Re-democratising the internet
Written by Elliott Brown – Founder and CEO at NUM Technology
When the web was created, the vision behind it was that it would be free and open to all. Over time the giants of the web, such as Google and Facebook, have found ways to commercialise it and make the users (us) the product. So successful have these businesses been that it is now almost impossible for other companies to come in and compete with them. What are the downsides of this and what can be, and is being done, to bring democracy back to the internet?
Data is now big business. The web was not designed for machines, websites are designed for humans, which is why companies like Google have made such profitable businesses from extracting website data and serving it out using APIs. In both Europe and the US, the way that Google and others have exploited this data has been called into question by governments, to the extent that there are suggestions in the US that Google will be forced to stop giving preferential treatment to companies that pay to advertise their company details and even restricted from displaying company contact data in search results.
One issue, that we all experience, is the way Google follows us online wherever we go. This often feels intrusive and a breach of our privacy. When we search for age-related products, and then get served ads for care homes, it can be funny, but when it is funeral directors, when we’ve privately told someone over email that a loved one is dying, it can be upsetting and even alarming.
How many people would like to be able to access company details more quickly, without Google tracking their every move and without digging through search results, web pages and menus, always at risk of going onto the wrong site to be scammed?
Something must change. However, the proposals from governments are regressive, it doesn’t serve anyone to limit what we can find on the internet; instead of lowering the quality of Google’s service through legislation, we need to find a way to improve the quality of Google’s competitors by levelling the playing field. What we really need is an alternative way of accessing data without being forced to go through the gate keepers of the web. We need to find a way for developers to make use of data (such as addresses, contact information, logos, payment details and more) without the burden of storing and maintaining it.
For companies, updating the data that their customers find on numerous different platforms, is a huge administrative burden and it can very quickly go out of date again. The impact of this was highlighted during the pandemic when last minute closures, due to illness, were not reflected in the opening times of retailers and restaurants given on Google. How many companies and app developers would like a simple way to instantly update data across all platforms simultaneously?
To re-democratise the web, you therefore need a way to create and maintain machine readable data that everyone can access without the giants, with no terms and conditions, in an ‘all you can eat’ service.
At NUM Technology we set out to achieve exactly this and have created an open standard using the DNS (Domain Name System). It means that developers can now build apps with access to free, unlimited and unrestricted data, users don’t need to go through the gate keepers of the web and the data can be seen as one source of truth, updated automatically when companies change their details.
To demonstrate how the technology can work we’ve created a free UK Company Directory, which gives everyone access to company details through the website or simply by texting +44 7481 341331.
Of course, it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation, without useful data people won’t use the service and without people using the service companies won’t maintain their data, so we have pre-populated millions of company phone numbers, addresses and social media details.
In the future you will be able to dial a domain name and pay a domain name. One of the big advantages is that companies only need to maintain their data in one place and all sites from TripAdvisor to Google could use this as the single source of truth.
We’re not taking on the giants of the web, instead we’re offering a new way of serving data. It can even be used to enhance the Google experience.
Company Directory is available now, it’s free and we don’t intend to make any money from it. The purpose of creating this service is to showcase what can be done with the new technology. We want to demonstrate that the problems that frustrate companies and users are solvable; it is possible to change the way people access data. We’re telling developers: “This is just one example of what can be done with this new technology and access to a free unrestricted data source, now go and build whatever you can imagine.”
You can access the new service at https://CompanyDirectory.net/ or by sending a company name by WhatsApp or text to +44 7481 341331.
