The internet has disappointed us. We can fix it.
When the internet first started, I was very much fascinated. It held so much promise. I truly believed it was going to be this thing that would set the world free. It would give us access to so much information, and no one person could say they owned the internet. It was that one thing that would be impossible to manipulate, censor or keep track of. Anyone could build anything with it and use it to connect and communicate to each other. True freedom.
As we’ve seen in recent events, what I expected about the internet have turned out to disappoint me.
Today, we see surveillance, censorship and as a result, manipulation, happening just about everywhere on the general internet. As soon as you open an up a website, or an app that has a connection to the internet, you leave digital footprints behind to the website owners who can manufacture your data. Let’s call them data manufacturers. These are the data that the sites you visit can use to track your activities and identify you with it.
Data collected includes your current location, which links you’re clicking on, whether you’re on desktop or mobile, what operating system your device is using. And that’s just the beginning.
If the website owners are not careful in maintaining the websites securing their data, there might be leaks to the site, which hackers can access. It’s easy to match names, addresses to online behaviour then. Very private information leaked publicly.
Most users don’t know what data manufacturers collect, how long they keep that data, and what they do with it. It’s so much easier to tick off the checkbox “Yes I’ve read the Terms & Conditions” then read the long boring lines and truly understand what the company would be doing with your data. We blindly sign away our data. As a result, data manufacturers are making money off of consumer ignorance — and we pay the price. This wasn’t the internet I was celebrating and hoping for.
Over time, we have created a terrible habit of outsourcing responsibility to big tech over our own data, and maybe it’s because we don’t see money flowing out of our pockets when its is being used.
By building Boogle, my team and I want to change this. We want internet users to realise how valuable their data is. We want you to take ownership of your data.
Boogle’s first product is a search engine. When users create an account with us, we don’t ask for more data than necessary. We simply ask for your date of birth, and gender. When users use Boogle to search, their data is stored on blockchain. Blockchain is a database or ledger shared across a network. No single entity can access user’s search data without the user’s permission.
We want to reward internet users for using our search engine. Users will be able to earn BOO tokens with every search and every advertisement they click. The more information you allow advertisers to know about you, the more we will reward you for it. Traditional search engines sell your data. We pay you for your data.
It takes time and repeated actions to form new habits. Let’s stop being too comfortable with old habits. It’s time to break them and be rewarded for the data that you’re giving up. Give it a go. Try us out www.boogle.io and tell me what you think in the comments below.
Follow more of our CEO’s thoughts on his LinkedIn.
Try out Boogle.com, the first decentralized search engine built on blockchain where you can earn as you search, and no single entity owns or acts on your data without your permission.
