the flow of my data across multiple platforms, instead of relying on just one. 

Sidenote: If you want to dig deeper into why UTXO models will matter longer-term, see this post in relation to a federal take-down of a financial tool called Tornado Cash, but how it relates to general apps.

Notion's Relational Databases

Notion utilizes something called relational databases. The concept isn't entirely new, but Notion makes it a lot more usable for the average user.

It takes a bit of getting used to when you begin. But once you understand the thinking behind it, it opens up a lot of new possibilities (to the point that you could stream your entire life into Notion if set up well). 

Now, since Bitcoin and other UTXO-based blockchains are essentially "immutable databases," Notion could take this to the next level. In the featured image above, I share how Notion could become a "super wallet database reader." 

Thinking in terms of relational databases is already setting users up to organize data in their own wallets similarly. The only thing missing is a Notion-like interface.

The reason for this is that, right now, most wallets are only showing currency-based data. However, Bitcoin itself could always hold much more than currency-based data.

If you look at all data as transactions (in the form of micropayments), then really anything can be shown via a wallet (or "super wallet", if Notion ever explored this).

Bitcoin - as a system- is more like the paper on which fiat currencies are printed. Yes, you can print money on paper. But you can also use that same paper for so much more. Just like Bitcoin (in its original design; BTC is now a limited version of that, so will have to talk about that another time). 

Notion As A "Super-Wallet DB Reader"

I see Notion as a platform that's already set up to read all your data in a beautiful way. The only thing that would be swapped out would be:

1. The way it reads and writes data (evolve to a UTXO-based setup)

2. Connecting to blockchain-based wallets and display on their behalf, without storing their data

If micropayments end up being used for data reading/writing, then subscription or payment models may be altered between users and platforms. A vendor might actually pay users (in the form of micropayments) for being granted permission to read/write data "on the blockchain." This, in the long run, keeps all connected parties more "honest", because it's essentially an audit trail. 

Notion actually provides an audit trail function for paying users, which is great to see:

Just imagine each of these activity records being transactions on "the blockchain" (whichever ends up dominating in the long run). 

Until tomorrow, remember: it will come.

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