Today’s tech giants don’t yet pay for user data that creates an enormous amount of value for them, but I believe they will be forced to change their business models to stay relevant in Web 3.0. Public opinion is already shifting, and new startups that offer consumers options to sell their personal data are giving people something to run to, not just run from.
If companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google and Netflix resist this change, they will likely see their margins deteriorate over time. They will need to ask themselves some tough questions:
- Do we want to attempt to keep high margins for an increasingly smaller part of the business?
- Or are we willing to accept lower margins and try to maintain the ubiquitous presence we have online?
- How can we evolve to be the intermediaries to pay for personal data in Web 3.0?
- What other value-added services can we offer?
Tech companies have the opportunity to evolve and pay for data that creates value, content and audiences. When they realize that they can no longer obtain valuable data for free, they can choose to develop secure, private profiles in their existing ecosystems. Only then will users be where they belong: in the driver’s seat, deciding which information they want to sell about their lives, behaviors and preferences.