Women in Data: Exploring Data in the World of Web 3 🌎

Although the data industry has historically been male-dominated, women are now taking the lead as founders and via roles in the C-suite. The stakes couldn’t be higher as the data economy accelerates and the foundation for the next internet is established.

On February 23 2022, Swash welcomed a panel of experts to discuss the future of data in Web 3.

The panel included:

• Megan Klimen, Founding Officer, Filecoin Foundation
• Chloe Diamond, Chief Marketing Officer, Swash
• Ioana Surpateneau, Chief Strategy Officer, DIA
• Victoria Thompson, Digital Pound Foundation

The panel was moderated by Blockchain Journalist, Rachel Wolfson.

Each panellist entered the world of Web 3 from different backgrounds, including traditional finance, government and law, entrepreneurship and digital art.

To kick off the conversation, Ioana Surpateneau shared her perspectives on the evolution of the web and the overarching themes:

• Web 1: user-centric
• Web 2: monetisation by big tech, no compensation for creators
• Web 3: a return to user-centricity, including ownership of data and monetisation

To further compare and contrast Web 2 versus Web 3, Chloe Diamond provided additional insights:

“In Web 2, there’s the idea that the select few have control and authority over what’s happening. The shift into Web 3 is about not repeating those problems and, instead, trying to bring power and authority back to the masses. If we operate with those ethos in mind, then we are headed in the right direction.”

The panel provided more through-providing commentary on the current situation and the days ahead:

“I feel like we are in a period of enlightenment and renaissance: how we can share and collaborate. That is what is exciting about the Swash Data Union.”

- Victoria Thompson, Digital Pound Foundation

“The concept of a Data Union, having the rights and ideas of what a union is, and applying this to the new worlds we are creating is really interesting.”

- Victoria Thompson, Digital Pound Foundation

“Whatever the next trend is, keep iterating and innovating; data will be the foundational layer.”

- Chloe Diamond, Chief Marketing Officer, Swash

For Megan Klimen, from the Filecoin Foundation, “the ability of blockchain to create aligned incentives for data sharing is inherently more user-centric.” The new way to share data creates additional use-cases for both organisations and people.

In short, Web 2 meant data control for a select few, while Web 3 is the shift to solving those problems, bringing power to the masses.

The use cases of data in the Web 3 world

The discussion moved on to explore the specific use-cases for data in Web 3.

For Megan Klimen, the reliability of data, specifically scientific data, is one use-case the Web 3 propels. It is also important to think about how data sets change with the different ownership models that decentralisation can offer.

Victoria Thompson argued the need for serious policy engagement and education about all the ways people’s data is used. In healthcare, the recent sharing of clinical data for the development of vaccines was a successful collaborative experiment, moving research forward.

“Rewarding people for their data is really important.”

- Victoria Thompson, Digital Pound Foundation

Ioana Surpateneau called attention to the need to create simple models and user experiences aligned with education to empower the masses with this newly acquired control over data.

She argued that we’re currently in a hybrid Web 2/Web 3 world, while tools such as oracles will become key to link on-chain and off-chain data. “That’s going to be huge.”

The future of Web 3: From new policies to full democratisation

The chat delved into highlighting projects shaping the new data economy, whether GDPR is a benchmark for future policies, and how Web 3 and Smart Contracts can deal with data privacy.

The panel also explored how liability models in the blockchain world will change in the future and the challenges they raise for organisations and people.

In the end, as Ioana put it:

“Crypto democratises access for everyone, enabling people to create, deploy, and use specific instruments that were before restricted.”

Watch the full chat and discover how an open data economy will become even more sophisticated with additional benefits for people.

About Swash

At Swash, if it’s your data, it’s your income.

Swash is an ecosystem of tools and services that enable people, businesses, and developers to unlock the latent value of data by pooling, securely sharing, and monetising its value.

• People share their data to earn while retaining their privacy.
• Businesses access high-quality, zero-party data in a sustainable and compliant way.
• Developers set up and build systems within a collaborative development framework with ease.

As the world’s leading Data Union, Swash is reimagining data ownership by enabling all actors of the data economy to earn, access, build and collaborate in a liquid digital ecosystem for data.

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Originally published at https://swashapp.io on March 8, 2022.