The world is getting better every day. Our daily activities are becoming more convenient that sometimes the utopian dream seems possible especially in developed countries. We are moving at a very fast pace, faster than ever before. Our forefathers set us up for growth during the 21st century. All inventions that arose in the 18th, 19th, and 20th century paved way for the inventions we are seeing now, one could even argue that we are merely making improvements our past ideas and principles. Whichever the case, we are moving forward.
There are a number of factors that have sped up this progression. The internet is arguably the greatest of them. The work of Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn created a platform for creatives and developers where they could have fun solving the world’s challenges. The internet started slow but the world caught on to its advantages and quickly adapted it. It revolutionized communication as it connected all parts of the world faster than any other method could. The invention of e-mails ensured the decline of normal mail as it was far much simpler and more convenient to use.
The internet also revolutionized e-commerce. As its users grew, companies saw an opportunity to capitalize on the number that the internet could give access to. This advantage was not only useful to the e-commerce companies but also to advertising companies who realized they could make a wider and more effective impact using the internet. This progress was welcomed and loved by all.
The internet is also credited for reducing the world to a global village. No one is ever far away as long as you have internet connectivity. The innovations that really made this happen using the internet were social media platforms. Myspace was the first successful social media platform in the 2000’s.
It was highly interactive and provided a space for upcoming musicians to display their talent to the rest of the world. Its active users were mostly from the Unites States as the rest of the world was still catching up on the social media scene.
It was so popular that in 2008 it had more visitors than the search engine giant, Google. This statement seems kind of odd in this day and age as Google is the go to website for nearly all inquiries worldwide. Facebook came up during the peak years of Myspace starting off small and humble in some of the Ivy league universities before it took over the social media space in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s. Facebook spread slowly but surely as it cemented its importance in the daily lives of its users.
The ease of its user interface attracted all crowds, both young and old and its features were relevant to the needs of the times. People wanted to be connected to each other and Facebook provided this platform. Friendships were created and built on this platform. Even marriages were credited to the existence of Facebook.
The acceptance and spread of social media, especially Facebook, was also due to the invention of smartphones. Apple had just released the iPhone and the android operation system had started being rolled out in most phone companies. Smartphones enabled their users to perform most of the tasks they used to accomplish on their computers. They were like mini hand-held computers.
Their convenience was unrivaled. Most developers started making applications specifically to suite these platforms and Facebook was one of them. The adoption of the Facebook app by the android and iOS platform made it accessible around the world as the use of smartphones became popular.
Joining Facebook required no registration fee or any other mode of payment. Facebook only required your details and age of above 13 years to join. Its features and the platform were appealing and one would wonder how they make money to keep them afloat.
The internet economics is not easily understood by the layman but the operations of Facebook did not indicate any sign of revenue being made. And this was so. Facebook ran on continuous losses year after year until it grew its base to a number that would attract investors and advertisers. This was a risky move as many social media companies that tried this after Facebook failed.
Around this time, ads started appearing on users’ news feed and people understood that it was a means for generating revenue to keep them afloat. AS time went by however, ads became more and more specific like for what users actually needed at a particular time. This was in a way convenient but it meant something different for user privacy.
The data that users submitted plus their use of the platform created personas for each user that was lucrative to advertisers. Facebook was using data it had to target specific people depending on the ad they had to run. This was okay as Facebook was the only company using the data but stories emerged that Facebook and other large tech companies were using user data to profit from advertisers.
There were claims that they were selling user data to bidders who would then use this data for targeted advertising in different platforms. Claims erupted on the internet that users would search for one item on google and find the ad on Facebook or on a different platform. There was an outcry by internet users worldwide on how their data was being treated by these companies.
Sphere heard the cries of the internet population and devised a way to meet the needs of all users. Sphere’s idea is a decentralized social media platform that has the user’s interest at heart. It wants to take the power of leveraging data from the companies that host them and give them back to the user. The online advertising industry makes billions of dollars each year out of the data that is given by internet users. Sphere wants their platform to give their users a chance to gain from this industry and profit from selling their online data.
The Sphere platform will perform the normal functions you would get in any other social media platform but it will ensure the privacy of user data and it will give its members a chance to profit from the platform. Blockchain will enable Sphere to decentralize the storage of user data such that users can be able to know if their data is being handled inappropriately. This decentralization will also be important in preventing any extensive damage to users in case of cyberattacks or attempted data breaches. Once users are assured of the safe keeping of their data, Sphere will incentivize data submission in its platform.
Sphere came up with a token system which will reward their users depending on how they use their Sphere accounts. The tokens Sphere are going to use are the Social Activity Tokens. These tokens are utility tokens that will prove valuable in the Sphere platform. When users want to receive SAT, all they have to do is submit information about themselves. This information will then be sold to advertisers that will have linked up with Sphere and the data used for targeted advertising. The user experience will not be affected by this advertising as users will be able to dictate through their data what type of advertising they want to receive.
Sphere will provide an e-commerce platform for its users. Sphere members will use the SAT they have been collecting from selling their data to purchase items that will be sold within the Sphere platform. Users will be given access to their friends and followers to sell their goods. If they want to sell their products to the wider Sphere community, users will be required to pay for targeted advertising through SAT.
The Sphere platform will change social media advertising by increasing ad conversion through its targeted advertising and giving its members the economic power to purchase goods being advertised. The social media user experience will be as friendly as possible. Sphere will have forever changed the meaning of social media through its platform. This change does not come cheap or easy. There are hours of innovation that need to be dedicated and finances that need to be put down. Sphere is therefore having an ICO that will help it raise the necessary funds needed to actualize this platform. Sphere is offering their SAT to those who would want to see a social media revolution as great as this.
To take part in changing our perspective of social media use this referral link https://sphere.social/?ref_code=dyx6c6su4cz8. The ICO is almost coming to a close. It runs till the 9th of April 2018. Purchasing of the SAT can be done through fiat or cryptocurrency.
For further information and inquires you can visit the following Sphere links:
Website: https://sphere.social/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SphereOfficial1
ETH : 0xBE762c447BA88E1B22C5A7248CBEF103032B8306
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