19/12/2018 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

Dale Drury, software support and community manager at ClearPoll explains about the new ClearPoll app.

BLOCKCHAIN is the technology that underpins digital currency, such as Bitcoin. The information on the blockchain is constantly reconciled into the database, which is stored in multiple locations and updated instantly which means the records are public and verifiable.

Since there’s no central location, it’s harder to hack since the data exists simultaneously in many places.

Blockchain technology was invented in 2008, but only came into the public conversation when Bitcoin launched the following year.

Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are digital and global money system currencies on the blockchain. It allows people to send or receive money across the internet, even to someone they don’t know or don’t trust. Small businesses are now using the blockchain to create secure projects with their own payment currencies integrated into their projects. These coins, or tokens, are also bought within the crypto community as an investment.

Introduction to ClearPoll – A Social Public Opinion Poll Network on the Blockchain
ClearPoll is a social public opinion poll network, using blockchain technology to secure votes and poll results. ClearPoll also uses blockchain for its very own cryptocurrency coin, the ‘POLL Token’ for payment of its services. The decentralised ClearPoll polls are not censored and cannot be manipulated or deleted.

In recent times, the media, private organisations, and even governments have manipulated or censored true public opinion, to suit their agenda. The main problem is the centralisation of public opinion poll data. Controlling the polls allows them to use it to their advantage, and does not give an accurate picture of what people really want. ClearPoll solves these problems.

As a user of ClearPoll, you don’t need to know anything about blockchain or crypto. It’s a fun way to create and vote on secure polls. You can very simply sign up to search for topics that are important to you. You can then view poll results and easily share the polls and results on social media.

ClearPoll aims to be the place to go, to have your say. A hub of accurate, current public opinion across a wide range of topics including politics, human rights, entertainment, sports, just for fun and more.

ClearPoll is for everyone. Vote on anything from fun topics, to more serious issues. ClearPoll is available from the Apple Store, Google play Store or by using the online platform at clearpoll.com

Check out Gscene’s featured polls in January using the ClearPoll App.

The new Rainbow Hub is now open six afternoons a week, including Saturdays, and on Tuesday and Thursday it’s open to 8pm.

WITH around twenty seven volunteers having now been through their initial training, they’re already helping numerous clients who arrive with a wide variety of issues.

Their volunteers provide help and guidance to individuals and where necessary refer them on to one or more of an extensive network of partner organisations for further support.

Brighton has literally hundreds of organisations, many of them charities, that exist to help people with a wide variety of needs, but understanding which organisation does what, and for whom, can be daunting.

The Hub is building a huge database of knowledge and experience of all of those organisations, so they can help people articulate their individual needs and then point them towards those providers best placed to help with specialist or longer term support.

“Think of it as your first point of contact for all matter’s LGBT+” says Alan Flack, the Hub Manager. A bit like a triage service, we take time to listen to your needs and then suggest the best place to go for ongoing support and help. Many queries we can deal with ourselves immediately, and sometimes people just want to pop-in and pick up a copy of Gscene – and that’s absolutely fine too!

In fact, both the opportunity and the challenge is the huge variety of things that people pop-in with. In the brief time they have been open so far, The Hub has dealt with people wishing to report a hate crime; domestic abuse, sexual health issues (The Hub has its own HIV testing machine where you can buy a self-test kit. Other people have been in to talk about Gender identity and help with coming out to parents.

The Hub has also started to host regular slots where some of the partner organisations can come and use The Hub as part of their outreach service MindOut already have a regular Monday afternoon slot, and Pavilions and THT are also in the process of setting up regular weekly slots,

“We’ve come a very long way since the space was first handed over,” said Alan, but we also know we have a long way to go before we achieve our vision of becoming THE subject matter experts in all things LGBT+ in our great city.

The Hub are always looking for new volunteers – if you are interested, contact Joel Boardman, The Hub’s Volunteer Coordinator, on joel@therainbowhubmanager.com, or email Alan, on alan@therainbowhubbrighton.com or telephone 01273 675 445.