Blockchain & Behavioral Data
How Blockchain could allow us to own our personal data and control who accesses it.
Current Situation:
Currently, advertisers are using behavioral data in targeting online advertising. The data is collected from individual’s internet browsing. The collected data then can be compared to millions of other individuals browsing behaviors and then predictions about a category of users can be made. Online advertisements are targeted based on these predictions. This is the reason people often complain that when they are shopping for jewelry for a loved one, they will get ads for jewelry on most sites they visit. In this case, Google thinks the user is interested in jewelry based on their recent browsing behavior. You can even check who Google thinks you are in terms of age, gender, and interests by signing into your Google account and going to https://adssettings.google.com/u/0/authenticated. The problem with this use of behavioral data is that when the subject notices the ads, it is out of annoyance because a particular advertisement seems to be following them from site to site. Often, they are not on sites like YouTube with the intention of buying jewelry rather they are there to consume content. When they are served these repetitive ads, they find them disruptive. When consumers don’t notice the ads, they don’t care that this data is being used but then are these ads really effective? The reason that online advertising is done this way is because it's currently the best way to get relevant ads in front of potential consumers. Online advertising will have to evolve in its use of behavioral data to become more consumer-centered or it will die out because annoying potential consumers is not a successful method to encourage purchasing a product.
The ideal application of behavioral data use is in instances where it is helping the consumer and making their life easier. Netflix does this with their viewing recommendations based on previous viewing behavior. This tool is why viewers who love Iron Fist will be recommended shows such as Shameless and 13 Reasons Why (1). Netflix’s algorithm has found that viewers who enjoy one series are more likely to enjoy the others. In this case, individuals are not annoyed by the use of behavioral data because they don’t really notice it is happening. They actually appreciate receiving recommendations for potential new shows that they otherwise would have never considered watching. When they are on the Netflix site, they are in the mood to consume content and the recommendations made are actually relevant to their viewing preferences. The method Netflix is using understands that the customer is key and the content is king and thus the marriage of both are likely the future keys to the company’s success. Other companies that understand this have an opportunity to thrive, as well, because ultimately it is the customers who make the decisions on what content they want to consume and where and when they will do so.
Prediction of the New Trend:
Blockchain, at a basic level, is an incorruptible decentralized digital ledger that shows transactions. It is also the technology that allows cryptocurrencies (most famously Bitcoin) to exist. Blockchain, however, has many applications beyond just those of cryptocurrencies. It allows for digital information to be distributed and tracked but never copied (2). This means that it removes the middle man and allows everyone who is a part of the transaction the ability to confirm their involvement in it. Currently, it is a hot topic in the financial services world but it can be applied to other industries as well.
Think of Blockchain like the internet in that you don’t need to know how it works in order to use it; however, it is a good idea to have a basic understanding (3). The best way to understand it is through an example of how it is currently being used in China to track pork products (4). The pork goes through all the sequential steps in between the pigs being raised on the farm to the pork being served on the table. If at any point the pork doesn’t fulfill the food safety guidelines in order to move on to the next stage, it will stop. This makes it almost impossible for bad pork to end up being consumed and if by some chance the poor pork did move down the chain it would be easy to identify at what stage the pork went bad.
Scenario of the new trend:
While Blockchain could allow for a universal persona across all platforms, I believe that the future instead lies in consumers owning their own data. This will allow you to brand yourself instead of letting others brand you. Blockchain could hold personal information for every individual person. Everyone would have an individual chain of all their information openly accessible to only them. They could give others access to parts of their data but they still control who sees what, how long they see it, and if a monetary exchange is needed for access. An easier way to think of this is as the hard drive on your computer which stores your files. On your computer, there are photos, movies, music, and documents. Imagine these were filled with various elements of your life. All the pictures from different points of your life as well as home movies are stored there. If you think about it, many photos are already available on social sites like Facebook but few know that once you decided to post a photo, you grant the social media site a license to use the photo however they see fit for free (5). With Blockchain, you would be able to easily see that Facebook has that right on your photos which are also uploaded on their site.
With Blockchain, you could have both a copy of the VHS home video of you and your siblings opening presents as kids and also the video you filmed last year of your own child's first birthday party. These personal items seem more tangible but the Blockchain could also store data on who you are as a person and how you have evolved. Personal likes, dislikes, and how they have changed would all be tracked and easily accessible to you. All the interests Google believes you have would actually be accurate and it would be your data to own. It wouldn’t just be decided on your browsing behavior but it would take into account your actual interests in your life. Blockchain could even store secured personal information such as that which relates to credit scores.
Much like how Blockchain is currently being used to track pork in China, it can allow for traceability of your own secure information. Credit history is important for many aspects of life today. Jobs, credit cards, mortgages, and most financing rely on this data. Unfortunately, credit fraud is a problem. However, a Blockchain of your personal data could change this. It could allow you to control your credit history in the sense that you can make sure no one has accessed your information and is getting money in your name. This channel also allows for traceability so that if you do share access with someone you see when they accessed it and what they did with the information. This Blockchain application would be far more secure and safe than current methods of reporting on credit such as report agencies based upon social security numbers that can be hacked. This is relevant to media as more and more it is becoming an industry aiming for personalization, which is hard to achieve if you have identity fraud in the mix.
A Blockchain of your personal data could also make everything you have done in your life an asset that could be monetized. For example, my parents took a picture of me as a teenager drinking Coca-Cola with my brother on the back lawn. This photo would be stored both in my father’s Blockchain as he took the picture, as well as mine and my brothers. Now if Coca-Cola decided they wanted to use that photo in an advertisement, then through the Blockchain my father, brother, and I could decide to allow access at a certain price so we would be directly paid for its use. This opens up the freelance market by taking out the unnecessary middle man so those who create the content are being compensated for it. In some cases, traditional media companies that exist today may not have a future. This allows individuals to become media companies because they can create content such as the photo that will be commercialized.
Blockchain can also be used in the health industry along with conversational AI to strengthen memories and wellbeing. The Blockchain of your personal data could allow you to give access to certain information that may be relevant to a family member who is suffering memory loss. These can be blocks of data that give a brief overview of who you are and help explain your relationship to that person. Conversational AI such as Amazon’s Alexa could then use that data in combination with reminiscent therapy to help the family member remember their relatives better. Reminiscent therapy is commonly used to recall the past through senses such as visuals and sounds and it has been found to improve psychological well-being (6). Alexa could help lead the person through reminiscent therapy by showing photos of their daughter’s childhood and audio from family videos while also combining other personal data that could be relevant. In this scenario, media moves past just commercial use and can act as a caregiver to help individuals.
Julie is a mother of two, Jacob and Allison, and her own mother, Betty, has Alzheimer’s. Julie calls to let Betty know that she is planning on bringing the grandkids to visit next Saturday. Betty’s Amazon Alexa of the future records that information noting that her daughter and grandkids will arrive at 11 am on Saturday. Julie has allowed her mother Betty access to parts of her Blockchain as well as her kids which will help Betty learn who they are before they arrive. As Saturday arrives, Alexa starts to remind Betty about her daughter, Julie, telling her memories Betty shared with Julie before transitioning into information about Julie’s two kids, Jacob and Allison. This starts with memories that take place before Betty’s Alzheimer’s started such as the births of the two grandkids. These memories are easier for her to remember. Then Alexa starts including more current data such as how old the grandkids are and their hobbies. When the kids arrive, grandma isn’t as lost as she otherwise would have been around them so the transition to interacting with her grandkids (whom she now somewhat remembers) is a little easier. This is an example of how personal data can change relationships in the future and help with some of the medical ailments people may face.
Lastly, behavioral data within a Blockchain combined with physiological data could affect the entertainment industry. Behavioral data is already being used by Netflix for recommendations, as discussed before, but physiological data is being collected as well. Companies like Dolby study people watching movies to understand human emotions in order to elicit stronger responses in films. Through this data movie markers now know that if digital flames look real enough, the human body interprets them as real fire (7). This can then be incorporated into scenes where the director wants the viewer to feel a certain way. Since the trend towards personalization is steadily growing, it is likely that content in the future will be personalized. Blockchain could play a role by storing both behavior data as well as physiological data which could be the key to the success of these personalized experiences.
This data is important to both media companies who want to understand their consumers and the consumers, who want to feel like they are in control. Some people feel uncomfortable with the current way their data is being used and they may want to opt out of sharing their data to have a more generic experience. Others may see the benefits of sharing their data if they desire a more personalized experience. This allows the consumer to choose how much they want to share. In the future, this could be applied by a company like Netflix. Consumers could pay $10 a month for generic Netflix where they can watch anything from Netflix without personalization. Alternatively, they could pay $7 a month for personalization. This discount will come from the payment Netflix owes individuals for access to their personal data.
This personalization could mean movie plot points align with the interest of the viewer and the effect used in the film could be guaranteed to have the reaction the director desired. Consumers would be able to choose their own adventure but without having to pause the content because the decisions would be automatically generated based on their preferences. Individuals could even change their stored preferences as they evolve so the same movie could be different when viewed at different stages of their lives. Think of it like parental controls today. Say a parent doesn’t want their child to see content that contains firearms, then that information can be set in the Blockchain so none of that content would be incorporated into the final result that is viewed. When the child is older, this filter can be removed so firearms will begin to appear in the content they watch. This could also help people who have epilepsy. That data point would be shared and thus scenes that may otherwise cause a seizure could be replaced by ones that still move the plot along but without affecting the viewer.
If the future really is behavioral data on the Blockchain, then all companies must become media companies in order to survive. The consumer will own their information and thus companies must offer individuals what they want in exchange for that information. This evolution of data could affect almost every industry as so many rely on behavioral data. A consumer-centered future may seem like a large adjustment but, in the long run, it will create happier customers and more trusted companies.