Blockchain technology has been around for a while now; from a sheer novelty, or a questionable idea, it has quickly become a part of popular culture and it is beginning to rival traditional methods of centralised systems. You could say that, with all the advancements that blockchain technology has made, it has unleashed a technological genie out of its lamp.
Currently, data is becoming increasingly valuable; everything that we do on the internet leaves a carbon-esque footprint, a data mark, and giant corporations lap it up like a dog at the water bowl. This isn’t too shocking, given that it provides them an additional revenue stream. Blockchain, with its decentralised nature, aims to take the aforementioned revenue stream away from the corporations who hold it, by democratising data.
Data Development
Just for a moment, I’d like you to consider the quantity of data that humans produce during everyday life, through their use of technology — anything “technology”, or at least the majority of gadgets and gizmos that are connected to the grid process and record data — a computer, a traffic light, even a ‘smart’ refrigerator, just to name a few.
The Silicon Republic found that, according to a McKinsey & Company projection, a connected car uploads 25 gigabytes of data per hour of use. Just to put that statistic into perspective for you, that equates to the streaming of approximately 25 hour-long programmes on Netflix. The data will be, and already is, sold to and used by companies who develop new, better-developed data harvesting technologies. It sounds like an evil genius’s plan from a graphic novel. But giant corporations are, in a way, playing the pseudo ‘good-guy’ by giving data back to the people. They do so by providing newly founded concepts and prospects of driverless vehicles, timely public transport, and smart road technologies, for example, which, on the down low, costs us more money. See what’s happening here?
What is Big Data and Why is it Powerful
If you haven’t clicked away yet, let’s talk about it. Big data is a superpower in its own right and it’s just as discreet as real-world superpowers are now. We produce and give away data on a daily basis without even realising it; every time we accept a ‘cookie’ on a website, we give corporations the ability — and the right — to track our online movements and harvest our data. When we make a statement on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or comment on a YouTube video, data is being hoarded by the platform owners and it is being sent (sold off) elsewhere. Our relative vanity and desire for ‘likes’, retweets, or ‘claps’ on this particular platform and our craving of engagement and validation across social media is a huge ‘cha-ching’ moment for giant corporations.
Generally speaking, data is harvested by corporations so that they can analyse what people do on any given technological front so that they can build a bigger picture of patterns, trends, and actionable information. Often the harvest is driven by giant corporations and the “one-percent’ group so that they can better improve their products and services to suit consumer needs. Really, it sounds like a very benevolent move, but in reality, it is the way that the one-percent stay as such. They capitalise on data to the benefit of their back-pocket, and they share their insights with their fellow corporation owners.
In some regards, you could say that they take from us what we deem to be of no value, and they turn it into an asset, giving it a value, and subsequently, they monopolise it. To quote a popular saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Why “Democratising” it is so Important
The democratisation of data is important for a myriad of reasons, but most importantly, it is a way to educate the masses and show them that what they think has little or no value is actually a resource that can be leveraged. Individuals and, more specifically, companies are interested in our data. To get hold of it, they give money in exchange for access to giant corporate stockpiles. Theoretically, the same rule would apply if we held our own data in a private place. Research institutes and companies who need the data would pay a pretty penny to take it from you.
Pretty penny though it may be, there currently isn’t a marketplace for what would be classed as micro-transactions, given the minuscule size of our personal data piles in comparison to the collations that giant corporations hold. There are, however, data marketplaces where harvests are put up for sale unbeknownst to us, and it commands a hefty price tag.
So, to summarise, the democratisation of data is incredibly important if we want to realise a society where we are in control of our own information and giant corporations aren’t able to capitalise upon it without our permission. More recently, there have been suggestions that we could, realistically, take this power away from corporations and better control our own data’s fate.
How Blockchain can Level the Playing Field
Blockchain technology is currently pushing the boundaries of our traditional, centralised society, by offering an alternative to the norm. The idea of taking power away from the systems that we use and depend upon on a daily basis seems like a very far-fetched, arguably impossible, feat. However, developers within the peer-to-peer, decentralised safety of the blockchain haven are shifting their focus from creating borderless currencies and the implementation of smart contracts. Instead, they are looking to move the data marketplace to the blockchain platform.
The premise is that if a consumer wishes to control and profit from their own data, blockchain technology is the perfect platform to use. Wibson, a blockchain-based, decentralised data marketplace, is at the forefront of this development. The group “provides individuals a way to securely and anonymously sell validated private information in a trusted environment.”
The blockchain is both a buyers and sellers paradise. With its transparent nature, blockchain allows both the buyer and the seller to sign and execute smart contracts, which trigger the transfer of an encrypted data transaction. The seller is able to keep their anonymity while presenting their data on the marketplace; the smart contract locks in the quality and accuracy of the data and transfers it off-chain to the buyer, who can contest any discrepancies if they are the recipient of misleading data.
Another plus for sellers is that they are able to control their sale. By this, I mean to say that they can choose how much data they would like to sell, the conditions for its use, and the set price for it.
Blockchain technology is allowing for a whole host of developments which will take power away from traditional, centralised systems to be replaced by an equal, transparent community that features honesty and accountability — a democratic system, enforced by technology. The aim is to positively impact society and force a revolutionary change.
Championing the cause, engineers at Revain are working towards the creation of blockchain-based platform for the sake of the (not too-) common people. The goal is to provide a platform for transparent and accountable transactions among a community of like-minded enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, techies, and general consumers where transactions of assets, such as big data caches, can commence without the regulation, monopolisation, or the unwarranted third-party interference (read: fees) typical of traditional “centralised” systems. While there is a ways to go before this platform is ready for prime-time, the time is now to position ourselves among the mighty. When a community of like-minded, driven people comes to fruition, where a common goal is shared, all sorts of great things are bound to materialise. The power of one becomes two and it continues to multiply; the larger the movement, the bigger the impact, the better the change. Watch this space for updates on Revain’s progress.
It is clear that the blockchain’s decentralisation can offer a genuine alternative for people’s freedom of data. If successfully implemented, the democratisation of data will lead to the downfall of covert data-hoarding by giant corporations and put an end to their capitalisation and monopolisation of other people’ data. The changes in tech and blockchain are fast-paced, often ground-breaking, and will contribute to a better, fairer, decentralised world.
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