WHAT IS BASIC ATTENTION TOKEN?
Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a token created to solve the numerous problems facing digital marketing. It is a product built on the Ethereum Blockchain Technology as well as an ERC-token and the aim of the platform is to decentralize the digital advertising marketplace, thus leaving users, publishers and advertisers to dominate by eliminating whatsoever form of a third party like the trackers, middlemen and frauds, that create a problem for the current market place.
The Basic Attention Token makes use of the Brave Browser to achieve its goal because it is built to withstand trackers and malvertisements and also to record user’s attention through its ledger system.
Aside from solving the problems associated with digital marketing, the Basic Attention Token is also used as a means of exchange i.e. a currency. This token is exchanged on the platform between the participants which would include advertisers, users and publishers. It would be used for the purchase of attention-based advertising services on the Brave Browser. The usefulness of the token is solely dependent on the attention derived from the users of the platform.
The attention of the user is monitored by the browser based on the ads and content viewed by a particular user. This way, publishers, users and advertisers are rewarded with the right amount of token they all deserve. All of these are achieved through the use of the smart contract
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM THAT BASIC ATTENTION TOKEN SOLVES?
There are numerous challenges facing the digital marketplace and it has affected all the participant in the marketplace. The major problem is the presence of so many intermediaries between the advert and the user. These intermediaries include training desks, agencies, mobile and desktop network exchanges, demand side platforms, rich media vendors, yield optimization. All of these intermediaries lead to the high price of advertising budget.
Every participant (user, publisher and advertiser) usually bear the brunt of the fees one way and another. For instance, publishers get to pay a lot for advert servicing, fees for the campaign, monitoring and deployment. Users on the other end suffer from the various unnecessary ad which eats deep into their data plan and battery.
More so, users suffer a lot from privacy violation as a lot of their personal information is being used against them. The advertisement marketplace also suffers from fraudulent practices as hackers are able to deceive advertisers and users with malevolent bots used for the generation of fake traffic. It’s a two-way thing as advertisers suffer from fraud, users from malvertisements.
In the long run, publisher’s revenue falls as Facebook and Google more of the money and enjoy the growth process, most users employ the use of ad blockers to prevent incessant and necessary ads.
Also, publishers have been unable to make money from other value services. For users, they are continuously violated and robbed of their privacy, battery and data while advertisers are unable to be effective in what they do as they lack the right info on what they pay for and they also suffer from poor targeting giving users a greater chance of ignoring adverts.
HOW DOES BASIC ATTENTION TOKEN SOLVE THE PROBLEM?
All of the problems encountered in the advert marketplace is due to the fact that it operates on a centralized platform. The BAT platform aims to ameliorate these challenges by providing a decentralized advert exchange that would eliminate the presence of the numerous intermediaries in the market place thus leaving just the user, advertiser and publisher to interact and make use of the best opportunities that avail them. This is achieved through the use of an attention token built on the blockchain technology and the brave browser.
The brave browser is an open-source, fast and privacy-based browser that prevents trackers and ads that are invasive. This browser comes with a ledger that gauges the attention of users so as to recompense publishers adequately and accurately. Afterwards, the Basic Attention Token, a decentralized token for advert exchange comes into play. This token employs the use of the smart contract, a feature on the Ethereum blockchain technology to automatically carry out operations.
The user attention is gotten from the token through the engagement of the user with an advertisement. Through the browser, contents that are relevant to the viewer determines the ad that would be shown to the user. Also, external interference is impossible since its through a secured platform. Since the ads shown is what is relevant to the user, there is a 90% chance for a successful transaction. This way, users’ privacy is respected and they earn for viewing adds based on the metrics employed.
Same way, publishers would be given some token as rewards also based on the attention of a user. The more tailored an ad is, the higher the increase in revenue. Although, advertisers would not get any token, they are the mainstay of the platform. They are responsible for the provision of content that would determine the success and profit of the network.
As regards fraud, it is virtually impossible to hack into the system to create malicious bots due to the dual presence of the blockchain and brave browser.
WHAT MAKES BAT BETTER THAN ITS COMPETITORS?
There are numerous platforms around the world that stand as competitors to what the Basic Attention Token offers. One of such competitor is Reddit Gold which is a product of reddit. This product is limited to the platform and all it does is to grant its member access to features on the platform. There is no incentive for the publisher and user like is seen in the BAT platform where users are given free tokens for viewing ads.
Another edge which the BAT platform has over its competitors is the fact that they operate on the blockchain technology. Through the use of the blockchain, security through decentralization is guaranteed. There is no possibility for a hack or third-party interference. More so, through the use of the smart contract, the transaction is done speedily and effortlessly. It also ensures that the user’s data is kept away from external parties, placing priority on its user.
Also, the BAT platform does not restrict its user to a particular site or function. It gives its users liberality to interfere with whatever they want to, unlike Blendle which limits its function to stories alone. Much more than the benefits accrued to the platform, BAT places more emphasis on the user.
HOW CAN BASIC ATTENTION TOKEN BE CATEGORIZED?
- Rewarding
The platform rewards both the publishers, the user and the advertiser. The publisher and user get BAT tokens for providing ads and viewing ads respectively while advertisers enjoy higher conversion. This serves as an incentive to want to participate more in the activities of the platform in question. This gives room for a coordinated operational model and would increase the effectiveness of digital marketing. More than solving the problems that the digital marketplace suffers from, it also provides a steady means to uphold their system. The way rewards are distributed are systematic and based on some laid down criteria and calculations. Tokens generated on BAT platform are available to be exchanged among the participating individuals who include the publisher, advertisers and users of the advertising system.
- Advertising
The major goal of the Basic Attention Token is to provide a more effective and focus-oriented advertising marketplace. Advertisement before has been once sided and had derived the major participants their joy. Users have been deprived of their privacy, a larger chunk of their data life suffers and there is a reduction in battery life. This leaves them with no option but to install ad blockers. This way, the advertisement is not effectively done.
Publishers therefore do not get high returns of their revenue as they get to pay a lot to the middlemen to get ads up and running while advertisers are usually unable to achieve effectiveness and are also victim to fraud. Basic Attention Token increases the efficacy of digital advertising as a result of its token development that encourages security to all parties involved as well as increases the attention of the user to the ads. High and increased revenue also ensures that advertising is well done on BAT platform.
- Currency
The Basic Attention Token apart from being a tool for solving major problems in the digital market, it is also a means through which service and online features can be purchased. Only through the token can one become a beneficiary of the platform. The reward gotten from participation can be used to buy digital products like pictures, data, applications, games and its features, etc.
WHAT IS BAT’S VISION ON SECURITY?
A major and highly remarkable challenge facing digital advertisement has been that of security. The influence of middlemen and even hackers has created a huge nuisance to users, the publishers of adverts as well as the advertisers. This is why Basic Attention Token is the answer and solution to all of the challenges mentioned. It operates on a system that offers resistance to attacks poised at its platform. It has incorporated Brave, a browser that portends high immunity against pseudo adverts that could be intended to invade its platform. This high security system has been able to raise the effectiveness of advertisement on BAT blockchain. Tracking by external parties is available on BAT platform, as well as an in-built mechanism that points out the truly safe ads rather than the malicious ones.
The blockchain technology provides decentralization which reduces or totally eliminate the presence of middle men. In the centralized system where middle men were, there was a lot of hack possibility and this led to loss of huge amount of money to the hackers as they created fake bots that deceive users, generating fake traffic. This way, advertisers lose revenue to them. Using BAT eliminates the possibility of such reign, placing more focus on just the user, publisher and advertiser with other party included. Every operation is done automatically through the smart contract.
EXAMPLES OF BAT’S USE CASES/APPLICATIONS
The Basic Attention Token serve a lot of purpose of which the chief is Advertising. Now, through the use of BAT, advertising can be more specific and targeted towards a particular demography. This allows small scale businesses to participate effectively in the digital market place, as they can run their ads towards specific users at a low cost.
Some other times, publishers sometimes have content that they reserve for their subscribers alone. The BAT token could be a medium through which publishers can share these contents since users ordinarily do not really participate in having to subscribe. The content could be bought and sold for friends e.g. if the reserved content could be beneficial to known friends, the token could be used to purchase it for these friends.
BAT could be used for voting or commenting. This is a more secured and trustworthy means to determine the validity and reliability of such vote and comment. This way, one can determine actually users of the site. It also provides proof that whosoever voter or commented is real and not just some random thing like robots. The Publisher can use the platform to reduce the high rate of negative comments and cyber bullying.
Furthermore, BAT can be employed to buy goods and services on the Brave browser. Some of these goods could be pictures, data, applications etc. Normally, publishers make them available to the users through subscriptions. However, this model as not been truly effective since a lot of users find these subscription plans as very expensive. With the BAT token in utilization, users can get these features by paying a certain amount of token to the publisher.
Another possible use cases of the Bat token are its use in game platforms as provided by publishers. Although, this is not so common, there are a lot of possibilities that the token might influence its popularity. Game features, tools etc. can be purchased using the token which would give room for better enjoyment. Also, news platform could provide users with news regarding latest events for a specific amount of token.