To the chagrin of many, much of the internet has devolved into a minefield of unwanted adverts. This is from commercials, to pop-ups, to the oft dreaded spam. Very seldom do the end-user pay attention to any of these ads, unless they are offering a product (s)he wants. In fact, in case where people do pay attention to ads, it is because these ads are presenting products they want. And so people feel bombarded with too much useless information.

But while the end-user may feel as if (s)he is the main victim of all this balderdash, the fact is that the affected parties comprise a host of disadvantaged entities who seem perpetually trapped in a cycle where intrusive, and might I daresay, obtrusive undesirables not only peddle their wares but they also, through astronomically high fees, fleece advertisers of their hard earned cash by promising to deliver their product to a large audience, which more often than not, does not happen.

Video Summary

And so, irrespective of whichever side of the spectrum one stands, traversing this virtual space can be quite overwhelming, daunting and unprofitable. This is because many of the issues, and the glitches, and the shortcomings of the old world advertising have migrated over into this new world of cyberspace. So while advancements have been made in terms of getting to more people in a faster way, the primordial sludge of this bygone era has managed to slither its way over into this new space in a number of ways.

Chief among them is the concentration of power. It is in the hands of a few entities like Facebook, YouTube and Google. They have arrogated to themselves so much control that they seem almost untouchable. Facebook and Google alone, according to The Wall Street Journal, in 2016, accounted for over 50% of the USD multi-billion industry. Theirs is a bigger market cap than the entire crypto market. The result of this concentration of power and influence is that it is hard for competing entities to break into the market much less upend it. As a result, the status quo remains.

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But the issue is not only with the concentration of wealth and power. An even bigger problem is that user experience is getting worse. For while, under the old system we could more easily ignore advertisements as it pertains to the user, or advertise to more specific audiences as it relates to the publishers and advertisers. The fact is that under the present system, targeting, for example, non-subscribers is more difficult, and hence pop-ups are sent to all and sundry who can do little when ads pop up in front of them when they are reading the NYT or when a YouTube video is interrupted to show pink slippers when one desires Timberlands.

It is in response to these issues that Leadchain Foundation is launching Kind Ads; a decentralized advertising platform built on the ethereum network that “will improve how publishers and advertisers engage online (the Kind Ads Protocol).” Through revising the conventional modes of advertising, Kind Ads, is giving agency to the aforementioned players in the space (users, advertisers etc.) in a number of ways. Chief among them is users the ability to score publishers, and in so doing, rank these entities on the basis of how trustworthy they are. What is remarkable about this approach is that it will foster direct interaction among the players and hence reduce the cost to the advertisers and give the end-user the adverts (s)he wants, because it will be “permission based.” And of course, the decentralized nature of the blockchain is what will make the cost cutting possible, which of course is typically what happens when the middleman is eliminated.

However, it does not end there because Kind Ads will allow users to receive compensation in the way of KIND tokens - the currency of the ecosystem. This will be for viewing ads. It is through this medium that companies will be able to “reach their target audience.” This is of course voluntary, and customers have the option of opting-out of the scheme if they so desire. These moves are in and of themselves revolutionary because they are changing the entire paradigm by releasing the strangle hold the big players have on the advertising space many of whom earn huge profits while everyone else earns little or nothing.

Kind Ads in the Age of Cambridge Analytica

“Is it sellable? Is it marketable? Is it profitable? Are questions many big publishers ask themselves of users’ data. The response is a resounding yes. This data is bartered without regard for privacy and/or ownership. And while some may seek to invoke regulations and existing laws to rebut this claim. The recent shenanigans of Cambridge Analytica shows the level of abuse that accompanies the user’s data.

I use Cambridge Analytica generically here, for while the company has reportedly gone defunct; Zuckerberg is still head of an entity whose business model apparently has not changed. Furthermore, the rules concerning data collection on an industry-wide scale has not changed. In short, the old system remains. But this might not even be the worst of it, as many have limited their Facebook activities to lighthearted and superficial things, hence there is no fear of incrimination were their data to be compromised. Can the same be said about, for example, one’s credit card? I think not. And let us not fool ourselves into believing that the existing legal framework can insulate the user from these nefarious goings on. For “while there are regulations that provide some protection, these laws can often be vague, hard to understand, and in many cases impossible to actually enforce.”

In instances where advertisers and publishers act with more scruples, the quality of the core message has often declined. Hence, “users end up with a high quantity of poorly targeted irrelevant messages, and have no way of tracking down the source where they initially provided their contact information (for example, they end up subscribed to lists they never signed up for because someone sold their email information).”

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As mentioned, the Kind Ads antidote to this is to foster a direct relationship between and among the parties, to eliminate much of the wastage that accompanies this present system. This is where the magic of the blockchain is put to use, for by getting rid of the middleman, participants will benefit from more cost-effective advertising. Furthermore, the customer will get ads (s)he wants and not what the owners of these ecosystems prefer.

This is of primary benefit to advertisers. As critical players in the market, they are, more than perhaps any other group shafted by the owners of these cyberspace platforms. As a user, my concern more often than not boils down to being merely annoyed with unwanted adverts. One has the option of not reading, listening to, or watching the adverts that pop up every so often. Unfortunately, this is not the case for advertisers. They pay astronomical sums to get their products to potential markets. But these high fees do not necessarily translate into a return on investment for the advertiser. For one, the message may not get to the potential consumer simply because the advertising entity more often than not “does not have easy access to publishers that can reach their demographics.”

This scenario could be likened unto throwing darts with blindfolds on, hoping that it lands on a bull’s eye. Unfortunately, the world does not work that way. Being strategic, focused, and meticulous are a handful of strategies advertisers can employ to ensure they are getting value for money. But they won’t have to do all this leg work by themselves, especially when it comes to getting au fait with the steep learning curve of the blockchain, employing the Kind Ads option can be a bit daunting, luckily, Kind Ads has provided an environment to facilitate a seemless transition into this new paradigm, and use their technology to link advertisers to publishers and hence eliminate the middleman, which, as we averred, is at the core of so much that is wrong with the space. In doing this they are getting rid of wastage.

Allows publishers to be scored and ranked based on how trusted they are

Based on the Kind Ads solution, “all publishers will be scored via an algorithm on the Kind Ads Protocol that is primarily based on historical campaign effectiveness and information provided by various oracles such as Google Analytics.” In this regard, advertisers will be able to pin-point “high quality publishers to work with and rent their subscriber bases - alternatively, advertisers who are more interested in traditional display ads outside of subscriber access campaigns can also use a publisher’s Kind Ads Score as a signal of a highly engaged and active audience. High quality publishers will be able to monetize more effectively by providing direct access to a high quality subscriber base.”

This will bring even more power into the hands of those who lack agency. The end-user, for example, will no longer be that annoyed passive participant who is turning away from and refreshing pages to get rid of them within the first few seconds of starting. The advertisers on the other hand will have their ads channeled into areas where they will be well received, that is where they are wanted, thus reducing and perhaps even eliminating the cost and wastage that accompanies this present system.

A Team with Traction

There are a number of litmus tests that one may employ to measure the feasibility of a project. One that is often overlooked is how realistic that project is. The trend these days is to have people coming up with grandiose ideas of how they are going to use the blockchain to upend this or that industry only to find that they often raise huge sums of money and run off with out providing a product. Let us be frank and ask ourselves this question; of all the ICOs out there, how many have provided something tangible? Very few.

The Kind Ads team is realistic. The YouTube interview with one of the advisers, Neil Patel was quite revealing. What was particularly interesting was the fact that he acknowledge the reality in which they were operating and reinforced the point in the FAQ when asked - How will Kind Ads compete against traditional ad networks like Google and Facebook?

The response was: “Traditional digital ad companies like Google have a larger market cap than the whole crypto market. We would be foolish to say we can beat them overnight, as that isn't realistic. Kind Ads is taking a different approach by first going after channels like push notifications and emails that Google and Facebook are not leveraging. This way advertisers and publishers won't see it as a competing platform, but instead a platform that they can use in addition to Google and Facebook.”

The roll out of their road map also speaks to this thoughtfulness. Some people look at the time frame for roll out as being too long. However, shows Kind Ads knows it cannot rush the process. Coupled with this is the fact that this is a team that is well experienced in this industry. For example, Saulo Medeiros, co-founder Kind Ads is co-founder of an NPBR International LTDA. “An agency that helps large corporations with their digital marketing needs. Currently they help their clients spend over $100,000,000 dollars a year on marketing.” Of course, he is bringing this knowledge and expertise to the table.

There is also Neil Patel, founder of QuickSprout, Saber Aria, co-founder and CEO BeyondBlocks, and a host of other people who have founded, or are running businesses in advertising and other similar spaces. All this is complemented by a qualified and erudite team that boasts expertise in blockchain development, digital marketing and a host of other areas.

Video Interview with Neil Patel

Conclusion

Overall, Kind Ads is a solid platform that is certain to co-exist with the present system and in so doing alter the world of online marketing. By cutting out the middleman it will make the space more profitable for advertisers and more user friendly for end users who will be able to cash in and earn KIND tokens. All this will work towards the end of eating into the market share of the aforementioned giants of the industry.

Additional Information

Kind Ads Website
Kind Ads WhitePaper
Kind Ads Twitter
Kind Ads Telegram
Kind Ads FAQ

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