53% of Internet users in the US doubt that sharing personal data with companies will enhance user experience. It’s hard to deny the fact that personal data is becoming one of the most valuable assets in the contemporary world. Just a few decades ago it was not as important, but now personal data is very valuable.
When it comes to our online activity personal data includes not only common socio-demographic characteristics of users, but also browsing habits, the content we share with friends, search history, and much more. This information is very useful for companies that want to know your habits, desires, and tendencies to better target and advertise their products and services. Raw data in itself isn’t that useful,- but properly collected and analyzed it becomes a valuable commodity.
As we use social networks, search engines, or allow companies to access our data in any way we generate a vast amount of useful and valuable information. Big companies like Google and Facebook are selling inflated user numbers and overhyped targeting opportunities to advertisers while collecting way too much information about users and cheating content creators out of their fair share of revenue.
Tech companies, publishers, and media buyers have begun experimenting with marketplaces built on blockchain (a digital ledger that records transactions using encryption for security and accountability). Industry organisations such as the
Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Tech Lab and the
Data & Marketing Association are taking notice. In fact, the IAB has developed a blockchain working group (
we are proud to be a part of it) to explore how advertisers can use the technology.
Papyrus aims to provide users with the opportunity to control their own data and to earn compensation by sharing their interests and other relevant ad targeting information with advertisers. In the Papyrus ecosystem users are enabled to create their own advertising “policy”. This includes what ad topics will be allowed and the desired balance between ad load and compensation. Users can change these parameters either in a publisher’s dApp itself or in their Papyrus Account Manager dApp. In either case, these parameters are written as a reference to a user’s own Papyrus account.
In the
Papyrus Account Manager users can:
- Register and receive a Papyrus ID;
- Configure a personalised advertising policy — what ads a user wants to see and with what compensation.
- Configure a personalised data policy — what impersonal data a user is willing to share with whom and with what compensation.
- Display statistics for ad and data interactions and receive compensation.
With Papyrus users will see only relevant, less intrusive, and less distracting ads. This environment will eliminate inappropriate ads and malvertisements. Moreover, with the proliferation of specialized reputation, antifraud, and identity management tools, the Papyrus ecosystem will ensure that users are participating in the sharing economy through consensual data sharing and their response to advertisements will be instantly improved.