Jack Pitts: The real keepers of the English lexicon are English-speaking people

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SLictionary, a dictionary platform powered by Bitcoin SV, wants to compete with traditional dictionaries to become the premier dictionary in the world. Similar to how Oxford English Dictionary was compiled, SLictionary uses a crowdsourcing method in collating words and definitions. However, SLictionary does not follow an authority like the OED does on who gets to decide on its content. On SLictionary, it’s the votes of the users combined with the machine’s learning algorithm that fills in for the traditional editorial experts.

On this episode of CoinGeek Conversations, SLictionary co-founder John ‘Jack’ Pitts (above, with daughter Lucy, 4) tells Charles Miller, “We [SLictionary] are just the platform provider for the real keepers of the English lexicon, and the real keepers of the English lexicon have never changed, it has always been the English [English-speaking] people.”

SLictionary introduces features never seen before in any word-defining platform. For instance, a ‘celebrity auction’ that allows users to own and monetize word definitions created by an individual who invented the word or is considered expert of the subject. As Jack suggests, these bespoke definitions will set SLictionary apart from other dictionaries.

For as little as a penny, Jack says users can immerse themselves in a unique and entertaining dictionary experience. “We make it not only easier for you to get a great definition but you get one that you really engage with where there’s a picture or a video or a celebrity,” he says. These features are expected to enhance every user’s experience and entice more people to use the platform. “If there’s a bit of entertainment in the dictionary, along with the kind of factbook nature of it, I think a lot more people would really enjoy using the dictionary,” he notes.

Jack was also keen to point out that “the English language is fluid and it’s going to suffer from all kinds of changes.” With the help of blockchain technology, SLictionary will be able to document the evolution of a word based on how people view it at any given time. As Jack says, “that’s what the blockchain is all about.. blockchain is about preserving things in posterity so that we don’t lose them.”

Jack offers advice to Bitcoin entrepreneurs, saying, “If you’re thinking about starting a business because of Bitcoin, I think you’re not really doing the right thing, I think you have to start with your passions and find something that you wish to fix in the world.”

Despite Jack’s extensive background in finance, it’s his interest in vocabulary building that prompted him to create SLictionary. At present, approximately 2,000 word definitions, all coming from the BSV community, can be found on SLictionary. Jack plans to market outside the BSV community in the next year to onboard celebrities who are known to be inventors or experts on particular words.

Jack believes that by doing so, a level of intrigue among word nerds and geeks will take shape and entice them to join the platform. “I think once we get going and we show students in colleges, universities and high schools that they can make money defining words in a competitive environment, I don’t think there’s any stopping it, really, I think this is happening, it’s just a question of how fast.”

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