Being Brave
I don't like it.
A new browser called Brave is making waves, but I have some bones to pick with how it fundamentally works. I admire their approach but in my opinion, it is a middle-of-the-road attempt to solve a problem that has been plaguing us since the dawn of the web: advertising.
Things I don't like about Brave:
- It relies on micropayments. Something like this should be like Steem, where users do not have to put money into a wallet and spend it in order for content creators to profit, and information can be stored permanently on a blockchain.
- It relies on adblocking software. There should be a separate "web" where people can host ad-free websites that can only be viewed in exchange for cryptocurrency. Even the best adblocking software will one day be defeated, and a browser such as this presents a huge target for blocker-dodging ads.
- It relies on bitcoin. I love bitcoin, don't get me wrong, but this should be its own ecosystem. In such a scenario, it could be possible to enable mining on home computers so tokens can be generated quickly if you need to view a site and don't have any in your wallet. It could also help decentralize hosting services and make website hosting cheaper.
- They're picking a huge fight with some nasty characters. If an attempt to remove advertising revenue from the web starts to gain traction, there will be massive backlash from companies like Facebook and Google that make a killing off of ad revenue. The Brave team may be very Brave, and this fight is a long time coming, but I would hope they don't end up bringing a baseball bat to a gunfight.
That being said...
Keep it up, Brave. You are going into the future, even if you don't succeed. And I certainly do hope you or someone else that shares your vision succeeds.
I've been using Brave as one of my two primary browsers since they launched their developer version back in January or February. The other is Maxthon. (I did a write-up on Maxthon, here).
I definitely agree with your point about bringing a baseball bat to a gun fight. They say that advertisers will get a higher percentage with their payout structure, but that's not necessarily the same advertisers.
Yeah I'm very worried about the development team's ability to tackle such a huge issue. They are dedicated, but few.
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