In this age of information, just one click lets you enjoy advertisements tailored to your needs, fast ordering with timely delivery of goods, easy payment systems, and more. While this is all quite convenient, you may not know that for the internet to make all these things possible; your data needs to be supplied in some way, shape, or form.

Looking at the data heists of well-known companies adorning media headlines shows that data is a leading resource in the digital world. Data holds value for most companies, so new career categories are coming up dealing solely with the collection, analysis, and processing of data.

Let’s look at personal data within the Web2 ecosystem and discuss why this information is becoming so valuable.

Web2 Data: The ‘Infoware’ Age

The growth of Web2 technology saw leading internet applications become backed by specialized databases from the likes of Amazon, Google, Yahoo, and many more. Database management turned into a core competency for Web2 companies, so applications have sometimes been called ‘infoware’ rather than software.

The Web2 era saw several cases where database control led to market control and outsized financial returns. Established companies realized that controlling key data sources is not difficult, especially if those data sources are expensive to create or amenable to increasing returns via network effects.

These established Web2 companies further shed light on the importance of owning an application’s core data to help undercut its competitive position, thus giving rise to commodified data. This was the starting point to realizing how valuable data can be.

How Valuable is Your Personal Data?

In the Web3 arena, users can monetize their personal data in various ways. Itheum is creating a platform that will enable a multitude of opportunities, empowering over 8 billion people across the globe with the means to truly own and trade their data.

1. Advertising and Predictive Analytics

Targeted advertising is the first main reason your personal data is so valuable, primarily because it acts as a weapon that companies can use to win you over as a consumer.

They can identify and target you specifically with their products, going beyond the business realm and into the political arena. With your personal data, politicians can tailor their messages to win your vote (as an example).

2. Trading

Your personal data is worth more than you think, as it’s turned into a resource that can be monetized in various ways through the blockchain.

Itheum allows you to take ownership of your data and trade it using our innovative peer-to-peer technology — you can also discover and access high-value data and insights via primary and secondary data markets. As you trade your data with people worldwide, Itheum enables provable personal data provenance and lineage for better tracking of this tradeable information.

3. Monetization

Itheum’s Data Coalition DAOs group your data into clusters of similar data and advertise the bulk datasets to interested Data Consumers, who can then procure access to the bulk datasets. By doing so, you have the potential to monetize your data or can choose to lock up your returns for the longer-term growth of the Data Coalitions that you support.

The data types you can monetize include:

• Personal data
• Data Packs
• Data Streams
• Data NFTs

Conclusion

There’s no question that your personal data carries immense value for companies, platforms, and other interested parties for a variety of different reasons, as previously mentioned.

Itheum is steadily refurbishing the personal data landscape, helping you truly own your data as the valuable resource it is. People deserve to understand how and why their data is being collected and used.

With Itheum, it’s your data, your rules.

Itheum

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