Data monopolies call for a consumer data union
November 10, 2016 9:11 AM Subscribe
The brightest minds in tech have correctly called DATA the new OIL.... Well, I agree. But the largest tech companies, while being world class "oil companies and refiners” are not the owners of the oil; the oil itself is the property of the people. Consequently, the people should be paid for their “drilling rights”. Bringing fairness and equity to this data marketplace is the idea and the thinking behind Ourdata.
#ICAREABOUTFAIR
150 years the industrial monopolies had an unfair negotiating advantage over their unorganized workers. The reaction of labor unions brought a fairer and more sustainable balance to the benefits of industrialization.
Similarly, today, we have digital data monopolies and the consumers are unorganized. We need a consumer data union to negotiate on behalf of users to also bring a fairer and more sustainable balance to the benefits of the information age.
Let's explore further.
The ad ecosystem was simple and easy to understand for decades. We traded our attention for content. We all got a fair value exchange.
Along came digital data collection. It was small at first, but it soon grew to a monster value pool and smart companies like Google, FaceBook, Amazon, etc were able to extract monopoly profits from that gold mine. Yes, I say monopolies.
The situation was NOT fair.
Enter ad blocking. The user now has the ability to not only cut off the data collection but to also block advertising and receive valuable content for nothing. That is also NOT a fair value exchange.
We believe that the user should have another choice. To unblock ads and share data, but in exchange for content PLUS cash.
Today the largest ad blockers are collecting HUGE fees on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars to let ads and data through. We agree that this cash should be changing hands, but it should be going to the users, the readers, the providers of data.
We formed Ourdata as a for public benefit corporation (Ben & Jerrys, Etsy, Patagonia) to organize consumers to restore balance to the media ecosystem. We pledge to pay 90% of profits back to our community.
The money will be paid to our users on a per share basis. You earn shares two ways. First, you get shares for signing up, the sooner you join the more you get. Second, you earn bonus shares for sharing your personalized referral code.
Please sign up at our website OR download the Ourdata extension at the Chrome Store
150 years the industrial monopolies had an unfair negotiating advantage over their unorganized workers. The reaction of labor unions brought a fairer and more sustainable balance to the benefits of industrialization.
Similarly, today, we have digital data monopolies and the consumers are unorganized. We need a consumer data union to negotiate on behalf of users to also bring a fairer and more sustainable balance to the benefits of the information age.
Let's explore further.
The ad ecosystem was simple and easy to understand for decades. We traded our attention for content. We all got a fair value exchange.
Along came digital data collection. It was small at first, but it soon grew to a monster value pool and smart companies like Google, FaceBook, Amazon, etc were able to extract monopoly profits from that gold mine. Yes, I say monopolies.
The situation was NOT fair.
Enter ad blocking. The user now has the ability to not only cut off the data collection but to also block advertising and receive valuable content for nothing. That is also NOT a fair value exchange.
We believe that the user should have another choice. To unblock ads and share data, but in exchange for content PLUS cash.
Today the largest ad blockers are collecting HUGE fees on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars to let ads and data through. We agree that this cash should be changing hands, but it should be going to the users, the readers, the providers of data.
We formed Ourdata as a for public benefit corporation (Ben & Jerrys, Etsy, Patagonia) to organize consumers to restore balance to the media ecosystem. We pledge to pay 90% of profits back to our community.
The money will be paid to our users on a per share basis. You earn shares two ways. First, you get shares for signing up, the sooner you join the more you get. Second, you earn bonus shares for sharing your personalized referral code.
Please sign up at our website OR download the Ourdata extension at the Chrome Store
This post was deleted for the following reason: It's prohibited to link your own project on Mefi -- LobsterMitten
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