Introduction
Perhaps, no other industry deals with so much personal data collection and processing than the digital ads industry led by the social media tech giants. Whether a user is aware or not, their personal data is being collected, studied and matched with ads designed to imitate their choices. Its not surprising to get so much unsolicited emails and marketing campaigns no thanks to the commercialization of personal data.
The problems with todays digital ads are many and tech giants do not care so much about privacy. Invasive ads remain a huge threat to all users of digital platforms. Web3 could provide all the missing puzzle to transform digital advertising in such a way as to make all stakeholders - the user, merchant and marketing agency - win. Let us see how web3 could bring a turn-around to how digital ads are run today.
Digital advertising shortfall and web3 solutions
There are many things wrong with how digital advertising works today. Consider the following two challenges and how web3 will bring a revolution in the digital ads business.
shortfall 1: Data collection and ownership
The way digital advertising works today is built fully on user data collection and profiling. Ad platforms collect user data by tracking their browsing history and crawling all the personal data they could get. Partner websites use cookies to also collect visitor data as these users browse the websites. They are often prompted to allow cookies to be turned on, effectively using these to collect their personal data.
There are other ways user data is collected such as through filling forms. Whether it is to sign up for a service, make some enquiries or order something online, users are often asked to fill a form, leaving some personal data like phone number and email in the hands of ad network partners. These personal data are collected and shared with all parties in business, especially ad platforms. By doing this, the privacy of users whose data are collected and share are endangered.
So the way data is collected and stored by advertising agency partners effectively leaves little room for privacy. Besides, such data is owned by the websites and businesses collecting them. The real owner of the data is thus deprived of true and sovereign data ownership.
Web3 lets users own their data
The solution which web3 brings is unique. The very principle of decentralization is that data is not collected and stored in a single computer - a sever. Instead, the blockchain uses a distributed network of computers to store any relevant data that must be collected. In the concept of digital ads, web3 would allow users to retain their data and fully own it.
Tokenization of data is the winning formula to be implemented by web3. Instead of trying to collect or even steal user data, web3 allows them to own it and fully be in control. Then users that agree to share data would receive tokens that represent their share of the ad revenue. They effectively monetize their data. By doing this, there would be no need to accumulate data. People would now be willing to share their data with ad merchants or platforms in a decentralized and secure manner.
shortfall 2: Inversive ads
The ads industry today needs a total overhaul on how ads are placed and targeted. If you are a user of any online platforms today, you would have worried a lot about how ads are shoved down your throat. Every web page or app is filled with so many ads that users rarely enjoy their content consuming experience.
The nature of inversive ads is such that sometimes, misleading links and buttons are placed strategically around every space online. For example, a link to a signup form often redirects first to an ads page and the user is forced to view the ads first. The entire user experience on web2 pages today has been effectively destroyed by inversive ads. But this should not be so.
Web3 changes how ads are served.
Web3 really is built around full autonomy and ownership of data. collecting and storing data on central servers exposes them to lost of risks. Web3 and blockchain technology stores user data on nodes or distributed computers across a large network. In terms of how data is served, web3 will also do it differently.
Instead of filling up all web pages with ads, web3 would only allow users to consume ads on demand in exchange for tokens. This is called tokenization. It gives users the opportunity to willingly give consent to ads before they are shown. This would help clean up the webpages and really boost user experience as everyone that do not opt to view ads would have them remain hidden. Those that want to view ads would understand they have made the choice to do so and they going to be rewarded too.
In order to fully implement a web3 ad facility, smart contracts could be very useful. Smart contracts would be use to write the agreement between ad merchants and ad consumers. The full terms of each ad project would be clearly coded into a smart contract. A user that agrees to view ads would have to read the contract and sign the terms. By signing it, they agree to fulfill all obligations and if data sharing is involved, they understand how much data was to be shared.
For implementing targeted ads where user targeting and profiling would be very much needed, a web3 ad platform would still allow users to own the data. One way to achieve this is to use a decentralized identity management system. Such a system would ensure that users still share their data in a secure, and transparent manner. Connecting with a blockchain-based identity management system is the best way to have user choices and profiles while still maintaining data security and sovereignty.
Conclusion
The ads industry today is full of bad actors especially in how data is collect and stored. It also has a lot of issues in how ads are served. Web3 will also have the best approach as it guarantees user control and ownership of data. Tokenization of ads also is a great way to stop inversive ads.