Bold statement, I know.
Many will object to this. After all, there is a long track record of the masses rejecting decentralization and open source in favor of the centralized, controlled systems. It really is only the geeks who truly appreciate getting out from under the thumbs of these entities instead opting for the freedom of open source.
That is all true. However, there is a big reason why this time will be different as I will show here.
To do so, I will start with a little analogy.
Let us presume you own a home that is sitting on some oil. What is under your land has value, something that you know. Oil companies want the resource so they are willing to pay you for the rights to drill. They pull the oil out of the ground which they take to market and sell.
All is good.
Now let us change it up a bit. Suppose we start with the same scenario but add the twist that the oil company is not going to pay you for it. Instead, they will take the oil. Also, you are the one who is going to have to get it out of the ground and deliver it to them. It is your responsibility to do the work. Finally, any environmental effects or negative consequences are yours to deal with alone. If the drinking water is polluted, well you are the one who has to drink it.
The second scenario does not sound very appealing, does it? Yet this is exactly what people are living under right now.
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Data is the new oil.
Not only are people living under the scenario I just presented, until recently, they were not even aware of the oil that they were sitting upon. Unlike the major corporations, they were completely oblivious to it.
While cryptocurrency is the first widespread application on blockchain, personalized, secured data could end up being the biggest.
The masses are starting to understand the "oil "they own and how valuable it is. At the same time, they are also realizing how unsafe it is now. Each time there is another Facebook breach, more people wake up. Over the next year, we are going to see a number of high profile hacks where people's "oil" is spilled. Why do I write this? Simply because they cannot prevent it. Centralized systems will not stop being breached.
We are going to see digital ID systems that are on the blockchain which will enable one to own and control his or her data. This is not something that can ever take place on a centralized system. The days of trusting a third party entity to protect us are going to come to an end.
The true value of blockchain is that it creates the trust. A decentralized system is much more difficult to hack since it does lack the single point of entry. The presents a more secure system than we presently operate under.
So what about the Facebooks of the world? What if they create a token?
Looking at it from this viewpoint is missing the evolution of blockchain. Cryptocurrency is only one application just like email was the first mainstream app for the Internet. There will be other things coming behind it.
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Even if the traditional entities create a token, they are still centralized. Also, their business models are still built upon advertising. That requires data. There is no way the traditional companies are going to give up the revenue that comes from advertising or data selling. Wall Street will not allow it.
There will come a point where people will realize the "oil" they have. It will suddenly dawn on them what the do online has value yet someone else was profiting. What do you think happens when this day occurs?
They can FUD cryptocurrency all they want but data, that is beyond their attacks. We are now seeing word spread which is going to back these entities into a corner. It will probably take another 5 years before we see the masses wake up. Until then, we will just keep pushing the decentralization envelop in hopes that some will listen.
Eventually, someone in the back yard running the drilling rig for free will look at the neighbor lounging around while being paid by the individual users of the oil and wonder what is wrong. How do I get paid too?
When enough ask that question, what the stocks of companies like Facebook start to collapse.
In the end, as valuable as cryptocurrency could be, data is a lot more valuable.
If you found this article informative, please give it an upvote and resteem.
If Facebook were to create a token and allow its users to earn it by being active on the platform, it would be depriving its stock owners their profits. It would cause Facebook stock to crash. The only situation I can imagine Facebook trying something like that would if its users started leaving in droves and they did it out of desperation.
Early this year, I tried to entice some of my friends to drop Facebook and come to Steem for us to continue our discussions here and earn some change while at it. To my utter astonishment, they'd have none of it. I've heard all the usual accusations of Steem being "scam" or a "bubble". I think I made it sound too good to be true. In actual fact, what Steem is all about is every participant also being an owner and entitled to their share of the profits. That's it. The fact that the valuation of Steem is speculative at the moment is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. At such an early stage as Steem is, it is normal for companies to heavily rely on investor money. The time for fiat revenue generated by businesses on Steem creating buying pressure on STEEM will come. I think we should emphasize that by spending time on centralized platforms, their users are effectively donating their time as well as control over their creations to the owners of the platform. Now that an alternative exists, there is no reason whatsoever to do that. Who thinks Zuckerberg isn't rich enough being worth $78 billion?
I read the latest earnings report from Facebook and I find it disgusting how they are shifting their delivery to have more control of the monetization of their users. Since being burnt with the use of news feeds they now say they are focusing on “stories” from users to get back to more social interactions so that they can better monetize! They current receive, on average, $6 per quarter per each active user! What does the user get, nothing but the “customer experience.”. That demonstrates how much our attention is worth and why Steem is on the forefront of is taking control of it!
Frankly speaking, $24 per year per each active user is a pittance. That kind of money will not be sufficient for anyone to give up superior ease of use. If you think of Facebook as a subscription service, the ability to interact with all your friends using a really well-designed interface for $2 a month is a bargain. Of course, Steem right now makes it possible to earn a shitload more, so being on Steem instead of Facebook is a no-brainer. But getting the masses onboard will require much more than money. I'm not exactly sure which arguments would work best but I think they'd include but are not limited to: 1) total control over your content, 2) total control over your account, 3) the possibility to use your account to log into potentially thousands of apps, 4) the possibility to use the STEEM and SBD cryptocurrencies to send and receive money in three seconds for free to anyone with an account and 5) an opportunity to earn on your content without any risk of demonetization by unilateral decision by the platform owner without the possibility of appeal. I think the marketing of Steem apps should be a combination of at least of those five with emphasis chosen based on marketing research.
This post has been found valuable and upvoted by El surtidor
I use libre office instead of word/excel as my rebellion against the centralized mass. And Steemit, of course!
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Are the current strategies dealing with decentralization which is, as I understand it, going back to protocol internet and building decentralized applications enough to win?
Are we needing to be more capable marketers?
Or do we need more "centralized" grass roots organization.
In our modern era of the internet, right now there are several attempts to decentralize like Steemit and Bitshares. I will resteem and share to Twitter but until it gets louder than the "noise" it won't be noticed.
Freedom from the power of the organized State is not, nor will it ever be, free. And when the decentralization efforts begin to make a difference then the Centralized powers, whether it be governments or corporations will most certainly fight back.
Organized, oppressive, weak, technology is going to bring their power. WE have to have a greater power. The south was right and wrong when they seceded. Their path was legitimate their baggage was not. Sadly to say their baggage was their support system and when the few states that were seeking their freedom, their support mechanism was wrongfully attacked.
Not by the bullet but by the pen.
The power of the executive branch was not recognized by the dissenting States. And when he changed the rules only for a few states the power to rebel to support the secession was destroyed.
P2P transctions have the appearance of cash. but it's not. It's a transparent digital transaction. It may not even be legal in some jurisdictions.
When I am preparing to fight the system I will be using a strong legal path. We can fight but there needs to be a better strategy to unite us.
I am not sure myself how to do this but I am leaning heavily towards quintric. A strong, historic store of value and a State jurisdiction to build on. The next strategy is to educate. You are very good at explanations. I defer to you.
The global solution is becoming more and more necessary. Internet serves well but the cloud and RAIDA may be the next obvious path.
I will stop here for now.