Addressing Concerns in the Digital Space for Users and Advertisers

Written by Georgia Larsen and James Cashiola

As the content sharing economy grows, unequal distributions of power arise between all of the players in the space. From the digital monopolies to the advertisers to the users, there have been some concerns in the digital space around social networks and the user experience.

With the sharing economy as it is, both users and advertisers are getting a bad deal. Both lack any autonomous power and are not being compensated or rewarded fairly for their actions. The social media middleman has forced users and advertisers to bend to their rules. Rally has created a list of some of the overarching concerns of both users and advertisers and how we can take back control over the digital space.

Let’s start with users.

Value Distribution

The time and community building contributions that we give to social media networks are taken for granted. We spend countless hours on social media building communities and gaining followers that help bring value to the network. It’s the Network Effect–the more people use the network, the more valuable it becomes. Social media giants like Google and Facebook are worth billions of dollars thanks to the activities of users, but their users aren’t being paid. There is an uneven value distribution between users and the digital monopolies.

It’s time we got compensated for the value we created on these social networks. The best way to do this is to reward users for their engagement on social media. Using blockchain technology, these actions can be easily tracked and given value. We created the billion-dollar social media economy, it’s time to be rewarded. With Rally, token rewards are given to users upon joining, referring new users, participating, and sharing posts. Users also receive ongoing rewards through community royalties and multipliers. Users can earn their value on social media for the first time.

Centralized Power Online

Social media networks are centralized, meaning they are managed by a single powerful center. This authority holds control over the entire platform, requiring everyone else to follow their lead. Unfortunately, this centralized power has led to a small group of people obtaining all of the social network’s value. The natural tendency of centralized platforms is to increasingly extract value, at the expense of our needs. An example of this is the advertisements on Instagram that occur on our feeds every few posts. It disrupts the feed experience, but those in control make a lot of money. Our needs are constantly being overruled and ignored by the centralized control of social media giants.

The best way to combat this issue is to make social media networks decentralized, where users can take back their voice. Blockchain technology turns social media into an equal playing field. With Rally, going through the middleman of digital monopolies isn’t necessary. We can be in control of what we see on our feeds by connecting with advertisers directly. The power is in our hands. We are free to build communities that follow our interests. We can have a voice and be rewarded for building communities dedicated to bringing value back to us.

Privacy Fears

Social media platforms have been sharing our information and data to advertisers without our permission for years. All of this data collection can lead to misuse, which we all saw with the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook scandal. These monopolies take user data and sell it to advertisers to create “suggested” ads. As a result, there are increased privacy fears and a growing distrust of large social media platforms.

The rules of privacy are changing, but consent is always crucial when talking about personal data and information. Permission-based advertising respects a user’s privacy. With Rally, we have control over what we post and what we like. We can opt-in or out of offers and can participate as much as we want to. It’s important that we have control over our profiles on social media, and with Rally, we can.

These problems aren’t just on the user side. Advertisers also face the unfortunate reality of working with digital monopolies.

Attention is Scarce

Users are getting better at filtering ads. They are getting smarter about bClocking pop-ups and ignoring ads that use cookies. People just aren’t paying as much attention to advertisements as they once were. Mobile ads are hard to use and hard to ensure a successful impression. Along the same line, digital monopolies constantly change the feed algorithms, ensuring personal posts are being shown before any ads or sponsored content. This pushes ads to the bottom, where they aren’t seen and they aren’t shown. Getting audience attention is harder than ever.

In a content sharing economy, users are incentivized to share the ads themselves, getting rid of the middleman. Rewarding authenticated users to distribute content reduces digital monopoly dependency and lowers costs. By rewarding users to post about companies, they are looking at posts because they want to. Users will be seeing posts by their peers, encouraging more attention than a random sponsored post. With blockchain, advertisers can see the exact number of impressions an ad has on an audience. Users are motivated to share and like posts, so engagement is high and encouraged.

High Distribution Costs

Centralized online platforms are getting better at monetizing attention and activity, driving up the cost of reaching their audience. They charge obscene amounts for sponsored posts and digital ads because they can. Connecting with an audience becomes almost impossible when combining the cost of advertisements and not knowing the potential reach of the ad.

With Rally, the middleman disappears, and advertisers can connect with users directly. They don’t need to pay through the online platform. When a user shares content, they give it their recommendation, expand its reach, and increase its effectiveness. Advertisers only pay the users rather than going through the social media platform. The high distribution costs are effectively gone when cutting out the distributor.

Few Trusted Environments

As mentioned in an earlier blog, influencers have resorted to using fake followers and likes to ask for more money from advertisers. Click fraud and lack of attribution have made it challenging to find sustainable, brand safe advertising channels. As an advertiser, finding trusted environments with guaranteed impressions are are few and far between. Influencer marketing can be an unpredictable strategy, which can cost an advertiser thousands.

By creating a content sharing economy where users are motivated to create and share effective posts, advertisers can breathe a little easier. A deeper audience understanding is available to advertisers who cut out the middleman and can get direct feedback from users. Communities are built around passion and interests, but users can connect directly with companies and advertisers, allowing a trusted, open conversation like it hasn’t been seen before. Digital advertising can be more transparent than it ever has been with the help of blockchain technology.

All of these concerns have been around for almost as long as social networks have started, but now we are finally able to do something about them thanks to new technology and the freedom of blockchains. It’s time to change the world of digital advertising. Rally is a part of this social media revolution. They want to help change the value imbalance of users and advertisers and help everyone get the value they deserve.

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