The world is gradually moving towards the concept of sharing economy, and successful businesses like Uber and Airbnb have already proven that it is a viable business model. The same applies to data as well. Until now, just like taxis and hotels, most of the user data has remained under the control of large organizations like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others. These companies, owing to millions of users, continuously collect data and monetize it.
Even though most of the data is user-generated, there are limited opportunities for individuals to monetize their own data. Due to these constraints, they are making the big corporations rich, while getting nothing in return. According to estimates, internet users over the period of last two years have generated close to 2.5 quintillion bytes of data and Datum — a blockchain platform is making it possible for users to regain control over their valuable data and make money out of it.
Datum is a distributed, decentralized NOSQL database that makes use of BigChainDB to provide infinitely scalable, decentralized data storage backend. The Datum Network is powered by its own DAT crypto tokens, which is also the medium of transaction over the platform.
The Datum platform is building an application that can be installed on smartphones to exert control over the data generated/collected by a variety of applications including Facebook and Google. Users will not only be able to securely store the data, but also control and track its access.
All the generated data will be encrypted at source and saved on a decentralized storage provided by the Datum Network. The monetization layer incorporated by the platform allows users to purchase storage space using the tokens. At the same time, the Datum marketplace allows data consumers to buy access to the stored data by making payments with the same token.
The platform is introducing a first of its kind Datum data marketplace, which is driven by DAT smart contracts. It enables users on the platform share or sell the data to consumers on their own terms. In order to develop the entire ecosystem, Datum is currently in the process of raising the necessary funds for further development and deployment through its ongoing token sale. The Datum pre-sale started on August 11, 2017, and will end on September 11, 2017. The pre-ICO will be followed by a month-long ICO campaign where investors can purchase the tokens against ETH payment. These tokens can be used to buy storage for data on the Datum decentralized database and also to purchase data from others over the marketplace.
With Datum, earning while browsing the internet or using social networking sites will soon become a reality.
More information about the platform is available on the platform’s official website.