Permission Interview: New E-com Marketplace Compensates Users in Crypto for Time and Data

Permission.io, a digital marketing and e-commerce platform that has received more than $46 million in funding, recently announced the launch of its new online marketplace where merchants reward consumers for their time and data.

The Permission.io platform connects users with products from over 1,000 retailers, including Target and Walmart. The company’s management says it’s planning to transform the existing digital marketing ecosystem in order to level the playing field for consumers. The Permission marketplace compensates users with its own native currency, called the ASK token, which may be used within the platform.

Charlie Silver, CEO of Permission.io, has been building companies while also helping investors access liquidity for almost 30 years. Charlie was also the host of a radio talk show on KOGO, the biggest radio station in Southern California.

Silver recently shared his views and insights with BitcoinExchangeGuide. He explained how the Permission.io platform works and how it’s different from traditional platforms that do not fairly compensate consumers for their contributions.

BitcoinExchangeGuide: On the permission.io website, you mention that instead of merchants paying third-party centralized platforms like Google and Facebook to reach consumers, merchants engage and compensate consumers directly with ASK. Please explain how this token economy works and tell us more about how your platform works.

Charlie Silver: “Ownership and data sovereignty are the guiding principles and rules of our token economy. All markets succeed or fail based upon well-understood and fairly-applied rules. Permission abides by the rule that the individual should always be compensated for their time and data, scarce resources that have been monopolized and exploited by the major platforms. Our Permission-based economy reverses that model and puts the individual back in control.

On our platform, merchants bid for customers' time by offering them ASK to shop and click on their product ads. By ‘Asking Permission’ versus interrupting, merchants can build trust and long term relationships. As Merchants participate more and more on our platform, they will find more and more use cases for ASK. For example, email communication is essential for businesses to communicate with their customers. Instead of spamming, in our economy, businesses can obtain permission to engage their customers by offering them ASK to open emails.”

BitcoinExchangeGuide: Why should people invest their time and provide data to your platform given that they use so many other apps during their day like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. What's unique about your platform and why should people take time out to learn about it?

Charlie Silver: “For years, the major platforms and the biggest companies in the world have been built on individuals' time and data. That trend is reversing: people are becoming increasingly aware that they should be compensated for these assets. On Permission, our users are rightfully paid for the time and data that they currently give away to the major platforms for free.”

BitcoinExchangeGuide: On your FAQ page, you mention that ASK is a coin on the independent Permission blockchain. The Permission blockchain is a fork of Ethereum so ASK is much like Ether. Tell us about why you decided to fork the Ethereum protocol instead of simply issuing an ERC-20 compliant token.

Charlie Silver: “We created our own blockchain based on Ethereum because of the economics involved. If we used pure Ethereum, the price of gas / transactions would take away what the individuals on the platform can earn.”

BitcoinExchangeGuide: On your FAQ page, you explain why you use the ASK token instead of fiat money:

“Fiat currency is inherently opaque and subject to manipulation. ASK, powered by the Permission Blockchain, provides financial transparency and increases the efficiency of conducting business globally. Most importantly, ASK can be used in any transaction in which the asking and granting of Permission should be involved.”

Why not just use Bitcoin considering it is the most dominant and established cryptocurrency on the market?

Charlie Silver: “Using Bitcoin (BTC) or USD would not make economic sense, as it would take billions of capital in order to compensate users. Our goal is to create a new economy based on a new currency, where all the participants benefit from the growing network and utility of that currency.”