IOVO: The decentralised user data-driven economy
Personal data is one of the pillars of today's economy. Without knowing more about their customers, it is hard for companies to compete effectively for their attention and their money. Lately, however, the unscrupulous methods by which this data is gathered and monetised have caused some pushback. Consumers have started to become more aware of and resistant to the data gathering efforts, and governments have moved to regulate such operations too. This threatens to seriously undermine data harvesting in the future. Even if it was to remain intact, the danger to the users' privacy is substantial, while the benefits in letting their data be used are few.
IOVO Ledger GmbH has an audacious plan to reinvent the data economy, making it more balanced and sustainable. IOVO (which stands for Internet of Value OmniLedger) will be built on a cutting edge directed acyclic graph (DAG)-based multi-blockchain design. It will function as a secure data storage, search and analysis platform, letting users contribute their data on their own terms and rewarding them in tokens whenever companies search for it. This database will serve as a foundation for a broader ecosystem including many different dApps that will use this data to construct a more efficient, fairer and smarter economy.
How will the IOVO network operate?
Unlike normal blockchains, DAGs are nonlinear and can easily include multiple chains of blocks. IOVO uses this to distribute its data and transactions between several traditional blockchains supported by validators, as well as a distributed file storage system. The validators will be rewarded with a modified proof-of-stake algorithm called proof-of-value, in which their IOVO token reward is determined both by tokens held and by their contributions to the database relative to its current size. Further security will be provided through lattice-based encryption reinforced by machine learning algorithms.
To interact with the system, a user would need to get an IOVO wallet, each of which may support multiple accounts with both a public (address) and a private (transactions) key. The wallets would not only store different cryptocurrencies but also track data contributions and use throughout the system. Special algorithms will be used to develop scoring systems, calculating shareable scores such as skill levels, credit ratings or insurance premiums while leaving the sensitive personal data used to form them secure. Data sharing could be done through many different applications but will always require user consent. Companies and researchers may search for and process the scores and other data through the IOVOanalytics dApp. Searching, whether for specific users or for data fitting certain criteria, will require payments in IOVO tokens. The payment will be divided between validators, affected users and a 3% commission fee. As implied by its name, the dApp will also offer extensive analytics options.
IOVO would welcome the integration or creation of third-party dApps in its system, all of which will be used to encourage more data sharing and allow IOVO token payments. Adding each dApp will require its own “manifest” smart contract, which will specify the sorts of data it will seek. In addition to using scores and other data, those dApps may benefit from dynamic pricing algorithms and other such programmable adjustments based on scores. The company will add its own dApps:
1. Influnomy, a marketplace for online merchant discount vouchers based on publishing the required social media content;
2. The Dropp News dApp, allowing text, audio or video content to be attached to location markers on online maps;
3. Flatty, a real estate sharing platform;
4. IOVObanks, a peer-to-peer financial service platform with AI matching of users based on their scores and needs.
What advantages does IOVO have to offer?
Individual users may rely on IOVO as an independent and stable source of income that will be bigger the more they put into it, while also enjoying the advantages of greater data security and privacy. Companies would potentially gain access to a comprehensive, reliable consumer database and (through dApps) a larger market. The DAG technology coupled with the multi-blockchain approach should offer a higher degree of versatility, security and speed. It should also be easily scalable, which combined with IOVO's open source philosophy should make it easy to integrate existing services as well as develop new ones.
The IOVO Ledger team is made up of seasoned entrepreneurs with a record of working with cutting edge technologies. It will develop its wallet and other dApps to be accessible through many different platforms. Eventually, it will set up the IOVO Foundation will be set up to oversee the growth of the IOVO platform and support the development of further projects on its foundation. Its marketing efforts are likely to be helped by the popular and highly relevant theme of individual data sovereignty, which holds a special appeal for most of the cryptocurrency community. IOVO has already received some positive cryptoindustry and mainstream media coverage.
Token sale details
The private sale is ongoing. The public sale was originally scheduled for Q3 2018, but the current plans are unknown.
Rethinking the data market
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. People are not unwilling to share their information, especially if they will be rewarded for it. A more user-friendly data economy model may be more viable in the long run. Constructing a truly all-encompassing voluntary database would be of obvious interest to businesses in all industries as well, since the current state of fragmentation and intermediation can hamper the effective use of the data. Making it easy to add new dApps and offering advanced analytical services would complement this data platform nicely.
All of this is much easier said than done, however. While IOVO's incentive scheme may make it attractive to users, it will still require a very large userbase to be truly worth it for the companies to use. Given the importance of winning over many customers early on, IOVO's currently very limited social media engagement efforts do not bode well for the project's future. Also, like any bleeding edge technology, its technically rather complex offering may have many vulnerabilities that would only become apparent after its launch. But if it can bounce back from its current problems and prove the viability of its technical setup, IOVO may become essential to the data economy of the future.
Website: http://iovo.io/
WhitePaper: http://iovo.io/assets/whitepaper.pdf
Telegram: https://t.me/iovoledger
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iovoledger/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iovoledger
Medium: https://medium.com/@iovo
ANN: <https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4509519
Author: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=980049
ETH: 0x52031420541AE92622745A9417B11E73fb470BE9
Disclaimer
This review by Bonanza Kreep is all opinion and analysis, not investment advice.