Our digital footprints are being sold. And digital ownership is being crushed by the small group of tech giants that control the Internet as we know it. The individuality of people and society is in a delicate moment.
The Internet was one of the most powerful and promising creations in human history. Providing the ability to connect the world, democratize information and enhance the potential of many aspects of our lives. But with innovation came a change: now, when accessing information online, the user provides personal data in exchange for this information.
As the Internet evolved into what we know today as Web 2.0, it also created competing proprietary platforms of user-generated content, each presiding over its own “walled garden,” while the arrival of social media changed the way in which we connect and interact.
The existing incentive structure of today's Internet has allowed the creation and growth of a small number of highly centralized technology companies, valued at billions of dollars, that have built a data brokerage industry. They are omnipresent in our daily lives and their only goal is relentless growth achieved by maximizing advertising revenue, at all costs.
To achieve this growth, they continually need more data from us. Every day, from every person, on every topic possible, data is collected and traded without regard to the privacy or well-being of the individual. And we have given you free access to the Big Tech to these data. Conventional social media platforms are managed as centralized services by these large technology corporations motivated and monetized by advertising revenue.
As a result, they are in control of the user experience: the content displayed in users' feeds, how personal data is exploited for advertising purposes, and the connections users make online. It is estimated that online advertising companies collect around 72 million data about each of us when we reach the age of 13. We are freely giving away millions of pieces of data about ourselves without even realizing we are doing it.
It's not better for developers. The current state of the Internet limits developers' ability to creatively control. It has descended into a platform that depends on innovators having to compromise their values in exchange for access. They need to obtain permission and seek approval before their applications can access the APIs. Ultimately, this means that someone else (the centralized Big Tech entities) is in control of the success or otherwise of developers' apps.
Increasingly, consumer protection agencies, the intelligence community, governments, and existing and ad hoc agencies are showing concern, and we should all feel the same. Now we find ourselves at a fork in the road. It's time for new technology that gives more power to the consumer, more freedom to developers and more opportunities for innovation. It's time to create a new user-centric, open source and decentralized web protocol.
The next version of the web, or web3 as it is now known, will be an open, decentralized, user-driven network, where information can be exchanged and networks will be interoperable. And most importantly, the user will own and control their personal information. It is expected that the global web3 blockchain market size reach $2.250 billion in 2023 and is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 47,1%. It is expected to be worth more than $30 billion by 2030.
Solutions like Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP) They are essential to returning power from the centralized authority that controls the platforms to the people who use them. DSNP is a free and open protocol that allows each user to own their data and interactions. Therefore, personal data is no longer a corporate asset but is owned and controlled by the user in a community-run public infrastructure.
DSNP also offers developers the ability to realize the dream of creating impactful technology that benefits users and solves real-world problems, all without becoming captive to the interests of Big Tech giants.
Its focus is to provide a way to get back to the web as you first imagined. A web protocol focused on the common good, through which no entity can control access, determine prices or revoke permissions. DSNP capitalizes on the best attributes of blockchain but with the ability to scale so that creators can align their desire to innovate and solve problems in an environment that benefits all individuals.
With a free open protocol and leveraging blockchain technology, developers can regain control over their applications and develop open source code that is shared publicly, resulting in a collaborative development process.
We are at a crucial time for technology transformation, and developers will play a critical role in building the foundation for a safer, healthier Internet that empowers people across platforms. Imagine an Internet where creativity, problem solving, and user experience dictate success. With a free and open protocol, developers can avoid navigating existing rules imposed by large tech entities and instead focus on the creative future of what the next-generation Internet can be. What are we waiting for?
