We are seeking individuals with a passion towards unlocking the potential of data for societal challenges and innovation - TOGETHER. We are looking for datapreneurs who believe in collaboration and the power of Web3.

Below, are loose terms for what we view are the two essential categories anyone interested in joining us can fall into:

DataUnion Steward

A DataUnion steward is an individual who wants to advance healthy, equitable and sustainable communities through the use of DataUnions and the power of data. Our goal is to rally people around a common challenge - whether AI or data - by connecting their ideas and facilitating their entry into the Web3 space.

Our stewards are an integral part of the DataUnion ecosystem, and work together as a team to further develop and govern it. Their role is vital to the long-term success of our mission - making DataUnions accessible and understandable to all interested in starting their own and empowering people to unlock the data’s potential - responsibly and collectively.

All efforts of a DataUnion steward serve to the advancement of a future open and fair data ecosystem.

Note: This article serves as an introduction to a concept we believe will benefit the growth and development of the greater data ecosystem. Our aim is to empower contributors, data consumers, buyers, publishers and developers to work together in building out a self-sustaining and empowering community that works under the common goal of creating an open & accessible data economy.

We believe that together, we are more; so feel free to get involved in our Discord and pitch any ideas you have; we are open to change in our shared pursuit towards an open and fair data ecosystem.

Now, we’ve introduced the role and responsibilities of who we are looking for, but what about the common mission that joins us? What drives us? What got us started in thinking about DataUnions and the creation of an open data economy?

What is a DataUnion?

At its core, DataUnions allow individuals, organisations and companies to work together to upload, annotate and verify the data. Instead of them simply selling this data, the union can then allow algorithms to be trained on the data for a fee. The fees generated, and the value created by the DataUnion can then be shared with all participants involved in the process.

This is the new data economy.

Here, we are talking about the co-created value of data. Instead of a few big companies reaping the rewards that their data insights provide, DataUnions focus on the collective - every participant receives a reward for their contributions, large or small.

Each data contributor within a DataUnion owns their data and shares in the rewards their data insights provide to interested 3rd party buyers.

This is in stark contrast to the current system where data is siloed by a select few big tech companies that can afford to collect massive amounts of data, increasing the profits for a handful of executives while not disclosing the results that their data sets provided to the public.In fact, only 1% of all data is processed, filtered and cleaned for the purpose of training AI/ML models within these companies, with the rest of the 99% stored away collecting dust.

Such an approach hinders the development of emerging organisations/businesses looking to build innovative data products/platforms simply because they do not have access to all this stored data, and big tech companies are unwilling to share for fear of increasing competition.

How Does The Current Data System Work?

There is no denying that our current data system is broken, unjust and benefits a handful of individuals & organisations. To understand why we have to rewind time to 1996 - the birth of the Internet and the start of Web1.

Web1 refers to the first stage of the World Wide Web evolution. Back then, the Internet was a network of hyperlinked, static web pages mainly serving up consumable content. There was no data tracking going on; in fact, online advertising was prohibited - this will change drastically with the introduction of search engines and social media platforms.

Eventually, these search engines and social sharing platforms started to create a new evolution of the Internet, highlighting user-generated content, usability and interoperability for front-end users - people began to participate more online. At this point, the scales began to unbalance: on one side, you had global communication and sharing become more mainstream, on the other side, surveillance and data gathering also increased. This new Internet led to the emergence of data tracking, and with it, disproportionate control and power to Big Tech companies; away from the everyday users. Web2 was born, and you became the product that powered it–this is now starting to change.

Fast forward to the present, where we are now in the early phases of Web3, the next stage of the Internet’s evolution. Today, individuals, organisations and institutions are shifting almost every paradigm across the business, health, education, science and social sharing sectors to pursue a more open and democratised Internet. Systems are being built on top of blockchain technology that empower communities, worldwide, to create new forms of value sharing, build with co-ownership in mind and facilitate the creation of impact initiatives to build better societies; all the while, respecting privacy rights and regulations.

So, what’s next?

How do we smoothly transition from Web2 to Web3, preserving all the ideas that Web1 and Web 2 introduced, while rebalancing the scales to create more fair, and open systems?

Systems that are governed by community discussion and transparency. Where people come together around joint-common issues that require solutions that benefit the whole, and not the few. While in parallel, creating a self-sustaining economy that is run by active, global participation, where rewards are paid out fairly based on effort, and access to new revenue streams is more available and easier than ever before. 

How can we build those types of systems–one’s that will change the world?

The answer, DataUnions.

Now It’s Your Turn To Get Involved

If you have a passion to spread a new initiative and bring together like-minded individuals around a common goal using data and AI to make the world a better place, consider joining us!

We are looking for:

• Entrepreneurs & Datapreneurs
  
• Data Scientists & Analysts
• Educators & Academics
• Avid Data Enthusiasts
• Willing Curators & Contributors
• 
  

We welcome anyone from any industry to connect: whether from the Health & Sciences field, social media & data privacy or IoT - diversity of expertise leads to more rounded & sophisticated solutions.

Start by joining our Discord community where you can connect with other pioneers in the space, network, or jump on the next project. Our community, much like this program, is designed to be a support system for any individual or organisation looking to get their start in the data space, providing all the necessary infrastructure, expertise and tools required to get your idea from conception to market.

Our DU onboarding program provides a phased approach to explore, shape and implement your Union, while building on the good practices and knowledge of fellow stewards. We lend aid in securing strategic partnerships through our wide network of existing relationships, offer expertise in getting started with a DataUnion and provide the necessary tech stack to jump start your journey without having to know complex code or data science.

Join our community today

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