Big Data, Big Business, Big Money: Is Blockchain a Solution?

You may have experienced something similar: A couple of weeks ago I was having a conversation with a friend about places to travel. The next day, ads for those very countries began appearing on my social media feeds. What’s particularly disturbing is that I never initiated any sort of search on the internet for these.

It’s no secret that businesses are garnering huge returns from consumer information. This data capture includes not only personal names and email addresses but their buying patterns, interests, political leanings, health concerns, investment choices and even social interactions.

The intent here is often to harvest, categorize, aggregate and analyze this data exclusively for commercial benefit. This often takes place without permission from or reward to the end user. This practice that will continue to occur until consumers find a viableavenue for reclaiming ownership and control of their data.

With trust being a foundational element of online commerce, blockchain technology is being increasingly seen as a valuable use case for boosting the integrity of this data. Recently, I had the chance to discuss this theme at a quaint coffeehouse in San Diego’s Little Italy District with Charlie Silver. He is the CEO of Algebraix. a rapidly emerging permission-based mobile advertising platform.

According to Silver the new normal will consist of individuals owning and monetizing their personal information. Algebraix, he says, intends to level this playing field through the company’s secure, permission-based ad network undergirded by blockchain and a new utility token known as ALX.

Through the use of smart contracts, individuals will have the ability to control access to their data and how it can be used. Further, individuals will be able to monetize their data, receiving rewards from organizations seeking to promote products and services to them.

Says Silver: “The days of Internet giants besieging consumers with ads, all with the intent of owning and monetizing their personal data is coming to an end. It’s time for these companies to stop thinking in terms of interruption, and begin thinking about asking for permission from the consumer for the use of their data.”

Silver, a career entrepreneur with more than 30 years’ experience in technology, media, and finance says that his interest in blockchain began with the realization that the creation of a digital, secure token replete with built-in trust was a global game-changer.

He says that consumer data has enormous value which is why the likes of Google, Facebook and others exploit users. “They don’t ask for permission to advertise to you or to send you offers. They just learn who you are and how to target and capture data from you.”

He says that advertising is a $800 a year global business that’s primarily based on what he calls “interruption marketing.” He believes that Algebraix is on the cusp of a major breakthrough which will allow consumers to receive crypto from advertisers in return for their data.

Users will be able to enter their data into a digital profile and share it with advertisers who in turn have agreed to offer them ALX tokens to watch ads. With this approach the consumer has full control and can decide whether or not to accept the offer for their data.

Concludes Silver: “Our number one aim is to create an infrastructure that allows consumers can treat their data as property. No longer will third parties be allowed to take their data and exploiting it without permission. Ownership via our model means that they get to decide on how its going to be used, and if so, get paid for it.”