#14- Data Monetization and Blockchain: Will the Data-Owners get a pie too?

Book- The Digital Event Horizon

All businesses are moving towards what I call the data economy. Data is the new oil and there is so much wealth re-distribution that will take place in the coming years because of the rise of data analytics, AI, and blockchain.

All business leaders must know that every day:

1. Customers-Your current and potential customers are generating data
2. Production-Your manufacturing units are generating data
3. Operations-Your logistics, operations, finance and people functions are generating data
4. Marketing-Your marketing engine is generating data
5. Economic data-Your current and target economies are generating data

The most important questions are that do you have access to the data ethically or not, and are you harnessing the power of data analytics if you do have the data. In this piece, I want to focus on decentralization which is one of the core principles of blockchain technology. According to statista, Global online advertisement market is already ~250 billion USD currently and will reach ~335 billion USD in 2020.

Currently, a major chunk of this money goes to tech platforms and digital ecosystems like search engines, social media companies, eCommerce companies, and advertisement companies. However, have you thought of who owns or creates the data?

Nothing is free. If it is, then you are the product

Blockchain 1.0 is all about distributed ownership of validating a transaction currently but Blockchain 2.0 will also add an element of rightful ownership.

Your data is not worthless…

As a consumer I generate data which is relevant for multiple industries:

1. Travel Plan- Places I have already been, would like to go again and want to go in the future. Very relevant for Hotels, Airlines, and tourism industry.
2. Gadgets and appliances related data- Relevant to TMT and consumer goods industry
3. Transport and Location data- On-demand taxi platforms I use, generate data related to my home and work location and the path I take. This could be very relevant for localized marketing.
4. Entertainment- TV shows, Movies, plays and shows I watch, review or visit. Very relevant for the local entertainment malls, as well as multi-billion dollar entertainment subscription companies.
5. Health statistics- Exercise data, pathology data as well as movement data can be used for future predictions and current health products. This is very relevant for the nutrition and healthcare companies
6. Search engine- The search engine and the browser history can give a lot of useful data for a score of businesses who can sell me a product or service relevant to my search.
7. Shopping patterns and searches- Amazon is now already earning billion dollars just from the advertisement revenues. People go to eCommerce sites to check about what they want and that search query creates data too.
8. Personal photographs and video content- The creative video and photo content that you create can be used by others for professional purposes. The pay-out will of course be dependent on the quality of the content.
9. Food and grocery- Food preferences, delivery data and grocery data
10. Educational courses — Things you like to learn and search about
11. Smart home and energy data- The connected devices and the energy data- your energy consumption
12. And many other industries- Office workplace data, security systems

These are just some of the touchpoints in a digital consumer journey where a potential opportunity for a business transaction exists.

Consumers deserve a pie too and Blockchain may make it possible

Block chain 2.0 will enable consumer to control the ownership and sharing of the data they create. In simple words, imagine a consumer getting paid a certain portion of money for releasing the data related to them. Shared economy possibilities are immense.

1. Maybe if I am spending ~10,000–20,000 USD on travel every year, then by the press of a button I release the data who a rightful blockchain, and I earn 2–5% of commission/payback the sale that happened.
2. Possibilities are immense for healthcare, CPG sector, automobiles, TMT, and many other businesses.
3. The current set of business models will disrupt in the future and the digital consumers will be the king again. Be near the source of the data, get ethical access to data, and maybe your consumer will be your future business partner too.

Loyalty rewards and cashback may not be sufficient once consumers realize how much value their data carries.

Currently, in the age of centralized ecosystems- social, e-commerce, digital wallets, and consumer-tech networks coupled with little or no data-regulations, consumers do not have an alternative.

We have already started with private networks (signal, duckduckgo), and Soon, the decentralized business models may become a reality too.

Sidhartha Sharma

Digital and Fintech Expert, Author

Connect with me on Linkedin and Twitter — https://twitter.com/Siddhartha_monk