Introduction: Data is a currency

The internet, since inception has become abode to the personal information of billions of people across the continent, albeit, not a safe one.

Every now and then, there are issues of data breaches by even the biggest of firms in the digital world . These companies realise that there is a monetary value assigned to every user data, and they illegally take advantage of this to the fullest. They partake in the commoditisation of user data, selling them to research institutes,advertisement companies, political agencies and virtually anybody willing to pay for them.
The sad fact is that the owners of these information have no control over who is able to access them, talkless of making any money from their sale.Suffice to say, internet giants such as Facebook,Google,Yahoo,Microsoft and the likes have imposed a kind of "dictatorial" approach towards management and control of data, in which the owners are simply nothing but subjects.

In this article, we will extensively look into Datum and it's proposed solution to the incessant issues of data insecurity and privacy abuse in the digital world.

Restoring Data Control With Datum

Datum is a blockchain powered platform that seeks to restore control of data to its rightful owners.

Through the use of smart contracts, Datum allows users to upload their encrypted data to decentralised storage nodes, only making them accessible to people who they choose . In this manner, people can not only decide who can access their information, but also make money from granting interested parties access to their data.

Storage capacity and computing power within Datum's ecosystem to comfortably hold all user data is catered for by BigChainDB and IPFS, two platforms renowned for immutable data storage.Users can also allocate their unused PC storage to act as storage nodes, earning DAT tokens in the process (DAT token is the native currency used for transactions within Datum's ecosystem).These storage nodes are globally distributed in a decentralised manner, making data secure and less susceptible to hacks since there are no central servers that can be attacked as in other conventional cloud storage systems .

The two major players within the ecosystem are the Users and Data consumers.

Users

Basically, users require little amounts of DAT tokens to store data on Datum .In the process, they can customise their profile and data accessibility to suit their preference.For example, they can choose to :

• allow all users access their data without incurring charges
• allow only certain users of their choice access data without charges
• allow all users access to their data at a fixed or negotiable charge.

User's accessibility preferences are saved in the smart contract, which is programmed to act as stipulated. Consequently, the user's data is distributed to the entire Datum's storage nodes to ensure latency, higher level of security and ease of accessibility.

Data Consumers

Data consumers are individuals or organisations that require access to user(s) data. Depending on the accessibility option of the user in question, data consumers can either access data free or purchase data using DAT tokens, only after negotiating with owners. After an agreement is reached, "the smart contract initiates an off-chain key exchange to release data under owner's terms" to the consumer and sends DAT tokens the opposite direction.

Source

Datum's Data Validation Mechanism

To attain a thriving Datum ecosystem, reliability and validity of data must remain a top priority because if this is compromised, data consumers and investors will eventually abandon the ecosystem. Therefore, to gain the confidence of individuals, researchers, companies and every other associated entity, a viable means of confirming the legitimacy of purchased data must be put in place .
To this effect, Datum's team plans to put in place, a ranking system which scores users based on the validity of their data . This will go a long way to promote transparency and legitimacy of uploaded data since data consumers will generally avoid users will low ranking scores . Datum aims to allow user integration with blockchain based identity confirmation platforms, Uport and Civic. This will ensure that users abstain from fraud and other nefarious acts, and also provide real data for safekeeping or sale since their identity is verified on the blockchain. Datum will also make use of other third party validators to ensure a transparent, latent,immutable and reliable community.

Why Datum ?

Definitely, we may have come across several other platforms offering similar services, especially Cloud computing and Big Data storage platforms.

The question that comes to mind is; why choose Datum out of the host of platforms offering "similar" services ? Here are some advantages of Datum over conventional data storage platforms :

DATA CONTROL: Datum allows users a freehand in management of their data . They can choose to share with everyone, with none, with particular users, with users for a fee etc .

HIGH SECURITY: Data hacks are unfortunately becoming a norm in the cloud storage industry. This is due to the fact they are centralised in nature, thus making it easier for hackers to attack central servers. By leveraging blockchain's decentralised feature, data is distributed amongst several nodes, which makes much less prone to hacks .

INCENTIVIZED ECOSYSTEM: Datum promotes growth by offering incentives to participants, unlike other platforms . People earn incentives by selling data, as well as providing storage nodes.

DATA VALIDATION: Datum tables efficient means of validating uploaded or purchased user data. This ensures that users double check data before uploading and selling, in order not to lose incentives and reputation scores. This also goes a long way in gaining confidence of data consumers and investors .

RANKING SYSTEM: Datum proposes a ranking system in order to guide data consumers on reputation of users before entering negotiations or purchasing .

Use Case

Richard is an archaeologist whose niche is researching on animal bones, particularly extinct ones . On one of his usual excavation trips, he discoveres dinosaur bones in Ogun state, Nigeria .He excavates the remains, runs in depth analysis in his laboratory and documents the results in a journal.
Knowing the high demand for such works, he purchases some DAT tokens and saves his file securely on Datum, making it only accessible at a fee of 2000 DAT .

Wild n' Domestics Incorporation, a private animal research institute develops interests in Richard's journal . After paying 2000DAT, the file is decrypted and made available to them .

Tokenomics