[SPHERE ICO]-THE TIME TO REVOLUTIONIZE SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOW

If there ever was a time that we needed data privacy, it is now. If you had not been thinking about it or you had let this conversation pass you by, you better start paying keen attention to what is going on in the internet and more specifically social media platforms. Your data privacy depends on your participation in activities that will guarantee your data safety. It is past the period of smiles and giggles with social media companies and other internet companies that have been ‘serving us’. Their treachery is being exposed daily in various platforms. We have been entrusting our secrets to platforms that sell us out for their own gain. It is time we stood up for our privacy rights and change the way social media works.

There have been a number of claims by various sources that user data is being sold off by internet companies for monetary gains. As much as internet companies would like to ascertain that our data is safe, it is highly unlikely that people would believe this now. There are companies that have come out saying that they have ways to collect personal data online. They can collect data on anyone who has ever accessed the internet and this data runs deeper than the normal social media posts. Shopping habits and websites visited are just part of the data that can be gathered by these secretive sources that operate almost as ghosts. These are the known unknows in the data trading business. They are referred to as data brokers and it is quite hard finding them unless you are a potential client.

One of the best sources for collecting user data is in social media platforms. Social media companies have a lot user data that grows daily. Facebook is the best case study for describing the dangers social media users face from this type of data collection. When a company like Facebook was starting back in 2006, it did not have any source of making money. In fact, Facebook operated on constant losses during its first few years of operation. Any early Facebook user would see the difference in Facebook then and now. It has grown over the years to become what it is today. If it were not for angel investors who saw potential in Facebook, it would not have been as significant as it is now. Now, Facebook’s fortune turned around during the early 2010’s when it started making profits from ads. Advertisers realized that the Facebook population was going to blow up thus creating such a wide market that they could definitely benefit from. Facebook also saw this opportunity and capitalized on it. They would host a number of ads that would get views from millions of people. The market was large and you could reach to any section you would like. As Facebook grew, so did their clientele. More companies opted for online advertising especially on Facebook due to the pull it had on the online community. As the clientele grew, so did the demands of the advertising business.

There was a need to provide advertising companies with assurance that their online ad campaigns are not just there to entertain people or to create awareness but to reach out to their target market and to convert those ads into sales. This meant that Facebook's and other online platforms had to collect data on their users in order to place them in groups which would be easier to advertise to depending on their online behavior. If this does not scream unethical to you, then this definitely will.

Just recently, an exposé was done on one of the leading political consulting company Cambridge Analytica. The findings were shocking. It was found out that they collected data from Facebook on millions of their users to see how this data could be of an advantage to their clients. They used the data they collected from Facebook to group their users into targets who would be gullible to particular ads. They then developed these ads and made sure they ran by them. This move was mostly used during election campaigns. The tactic they used influenced a number of elections including the 2016 White House race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Such are the dangers that social media users and internet users face from their data being collected. We however have systems that can counter this and make the internet a safer place for everyone.

To help solve the issue of data collection, social media users need a transparent system that tells them where their data is being stored and what is being done to it. We have technology that is able to execute this perfectly. Blockchain was created to solve the problem of people double spending their Bitcoins. Blockchain’s principle is storing information added to it and making it irremovable and recording any change that has been made to it. It also has steps which confirm the legitimacy of the data. Blockchain makes it possible to decentralize data. By decentralizing data, it makes it more secure. Having data spread across a network is safer than having it in one central place.

These are the plans Sphere Social Limited has for its upcoming social media platform. It wants to free social media users from unethical data collection that is being carried out by these large internet companies. It will ensure that its social media platform makes its users the first priority in everything that they do. This locking out of data may deal a huge loss to advertising companies and probably businesses. Sphere Social understands the dangers that this may cause and therefore came up with a way that will help ad companies get user data in the right way. Sphere Social has a data collection program that will see users get rewarded when they submit and agree on how their data can be used. Sphere has tokens known as Social Activity tokens which they will use as incentives to their members. The Sphere Social platform ensures that data is collected with the knowledge of the owner of the data. The use of blockchain will enable their users to track their data at all times and know who is using their data. Sphere Social will be able to build the trust that has been severed by social media companies through unethical collection of data. It will also create a platform where users can use the SAT they have been receiving from their data submission. It will be an online marketplace where Sphere Social media members can purchase goods and services via SAT.

We are at a very delicate point in history where freedoms and rights are being tested in ways we could have never thought of. News about violation of these rights travel faster in this age because of the internet. It has shrunk the world into a palm sized gadget that keeps us constantly engaged in matters occurring in the world. The challenges that we have seen through the Facebook case study came up as a result of the internet. The internet may have its cons but we also have solutions to these problems. Blockchain is one of them and it is a system that probably needs to be applied everywhere. It can cause an internet revolution that will change it into a safer space for every user.

This piece was written not to spread fear but to inform its reader that we have the chance to start something that can make social media secure and transparent and through its success, redefine the type of systems we use in various platforms across all industries. Sphere social is involving the community in building its platform. It came up with a brilliant idea that needs to be implemented for a more secure social media experience. Sphere understands that within the community there are visionaries who would also want to see secure social media platforms created through blockchain. If you believe in the Sphere cause and would want to avert any future problem that arises from wrongful collection of user data, you can take part in the Sphere fundraising event. The Sphere public ICO has been on since February 12th, 2018. It runs till April 9th 2018. During this time, Sphere hopes to raise enough funds to set up its project.

The soft cap that Sphere has set has already been reached which means that Sphere are at a position to start some of its operations. The Sphere road map is detailed in their whitepaper which can be read through this link https://sphere.social/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Sphere_Whitepaper_v1.7.4.pdf. It contains more information on the Sphere plan to change social media. Participating in the ICO can be done via https://sphere.social/?ref_code=dyx6c6su4cz8.

More information can be obtained from their official channels below.
Website: https://sphere.social/
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/SphereSocial/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SphereOfficial1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SphereSocialNetwork
Medium: https://medium.com/@sphereofficial