Data as a precious resource...

In the age of Imperialism, dominant nations expanded their grip on new worlds, extracting the value from the newly-discovered resource-rich regions, inevitably at the expense of its inhabitants. Over time, colonies were established by settlers gathering up these resources, sending them back to the wealthy ruling nation, who would then be further enriched whilst the far-flung colonists laboured and scrimped to survive.

Centuries ago, the key commodity may have been rich furs like beaver pelts, sent back to Europe to be made into luxurious hats for the extremely wealthy to enjoy. In modern times, oil has become the central commodity of many regimes, often extracted from poor or war-torn countries with corrupt rulers for the benefit, again, of the wealthier consuming nations.

And now; data. It has increasingly become a valuable commodity that the average citizen willingly gathers and sends to economic powerhouses. This resource is somewhat unique in that it is digital, yet it bears many of the same characteristics of exploitation and disproportionate wealth gains for the few elite. This data we willingly hand over, entrusting those in power to take care of it, in exchange for enjoying social interactions on Facebook or convenient online browsing or purchasing through the likes of Google and Amazon, has made these modern powers wealthier than most of us can imagine.

Yet, we are the ones - the colonists - providing the commodity. Despite being the producers of said commodity, we gain little from this, other than a free app, free shipping, or a little convenience. Corporations like Facebook stand to lose a great deal of wealth and power if other means of gathering and commodifying data are created.

This is where blockchain technology can revolutionise the transaction of this new resource. Through blockchain applications such as Steemit, Dtube, and so forth, data can instead be gathered and exploited "by the people", and "for the people". Moving from centrally controlled corporations who leave the average citizen the "short end of the stick", to decentralised entities that benefit all participants, data will eventually be a commodity that generates wealth on a broader, more horizontal scale.

Blockchain is the democratisation of data. It is not centrally controlled. No single entity benefits at the expense of others. This is yet another reason to support its development - and to expect resistance as the technology grows.

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