Understanding Basic Attention Token And Problem It Solves

What problem Basic Attention Token (BAT) is solving:

Digital advertising took over TV advertisements in the year 2016. Today, almost all the brands have put a major portion of their investment into the online advertising sector. In contrast to TV advertisements, digital platforms provide brands better opportunities to target advertising to the right customer.

Most digital platforms monitor user internet activity. With the help from machine learning and AI, specific Ads are directed to the right users at the right moment. For example, Google search. Google tracks users browsing activity and places specific ads to the websites they are browsing.

The problem is this data is gathered without user consent. Other than using it for better Ad targeting, they also sell it to other companies for increased revenue. This has become a threat to user privacy as users have no clue how these companies utilize their personal information.

You might remember the recent accusation of Facebook selling their consumer’s data to Cambridge Analytica. Analytica used this data to target users and mold their opinion on several political decisions like US elections, Brexit etc.

Though by collecting users data, companies are able to direct Ads to specific user needs still these do not necessarily lead to successful conversion. If given a chance, users will opt to skip these Ads or pay no attention to it. For example, Think of Ads on YouTube videos.

To bridge the gaps in current digital marketing, BAT team has introduced a tokenized economic model in their Brave browser to monetize users attention and paying them to watch ads.

About Brave browser:

Brave app is one of the most popular apps in Google Play. Thanks to its privacy feature and browser speed, Brave browser has reached 30 Million downloads.

– Loads websites 8X faster than Chrome and Safari. As per the last test results, Brave loads major news sites 2 to 8 times faster than Chrome/Safari on mobile and 2 times faster than Chrome on desktop.

– Brave browser helps to protect users privacy. Unlike Chrome which stores users browsing data and sells to third parties, Brave by-default disconnect trackers and keeps user browsing activity and behavior private. As a result, any information needed for ad-matching is unavailable.

Basic Attention Token (BAT) tokenized ecosystem: How it works in Brave browser.

Basic Attention Token (BAT), a digital token uses Ethereum blockchain to govern ad exchange marketplace in Brave app connecting advertisers, publishers, and users in a decentralized manner.

Brave Ads don’t replace current Web page ads. Instead, Brave ads are separate and presented in the form of notification to users who provided consent to view ads from Brave. When users engage with these notifications, a full-page ad opens in a new tab and the user is rewarded for their engagement with 70% of the ad revenue shared in Basic Attention Tokens (BAT).

With this earned Brave Rewards (BAT), users can support the content creators they love. For instance, users can choose to automatically distribute contributions based on the time they spend on sites Or tip sites directly, Or even offer a fixed monthly tip amount.

Recent Developments [Q2-Q3 2019]:

• Brave Ads integration with Android browsers increasing ads penetration to Android mobile device users.
• Brave announced the partnership with TAP network. As a result, Basic Attention Token (BAT) holders can redeem their tokens with a real value like hotel vouchers and gift certificates via TAP Network’s 250,000 brand partners.
• Added 10 Million downloads in a span of 3 months (from April – June 2019), currently with 30 Million downloads.
• [inlinetweet]214,971 number of verified publishers have enrolled in the Brave Rewards program. Some of the biggest publishers include TheGuardian, WikiHow, Washington Post, TradingView, etc.[/inlinetweet]

Interested to try Brave browser. Download from here.