Introduction
The blockchain technology is very well known as a disruptive technology. This technology has the potential to disrupt the traditional sector which are mostly centralized. The use of Blockchain technology is not just limited to financial transactions but also can extend to many other sectors and businesses we deal in day to day life. For example, buying grocery, doing online shopping, consulting legal advisers & many others.
In a digitized world where most of our daily activities are accomplished through internet browsing, the use of blockchain technology seems even more profound. Surprisingly the internet browsing experience is not reshaped by the blockchain technology until now. That is probably the reason why the internet browsing experience by large is plagued with e-commerce advertisements, ads with potential malware infections, leakage of personal data, spamming, phishing etc.
The existing state of internet browsing and the solution by Online.io
The internet browsing is perceived as free, but it is not really free as we are made to understand, we are paying a value for that in an indirect way and at the same time, we are risking our privacy. The business giant like Google, Facebook and many others have been collecting the user's data, compiling them and all those data are being socially engineered and then being sold for large financial gain. All these are being done without the consent of users and under the pretext that the browsing experience is free. Apart from this, there are security vulnerabilities through web browsing and that can cost even to the extent of theft & hacking of valuable digital assets.
Therefore the internet browsing experience needs to be reshaped with blockchain technology which must respect the privacy of the user. The web browsing experience must be secure, non-traceable, without any malware, without any spamming & must be free from the ads. The idea of monetization through web browsing is not that bad as such, but the way existing web operators are monetizing is unethical and pose serious security issues. With the blockchain technology, it can be made transparent and accountable.
(1) Free Internet
The users in the existing state of web browsing experience pay hidden fees in the form of forced induction of advertising, e-commerce, subscription, etc. That not only makes the user experience poor, but also slows down the loading of pages. Most of the time, it is distracting too.
The solution by Online.io is not against monetization but definitely against the forced induction of ads to the browsing experience. Therefore it will formulate a new model of revenue generation which is a function of the time spent by the visitors on the web page. The end user does not need to pay anything.
(2) Security
Malware and phishing are very common in web browsing & that happens through infected ads. Just to monetize and capitalize, the operators should not risk the security of the user.
The solution by Online.io offers integration of anti-malware & ad-blockers using which the end users can have better user experience in a secure way. If Online.io will be adopted by mass, then it will further influence website operators to integrate with Online.io, so that security can be made robust right from the source.
(3) Privacy
The commercial tracking of users is very common nowadays. The tracking script run in a hidden way to collect user's data. Even the big businesses like Google and Facebook indulge in such an unethical way of profiling user's data and after doing social engineering of these data, they sell it to other companies for commercial benefit. They make millions from this. But this is at the cost of privacy of the users.
The solution by Online.io offers integration of tracking script blocker which prevents companies to collect user's data and profiling them. The user's privacy is the topmost priority in Online.io.
(4) Quality
The current practice by website operators is to attract the visitors to their website and they can even follow the unethical means to achieve this and that is why they indulge in spamming, phishing, etc. But that makes the browsing experience very poor. The end user always have been the victim of such events.
The solution by Online.io platform allows users to voice their opinion on the quality of their browsing experience. It offers a voting platform where the users can voice their opinion. Through voting, good and bad quality websites can be identified in a decentralized way. So for a user who is going to visit a website, Online.io will tell the user about its quality. A good quality website will have more visitors naturally.
Brief Overview of Online.io platform
Online.io(a dapp on Etherum platform) aims to reinvent the world wide web browsing experience for the users in such a way that the privacy of the user are protected, the user experience is neat & clean (means no ads, no pop-ups, no malware, no phishing, no script running on the background, etc), secure, safe & untraceable, a decentralized voting system to rank the websites as per the quality, a non-invasive & transparent revenue model to generate revenue for the website operators etc.
Online.io is available as extensions in both Chrome & Firefox:
Chrome Extension
Mozilla Firefox Extension
Key Features
Desktop Browser Extension
The extension contains ad-blocker, malware blockers, pop-up blocker, tracking script blocker etc. It also contains a web wallet.
Voting platform is also available in the Extension so that the end users can vote & review the Quality of browsing experience.
It works on all major browsers.
Mobile Application
It functions as a wallet, anti-malware, ad-blocker etc to improve the browsing experience of end users.
Wallet
It works on all major OS & browsers.
It is integrated in the Desktop browser extension.
It has advanced security features such as 2- factor authentication, finger print & face recognition, encryption, pin, vault option etc.
Non-invasive Revenue Model
Online.io caters three different types of users in the context of Web browsing.
Visitors- The ends users who browse the web for their own needs.
Webmaster- The person who runs a website and monetize it on the basis of time spent by the visitors.
Infrastructure operator- The organization who maintain the security rules and acts as a guardian.
Online.io has three types of coins in its economy- OIO, ICE, TST.
Online Etherum Token(OIO)-Using the algorithm of Proof-of-Stake & Proof-of-Online, the OIO tokens are required to be staked, so that the website operators can access the Online.io technology. By staking OIO tokens, they can mine ICE tokens.
ICE Etherum Token(ICE)- ICE tokens are basically for micropayments. ICE tokens can be mined based on the time spent by the end users. So the purpose of ICE tokens will be for daily use.
Trust Token(TST)- To determine the quality of the websites visited by the users TST tokens will be used. It exists only in private blockchain. It is used for establishing the rank of the websites.
The website operator implements the Online.io solution by staking OIO tokens and that generates ICE tokens on the basis of the time spent by the visitors. The staked tokens are kept in a smart contract.
Each website is assigned with a score which is based on the "Trust Rating" & "Number of visits". Each website will receive ICE tokens which is based on the percentage of score from the total pool.
ICE tokens are mined on the basis of time spent by the visitors on websites. TST tokens are kept in private blockchain. The end users receive TST tokens for various actions like voting, reviewing the "Quality" of websites.
Getting started with Online.io
Go to https://online.io/
Scroll down. You can notice "Choose your platform". Click on "Agree & install for chrome". If you are using a different browser, then it will automatically detect that and will tell you to install for that browser.
Then click on "Add to Chrome".
A pop-up will appear which will ask you to ad the extension. Just click on "Add Extension".
Now you can notice the Extension in your browser. Click on that. You can check how many ads are detected, how many trackers are detected, how many virus are detected, how many of them are blocked, etc.
Advantages
Faster web page loading.
Better browsing experience.
Transparent & non-invasive model to monetize, powered with blockchain technology.
Better security.
Enhanced protection of consumer data.
Eliminates behavioral profiling.
Ads free browsing experience.
Disadvantages
Token economy has three different coins. Some naive users may feel it as a complex structure.
Comparison
Overall Assessment
I feel that most of the things in our life has become online. So we all are online social creatures of the internet world and there is no alternative to it. But it is also true that the web browsing experience is worst. The user is browsing the internet for his needs & for a specific purpose and the website operator is exploiting that purpose through pop-ups, ads etc. The online advertising is a growing industry with digitization and that generates serious revenue too. While the blockchain solution advocates for censor-free approach, its implementation to reshape the web browsing experience for the end users is being realized through Online.io.
Online.io through a better & transparent revenue model has solved the issue on the part of website operator, at the same time it has also solved the dilemma of end users in the context of web browsing experience.
Conclusion
Online.io is a potential solution to the online advertising industry as well as web browsing experience of the end users. Online.io has not opposed the monetization rather it has opposed the way it is being monetized by the website operators, therefore it advocates for a transparent solution and for that the blockchain technology is a viable solution.
The new non-invasive revenue model offered by Online.io can solve the issue of both end users and website operators and with this new solution both of them will feel compatible to each other. While the end users will have a neat & clean browsing experience, the website operators can still monetize in a transparent & ethical way. Online.io solution could be the next best solution for the online advertising industry and the users can at least have a sense of relief in the context of their browsing experience.
All the images & logos are taken from the official website of Online.io. The graphical analysis & the comparison table are my original works.
Resources
https://online.io/
https://medium.com/online-io-blockchain-technologies
https://www.reddit.com/r/onlineio/
https://github.com/Online-io
https://t.me/OnlineIO
https://www.linkedin.com/company/online-io-blockchain-technologies/