How Blockchain Can Benefit Creators and Viewers
TL;DR — One of the major ways blockchain can become successful is from community support, after all, there is no point to having a decentralized network if no one wants to go on it. For this reason, blockchain startup companies are looking at how decentralization can benefit content creators and viewers, not just the publishers, advertisers, and middlemen.
What’s the Problem?
Although it is now viewed as a minor nuisance or non-issue, when YouTube announced its changes to its YouTube Preferred Partner program and ad-revenue program back in January, a lot of smaller creators were upset. In the same way, content creators in other spaces such as Medium, Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram, or even their own blogs hope to gain enough notoriety to get ad revenue, influencer deals, or some other form of paid recognition, yet then they run a greater risk of having their work stolen.
In the same boat, a New York Times study done back in 2015 found that more than half of all data used on mobile devices came from ads. This costs the user time and money, and it keeps them from the content they went to the publisher for in the first place. Of course, since big publishers are largely paid via ad revenue, they are encouraged to have space for ads, and the use of ad blockers hurt their ability to make money. While some payment options to support creators exist (i.e. Patreon), the rise of blockchain is seeking to offer new opportunities for creators to get paid and secure their work, along with the ability for users to benefit from taking control of their data, or at least benefitting from being a consumer of advertising.
How Can Blockchain Help?
Fraud and Stealing
As discussed in the last article, blockchain as a technology is already being explored as a possibility to verify impressions and the validity of domains online. In the same way, blockchain could be used to verify views and followers in the content creation and influencer space. This could come from exploring the sources of user addresses that follow an influencer to see where they originate from. The use of smart contracts could help the influencer in return, such as ensuring up front that after three posts they will get paid the agreed amount.
Take a photograph as an example of how blockchain could reduce stealing. If a photographer was to upload their photo to a blockchain-based database of photos they would have a time-stamped, immutable, and public record of their upload. Should they see another person try to steal their photo and use it on another website, they could dispute the use of the photo via voters on the blockchain as well, showing they hold ownership given the timestamp association.
Data Tracking
Users tend to not benefit from the amount of tracking and insights gained from their internet history outside of (hopefully) better advertisements. If browsers and search engines were to leverage the transactional nature of blockchain technology, users could take more control over what they wanted to see and potentially receive kickbacks for engaging with platforms. In the same way, advertisers could learn more about their viewers, giving them more engaging advertisement that will connect with them better.
Microtransactions
One of the benefits of cryptocurrency being digital is that it is, in theory, infinitely divisible. This means that publishers and individual content creators could move away from “large” paywalls to smaller transactions per view or article via tokens within a DApp. By keeping all the transactions logged within the blockchain, creators, users, advertisers, and publishers can all verify the engagement they receive is real. It would also allow creators to be paid more for their work, and give them less reason to lie about when they are sponsored, allowing for more authenticity in their audience engagement.
Who Is Working on This?
Especially in light of the new internet regulations around data tracking, the Basic Attention Token (BAT) is one of the most radical concepts about how blockchain can affect digital advertising. The premise revolves around measuring attention on an ad by watching where a cursor is placed on a browser. Advertisers would get to see what kind of engagement is done in the ad, offering a better targeting for future ads and gain a better understanding a customer’s journey from ad to purchase. Users will receive BAT as a kickback for their attention and data gathered by the advertisers, which in turn can be used to pay publishers instead of having to pay a subscription. BAT at some point could be used to purchase higher quality content or make actual payments.
One could host an entire blog about the concept of Basic Attention Tokens, but the underlying premise of giving a benefit to the consumer for the data they give is a really strong idea, and the ability of blockchain technology to act as a public ledger makes it a possibility.
Self-identified as an “identification and certification” platform, Po.et’s value proposition is a way for creators to certify everything they put online. The basic concept for Po.et is that each article, photo, or video put online has an immutable, time-stamped, and time-licensed watermark that tracks the article from the moment it is put online. This way, whenever someone comes across an article that is plagiarized, or if someone posts an article or photo that does not match the focus of the community, users can vote and have that article removed. The decentralized and ledger nature of blockchain allows the original creator to take action and have evidence to point back to. Po.Et is already working on integrations with RSS feeds and Wordpress, which means new bloggers may not need to learn a brand new service to receive the same benefits.
“It’s like Reddit, but you get paid” is about as simple of an explanation for Steemit as possible. Yet compared to most other blockchain social networks or creator-benefitting startups, this one is already running and making money. Every time an article is posted on Steemit, users can upvote or downvote the article. Each upvote makes the article more popular (just like Reddit), AND each upvote gives the creator some kind of financial gain. Commenters with popular comments get paid as well for having good engagement. The best commenters and “upvoters” can become curators, then they get paid because of their influence on other articles (they become known as an expert). Of course, this just sounds like the money comes out of thin air, so Steemit created three different kinds of currency to ensure its value (look to the Further Reading section for how the economy in Steemit works). Steemit represents one of the first viable social platforms on blockchain, and how microtransactions can benefit the entire ecosystem of users, creators, and advertisers.
So What’s the Takeaway?
In the same way that blockchain could add more transparency to the digital advertising world, creators and users can benefit by taking back control of their data and content by knowing who is looking at them. By adding in simple integrations to allow creators to get paid for their work, advertisers and users could be encouraged to trust the authenticity of the creator more. Creators would also have more ability to make videos and content that they are passionate about or experts in and not need to “sell-out” to stay afloat, creating a more open environment for all. Users, in turn, could be more open to accepting ads if they received more of a benefit from the ads than the hope of seeing something that relates to their searches. The concept of including microtransactions on all ends could assist in reducing or even taking away the paywalls that publishers have to put up to stay in business.
The companies listed above are only three companies looking to add benefit to all sides of content creation. There are many other startups working to adjust the digital economy and support video creators, journalists, people who search, or even the internet itself. None of these startups are looking at blockchain as a get-rich-quick scheme, instead, they are looking to find ways to give control back to creators and users and assist them in the long-term. By gaining an understanding of what is coming out, marketers can learn how they can have better conversations with consumers and stay ahead of changes instead of falling behind the wave.
Disclaimer:
These articles are not to be used for investment or partnership advice. They are strictly based on research for understanding and exposition to the possibilities of blockchain technology.
Further Reading
@Mindover (via Steemit) — Steemit for Dummies (Like Me)
Nasdaq — Four Ways the Blockchain Will Disrupt Digital Media
Bitcoin Magazine — Op Ed: How Blockchain Technology Will Disrupt Digital Content Distribution
Bitcoinist — How Blockchain Tech Will Disrupt Influencer Marketing
