Decentralized Backup of HackerNoon Articles on Filecoin

[Sidra-from-HackerNoon]

Project Name: Decentralized Backup of HackerNoon Articles on Filecoin

Proposal Category: Integrations

Individual or Entity Name: HackerNoon

Proposer: HackerNoon

Do you agree to open source all work you do on behalf of this RFP under the MIT/Apache-2 dual-license?: Yes

Project Summary

HackerNoon, a prominent technology publication with over 4 million monthly readers, proposes to integrate Filecoin's decentralized storage network to back up its extensive archive of articles. This initiative aims to preserve over 150,000 existing articles and approximately 1,500 new monthly publications in a decentralized manner, ensuring content immutability and resistance to censorship. By leveraging Filecoin's robust storage solutions, HackerNoon seeks to enhance content accessibility and longevity, while demonstrating a practical application of decentralized storage to its vast audience.

Impact

The integration addresses critical challenges associated with centralized content storage, such as vulnerability to censorship, data loss, and single points of failure.

HackerNoon has firsthand experience with these challenges. In 2019, we made the strategic decision to leave Medium due to the same reasons. By transitioning to our own infrastructure, we made an effort to keep independent tech content and journalism open and accessible. However, while self-hosting provides more autonomy, it still relies on traditional web hosting services that are vulnerable to outages, legal takedowns, and centralized control.

By adopting Filecoin's decentralized storage, HackerNoon ensures the permanence and integrity of its content, aligning with the ethos of a free and open internet. This project not only safeguards valuable technological insights and journalism but also serves as a case study for other publishers considering decentralized solutions. Successfully implementing this integration could catalyze broader adoption of Filecoin within the digital publishing industry, showcasing its scalability and reliability.

Outcomes

The primary deliverable of this project is a fully operational, automated system that backs up HackerNoon's content to the Filecoin network.

This includes:

• Automated Backup System: A tool that seamlessly uploads new and existing articles to Filecoin, ensuring real-time synchronization.
• Public Access Portal: A web interface allowing readers to access and retrieve content stored on Filecoin.
• Open-Source Codebase: All developed tools and scripts will be open-sourced under the MIT/Apache-2 dual-license, enabling other publishers to replicate the integration.
• Comprehensive Documentation: Announcement and tutorials outlining the integration process, challenges faced, and solutions implemented.
• Increased Visibility of Filecoin’s Use Case: Filecoin’s branding and link to blockchain backup on more than 150,000+ existing articles and all new stories published on HackerNoon

Adoption, Reach, and Growth Strategies

The target audience includes:

• Digital Publishers: Media outlets seeking decentralized solutions for content storage.
• Web3 Devs: Individuals and teams interested in implementing Filecoin integrations.
• HackerNoon Readers: Tech enthusiasts and professionals advocating for data sovereignty.

To engage and onboard users:

• Filecoin’s Use Case and Branding on HackerNoon: Utilize HackerNoon's platform to showcase Filecoin’s case study of decentralized storage to millions of relevant audiences. Filecoin’s branding and link to blockchain backup on more than 150,000+ existing aricles and all new stories published on HackerNoon
• Announcements and Social Media Promo: publish articles, tutorials, and case studies about the integration.
• Community Collaboration: Engage with the Filecoin community through forums, GitHub, and social media to share progress and gather feedback.

Development Roadmap

Milestone 1: Technical Integration & API Setup (Month 1-3)
Set up API connections between HackerNoon and Filecoin.
Establish an automated system for backing up all existing articles.
Initial testing to ensure data integrity and retrieval functionality.
Funding Required: $20,000

Milestone 2: Full Content Backup & Optimization (Month 4-6)
Complete the backup of 150,000+ existing articles.
Optimize backup processes for efficiency and scalability.
Implement user verification for content retrieval.
Funding Required: $15,000

Milestone 3: Ongoing Automated Backups & Community Engagement (Month 7-12)
Set up continuous backups for 1,500+ new articles per month.
Develop and launch a dashboard showcasing backup metrics.
Conduct outreach through HackerNoon’s platform, social media, and community events.
Funding Required: $15,000

Total Budget Requested: $50,000

Maintenance and Upgrade Plans

Post-deployment, HackerNoon commits to:

• Regular Updates: Ensuring compatibility with Filecoin network upgrades and addressing any emerging issues.
• Community Support: Responding to feedback, assisting other publishers in adopting the solution, and fostering an open-source contributor base.
• Feature Enhancements: Continuously improving the system based on user feedback and technological advancements.
• Branding and presence on all HackerNoon articles (150,000+ articles)

Team

Team Members

• David Smooke: Founder and CEO
• Linh Dao Smooke: COO
• Utsav Jaiswal: VP of Sales
• Sidra Ijaz: Business Development Manager
• Richard Kubina: VP of Engineering

More details about the HackerNoon team here: https://hackernoon.com/p/about

Team Website

https://hackernoon.com

Relevant Experience

The HackerNoon team has a proven track record in digital publishing and has successfully implemented decentralized storage solutions in the past. Notably, we have integrated with Arweave to back up our content, demonstrating our capability to execute similar projects. Our technical expertise, combined with a deep understanding of the challenges in content preservation, positions us as an ideal team to implement this solution with Filecoin.

Team code repositories

HackerNoon GitHub

Additional Information

How did you learn about the Open Grants Program? Research into decentralized storage solutions.

Best email for communication: sidra@hackernoon.com

Additional Notes: We look forward to collaborating with Filecoin to drive real-world adoption of decentralized storage in digital publishing.