[nanomonkey]

Conflict-free Replication Data Types (CRDTs) and private cryptographically signed ledgers (not proof of work public blockchains, but similar) are what excites me these days, as they allow for users to own their own data, securely create transactions and collaborate without the overhead of their data being held hostage on one companies servers. IPV6 rides along with this as something I look forward to, only because so much of the hassle of doing P2P networking is NAT traversal.

Gossip protocols like Secure Scuttlebutt allow for each application login to have it's own feed that others can verify through public key encryption, therefore marketplaces and collaborative tools can be built without relying on the servers of one corporation. Ideally something more compact like RSON can be incorporated.

CRDTs allow for consensus building applications were each individual collaborates on designs, documentation, contracts, voting, feedback, etc. Your data is usable without a network connection, backed up on your peer's computers and historically accurate.

[nanomonkey]

This is important to me because I am currently working on an open source Distributed Consensus and Resource Planning tool, where people can build markets, supply chains, feed-back loops for goods and services that they care about in a distributed manner. Imagine an Amazon marketplace or Task Rabbit built on a open gossip protocol. You can start with your own Inventory Management, building up suppliers that you trust, and then build out your own Products and Services to offer up within your network. You follow the companies or individuals you trust, thus sidestepping ad networks, and know the providence of all of the items your purchase, and the reputation of the individuals that you support, filtering out anything that you don't want to be bothered by.

The tool is also flexible enough to be used as a collaborative tool, building organizations to accomplish tasks from your network. The value that each person brings to the table can be tracked, allowing for invisible labor to be surfaced and properly compensated.

[Beltiras]

The term for the ledgers is minted, as opposed to mined.

[nanomonkey]

These aren't coins, my friend, just normal events/messages/documents signed by your feed id so that they can be referred to by their content addressable hash, as well as verified to be from you by your peers.