They bait the hook and we fall for it every time. Want to use a free, massively popular public platform like Facebook or Google? Go for it.
Nearly everyone with a smartphone uses these services — or their home country’s equivalent — every day.
But like it or not, as you’re searching for a dinner recipe or peering into the exaggerated lifestyle of a nearly forgotten acquaintance, you’re being recorded.
They know where you’ve been, how long you’ve been there, and what you were up to the whole time.
It’s creepy and invasive and makes me uncomfortable. But what can anyone do about it?
Well, the entire process, the entire industry of buying and selling personal data, is overdue for a blockchain-powered rattling.
The system is broken but we can fix it. We can do better than this. But it’s going to take concessions, agreements, and persuasive mediators.
One such blockchain startup — Datafund — wants to put personal data back into the hands of its rightful owners. And not in an anti-corporation manner, either.
Instead, the team wants to create a win/win scenario in which data is ethically exchanged within a transparent marketplace.
How will Datafund attempt to give today’s big-data industry a shakeup?
We’ll cover that soon. But first, here’s a bit of important data for you to consume…
Disclaimer: This is not investment or financial advice. I’m not a financial expert by any stretch of the imagination. Most information within this article is speculative and merely my own personal opinion. Always conduct your own research before contributing to any startup projects.
Always remember that what you do with your money is your decision to make. And if that decision proves too difficult for you alone, seek guidance from a financial professional.
I may or may not receive a small allocation of tokens for creating this content. That said, I will do my best to remain unbiased and fair. I try to avoid all FOMO and FUD and never wish to impart those emotions on my fellow crypto-heads.
Reclamation
FAMGA. You already know them but I’ll spell it out for you in case you’re unaware of their new, collective acronym. Coulda went with GAMAF or MAGFA but maybe those were already taken?
Facebook. Amazon. Microsoft. Google. Apple.
If you consider yourself human and have any connectivity to any kind of computational device, you use one or more of these companies’ products on a daily basis.
Add up the global userbase for each — which would be tricky since there’s massive overlap — and we’re talking billions of people. A healthy chunk of the planet’s population knows, and in some cases, loves, these corporations.
And what do all these behemoths do with the data they collect from us? How do these ultra-rich companies — already making money from us — treat the personal data we freely hand over to them?
Frankly, they treat our data like a goddamn prostitute.
They’ve built an enormously global, decentralized, data-driven red-light district, and the data pimps make us work there against our will.
Datafund’s first order of business is to become a facilitator of consent. They want the people to be able to reclaim what’s rightfully theirs.
And with consent, personal data develops into an easily-digitized asset.
Creators of data — all us hoes — decide whether or not to open our legs. And if we do, we get paid accordingly.
And purveyors of data — “Silky,” walking around in a multicolored fur coat and Phunk hat, prancing with a cane while balancing on 7" platform heels that may or may not contain goldfish — has to ask permission from us before selling our goods to randos.
To kick things off, the project created its own PAC — Privacy Awareness Campaign. It’s live now and I’ll cover it in more detail in a future article.
But here’s a link to Datafund’s PAC if you want to go check it out for yourself now.
Monetization
How DEX tokens flow through the Datafund protocol
Like most blockchain protocols, Datafund runs on a native governance token. And in this case, the DEX utility token — ERC777/ERC20 — feeds the chain.
When you consent to give your data to ethical companies who’ve elected to join the Datafund ecosystem, you’re rewarded with DEX tokens.
Data Users
These commercial organizations crunch data to enhance existing products and services, or invent new ones. They may even choose to enrich the data before turning around to sell it.
These are the companies providing payments to data generators like you and me.
Service Providers
These are the companies that we — and also the Data Users — pay for the services they enable. Our business with these organizations is doubly beneficial for them — we pay them with funds and we pay them with data.
We’re already doing this every day. But now, we’ll at least be compensated for it.
In addition to rewards for selling data, there will be staking rewards for those who HODL their DEX tokens on the network.
Yes, that’s passive income right there.
Encrypted Curation
You can’t just go leaving your data around anywhere. Well, truth be told, it’s already out there.
Your personal data is already floating all throughout the Internet. It’s stored on servers and databases and in the cloud. Copies and copies are spread all throughout the world.
But with the help of Datafund’s encrypted data storage solution — which you can pay for in DEX tokens — you can curate your own database of personal info. Secure storage can maintain your digital legacy.
You control the keys and decide who gets to drive. And, you get to decide whether or not to charge them for the ride.
Final thoughts…
Datafund envisions — and is working to build — an environment in which the exchange of personal data is open and moral.
No more stealing. No more going behind our collective backs. And no more free rides.
Blockchain tech, at least for now, is our best shot of crawling out of this personal-data theft hole we’ve dug for ourselves. But the road to change is long and rocky.
Bigass corporations have it good and have no intention of giving back control until they’re mandated to.
But thankfully, projects like Datafund are working towards raising awareness. DataStolen, Inc. needs to wake up are realize how much better things would be if we could all just get along and play nice.
We never would’ve had to endure that 2-week period of constant, incessant GDPR compliance emails if companies had morals. Are they could avoid costly ordeals like Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica embarrassment.
Datafund seeks to be a moral compass for the big-data industry. The philosophy of personal freedom as a right runs deep throughout the project.
I fully agree with that sentiment. Our data should belong to us, not them. And if we can all play by the rules, we can create an ecosystem in which everyone wins.
When everyone wins, even within a closed ecosystem, the world becomes a little better. That very concept is why blockchain tech was invented in the first place.
We have the power to take the sleaze and slime out of the big-data industry. And project Datafund wants to help make that dream a reality for us all.
DYOR
Now, just because you’ve read my opinion of the Datafund project doesn’t mean you’re now an expert. It’s always a great idea to investigate projects on your own.
Conveniently, here are some resources so you can do just that:
Get Social
By the way…
If you like what you see here and need help getting your crypto message to the masses, I’d love to hear about your project.
You can find me here: blockchainauthor at Gmail