A new browser add-on aims to put power back into the hands of internet users.
London-based start-up Gener8 enables people to have more control over the online ads they see and to profit from their own data – a transaction that has until now remained behind closed doors.
The modern browsing experience is inundated with adverts that are targeted using personal data from products we have previously clicked on.
Every day billions of adverts are circulated and the global spend on digital advertising this year alone will exceed $230 billion.
Gener8 can be installed in one click, allowing users to select the type of ads they want to see. Each ad that is seen will reward the user with tokens that they can convert into currency and which they can then donate to a charity of their choosing or withdraw into their personal accounts.
“Our mission is to be amongst the world’s first brands that enable people to control and monetise their data. We believe we will shake up the advertising industry by putting the consumer first,” said Gener8 CEO and founder Sam Jones.
“New data scandals are emerging every week and this is increasing people’s awareness about the value of their data.
“We believe we can educate people to value their data and reward them and their causes in the process.”
A high-profile advocate of the new technology is Social Chain CEO Steve Bartlett (pictured below).
“The internet was built to connect us, to empower us, to give us access to information,” he said. “But it’s been overetaken by companies which want to follow you, to track you and exploit you.
“This small space exists on almost every page you visit. It’s collecting your data. This space sells you.
“Companies pay to show you ads and with this brand new invention, just by browsing the internet as you already do, that money goes directly to you. By taking back control, we can change things.”
Jones previously served as global brand manager for Red Bull.
A surge in the use of ad-blockers to 650 million shows that users are becoming fed up with endless and irrelevant advertising, which cost the industry over $40bn in lost revenue last year alone – and is set to rise further.
Mistrust in advertising has caused an attention crisis. But @Gener8_Ads founder Sam Jones has a solution. In episode 028 of Social Minds, he reveals his industry-shaking plan to educate consumers, reclaim ad space and pay users in cash for their attention: https://t.co/Hxp3ymCezn pic.twitter.com/9eyMO86oG5
— Social Chain (@TheSocialChain) March 19, 2019
“With 89 per cent of Gener8’s users having previously used ad blockers, Gener8 is, in fact, bringing people back into the advertising eco-system and, as such, benefiting the industry in the long-term,” said Jones.
“We are already engaging in conversations about how we intend to work with publishers keen to move to a more user-approved model: when your consumer values your approach and doesn’t feel exploited, you’re more likely to secure their loyalty.”
Gener8 is available now on both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. The firm is inviting users to be amongst the first sign up.