The main challenge while starting a startup is marketing the product in the right way so more people can get to know about how and why your product is a viable option in a pool of so many products. But most startups fail to recognise it or many fall in direct competition of ‘The Big Tech’. As people start getting on-board a platform the user-table increases. The User table is a list of users with their personal data as rows, and this data undergoes various Machine Learning models to increase the personalisation and make the product much more appealing. For frictionless on-boarding all companies allow sign up from google account, which makes user on-boarding for new startup much easier, because why would you want to remember so many passwords of so many different accounts when you can use just one. This is a win- win situation for google as more people uses their account and in addition data is shared to them from these startups. But the question arises is it really a win-win for the consumer? Or can the system be modified to give the customers more benefit with respect to the information they share?

Enter blockchain. Imagine having one identity for everything, you need to remember one password, voila, everything is sorted for life, no password managers, no writing passwords, and trying to encrypt them through some made-up formulas. Imagine all the accounts from your Instagram to your passport, accessible through single password. How seamless the life would be? But is it possible? What are the advantages? How will this work? And what will be the problems with that?
Let’s go over them one by one…

Is it possible?

I suppose yes, it is possible. You make a whole new network through blockchain, either make it from scratch or use any existing networks. Start with the name, address, phone number, maybe a fingerprint and picture. Then assign a password (seed phrase), something that the user has to remember. Now start adding any kind of data to the rows with sensitive information like a national identity (eg. passport), bank accounts, etc which can be facilitated by series of API. You can fill the further rows with your account information (including mails and social media). However, as this table gets more significant, all companies will have no choice but to use this table because that’s where everyone is- and in some years, you wouldn’t need any username, similar to the case seen with google right now. You could link anything and everything to your ID (maybe a 3-factor authentication will do the job for that: password, fingerprint, your face).

How will this work

Doubting this technology? Well, you shouldn’t because the control of your data is completely in your hands. You can select what to share and with whom. Yes, blockchain is a public network, and everything is on display, and is up for the grabs. However, you can use private functions that only the msg.sender(solidity term) can call so that your Data is available only to the audience you want, and this is all happening with one and only one account.
This technology opens the doors to innumerable possibilities.
It will revamp the entire marketing paradigm of the industry because of the surge in protected data. One can sell his/her data to earn money. The government will have a better control because of this shift. They might get furious but in due course, they will realise that this makes their task much more manageable and faster.
What are the Advantages?
Many.

1. Decentralised systems all over the world
2. Economic advantages at an enormous level (no more than four different Identity cards)
3. Users will always be in control of the data (assumption the intelligent contract is designed well)
4. Startups can have a dig at the most prominent players in the industry
5. Secure
6. So many on-top of applications to improve the user experience
7. Possibility for a single and unique global currency.
8. Verification would can be done within seconds.
9. All banks and other financial accounts are mapped to the same account.

What are the Disadvantages?
Two of the biggest challenge, one is going to face while adopting this facility would be -

1. to change the data stored on-chain.
2. Having multiple accounts would be tough

Conclusion
The blockchain address will entail the identity you want to share with the virtual world, a world where the sharing of data is entirely in your purview.
Many will be of the opinion that this is just like the Facebook and google model, but there is a huge difference with respect to your privacy. Here, you have the reigns over the data which reaches your Facebook account. That is just for the government to see. I see this coming today, tomorrow on till next decade this is something that is ought to happen.
Till then, peace!!!!