The modern business-consumer relationship is built on the principle of information exchange. But what if individuals could take complete control of their own data and even sell this directly to businesses in exchange for products or services?
Could we all have cryptocurrency wallets on our phones that track the data we have sold and how much we have earned from it?
The changing data economy will see new relationships develop between businesses and their customers. According to FileCatalyst, 1.3 exabytes (or 1.3 million TBs) of new data is generated every day. How this mass of information is exchanged, stored, manipulated and monetized will radically alter, as consumers take back more control of the data they generate.
Data has become one of the most precious assets a business or individual now possesses. As new data collection points are created, such as wearable technologies, our cars, the burgeoning IoT (Internet of Things), or the increased use of APIs, these streams of information will form the core of the relationship between their creators and collectors.
Having more control over all this extra data then becomes the foundation on which consumers can build their own 'data currency'. What's missing at the moment is a way to enable this control on a practical level.
"For the consumer... the technology [blockchain] offers the potential, according to the circumstances, for individual consumers to control access to personal records and to know who has accessed them".
For many, this is exactly the sort of technology that enables what 'Web 3.0' promises to bring: an environment where data is democratized, where strong data encryption and secure decentralized networks enable everyone to access goods and services without being surveilled. In this world, the data middlemen of today are replaced with blockchain-based networks that deliver complete control to the individual – the user gives permission for companies to access their data temporarily for the purpose of powering a service. There will be no third-party companies making money off data transfers or storage, nor will there be government departments holding the keys to that information.
From today's perspective, this may seem a utopian view, but the idea of data being something that subjects can market as a commodity is already playing out. "Individuals are already taking more control of their personal data and even selling this directly to businesses that want it,"
The rise of blockchain has made the idea of "data marketplaces" a reality. Developing blockchain-based, decentralized data marketplaces that provide individuals with a way to securely and anonymously sell validated private information within a trust-less environment.
We should be thinking of our data as something to be sold to the highest bidder. Currently there is a focus on individuals selling data – largely driven by the argument that Facebook and others are making money with our data. "However, we shouldn't see this as simply selling data – it is a 'value exchange' where value may be service, convenience or reward. For example, sharing my health data with an app that helps me manage my diabetes say isn't about selling data – the value is in keeping me healthy. Yes, there will be some sale of data, but the far greater exchange will be about service and convenience."
It's important to remember that this is all predicated on the assumption that technologies like blockchain are actually able to bring some kind of control back to data owners.
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