What’s the latest breakingview? “Three digital giants in the world of digital advertising are no better than two. The dominance of the Alphabet’s Google and Facebook over the U.S. online ad market faces a growing challenge from Amazon. The case for better regulation will remain as strong as ever.”
The lack of transparency in the world of online media became the focal point of conversation by brand marketers in a 2018 Conference. While brands need to take ownership of their role as major influencers of the consumer internet rather than be passive victims of misreporting, there comes a point in this cycle of change when buyers need to take charge.
As we push back the frontier of the known, we realize that what we’ve held as rational has become rationalization and we are all willing victims. Let’s hear about a solution directly from Emil Guberman, CEO of WeBuy, the world’s first blockchain-era, commerce platform based on geolocation.
- How did you get into WeBuy? What were you doing beforehand?
I am still doing many things. I own a group of companies Eigroup.com that deals with data processing for the oil industry as well as some companies related to oil and gas exploration.
My love is WeBuy.
I got into it suddenly in early 2015 when planning to buy furniture for the office. I had a budget, a basic idea of what I want and suddenly, I realized that I have to search for the products myself (offline or online does not really matter). The difficulty of searching for what I want at the price I am ready to pay did not make sense to me. After almost two years of frustration with purchases done the traditional way, the WeBuy model was suddenly and simply envisioned.
- You declared that POTS solves the pitfalls of ICOs. Could you name some of these risks and what steps (if any) have you taken to protect investors/holders of tokens in POTS model?
There are a number of them, but we focus on two main risks and the steps we have taken. First, we have created a new type of public company and we make sure there are transparency and reporting. When we get the funds for a specific target, we report the results. The investor can continue supporting us or not based on our achievements. This differs from the ICO approach where all the investment is placed ahead based mainly on concepts.
Second is the value of the tokens where we provide the Community Engagement in tokens. This means that it should have value, which is part of our responsibility. The WBY token is pure utility and its value is dependent on how many tokens are utilized during the platform production. It can’t be a too high number because the platform is just starting. That is why we release only the amount that can be used in real production. WeBuy doesn’t flood the market with tokens which makes it different from the usual token sale. Bottom line – POTS approach assumes full responsibility.
- Does the project require the adoption of a key technological standard or rest on the success of another blockchain project?
Our blockchain base rests on the success of the Stellar. If we are talking about adoption of WeBuy as a product, we rest on the success of the Internet.
- Are you taking precautionary measures to ensure scammers will not be able to mislead investors into sending funds to the wrong address?
Yes, we do. We educate them on every chance we get.
– We publish in our FAQs about how to be careful and not to get scammed
– We will announce in social media and in telegram during POTS time to stay safe and not to trust strangers requesting or contacting in the name of WeBuy
– We actively ban and report those who try to do so, as we discover them with the help of the community
- Idealistically, this looks good: Every dollar spent on WeBuy advertising will be distributed between the buyer who sees the advertisement, the buyer who introduced the seller to WeBuy and the platform itself via a Community Engagement Compensation program. Realistically, what could go wrong in this setup?
While WeBuy gives absolutely equal chances to all, some people will be much more aggressive and will earn much more. The cake is not endless. So, some will be happy, while some will end frustrated.
- A system must be in place to screen and filter fraudulent activities by sellers/buyers which can contaminate the WeBuy ecosystem. What have you done towards this end?
WeBuy plans multilevel fraud solution. Starting with statistically abnormal behavior, gathering information about store business identity, using rating systems, bonuses for fair buyers and sellers and fines for non-fair behavior. And the big dream is to make this community-based fraud detection system.
- Have smart contracts and other codes been audited by a third party?
We plan our first smart contract to be implemented after the public beta is completed. Definitely, it will pass the audit.
- You got a rating of 3.3 by Benchy in ICOBench. Could you explain the factors which could have resulted in this rating and what do you propose to improve on it?
I have been approached a number of times with a proposal to pay for a better rating. I refused because I do not believe an objective rating can be bought. I am not sure if that is the general policy about ratings but anyone who gets a higher ranking than ours is questionable as we have done our due diligence to ensure a higher mark.
- The digital advertising market revenues have already passed 250B dollars in 2018 and WeBuy proposes to reduce this expenditure and convert future amounts to profits which can directly benefit buyers and sellers. What do you foresee will be the reaction of the advertising giants?
As a dreamer, I hope that they will adopt the On Demand and Community Engagement Compensation model. As a business person, I hope they will hope that it will not work for them because, by the time they do, it will be too late for them.
- Offline competitors and advertisers themselves can initiate a similar ICO/POTS to dilute your chances of getting a massive following. What can you offer that will ensure preference over others?
Quality, Ease of use and slowly but steadily going towards DAC. Nobody can compete with a company that belongs to the users of the company. 🙂
Brands, agencies and platforms must be open and accountable and welcome this moment of truth for digital advertising transparency problem. Transparent and immutable adverts are possible only through the WeBuy blockchain platform. Join Now! Visit https://wby.io/.
