Quick note before we get started...
2. This post is about Brave Browser. Once you're convinced on downloading it, please consider using this referral link to do so. Thank you for the supporting the blog! <3
Hello friends!
Let's talk about Brave, the internet browser that’s legitimately changed my life.
I know that sounds crazy, but hear me out...I’m about to blow your mind.
Here are 20 Reasons why you need to ditch Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or whatever you’re using--and download Brave Browser today!
1. Passive income
When you use Brave, you get paid every time you see an advertisement (among other ways, which I’ll discuss later). This is one of the core principles of Brave Browser: COMPENSATING you for your attention.
How can a browser just pay you for browsing the internet?
Here's the thing, folks--users should have been paid for using the internet since day 1!
When you browse the internet, you are giving tech giants like Google and Facebook enormous value through your data. They track everything you do, everything you search, everything you enjoy, then make billions by selling this information to third parties.
So, if your data makes Google billions of dollars...shouldn’t you be given a piece of the pie? Of course you should!
Those with a good understanding of business have been screaming this for years: WE THE USERS are entitled a paycheck from companies like Google and Facebook for using our data for advertising purposes. The only reason that this idea seems so outlandish is because Google has spent a great deal of money maintaining this monopoly.
Without competition, or a public understanding of the online advertising business they’ve had free reign to take 100% of the bread for themselves.
Until now.
The decentralization movement has arrived, and Brave has stepped up to the plate to blow this stupid system out of the water.
2. The payment system is simple
So, how does this user payment system actually work?
Basically, if you choose to view ads (yes, you actually get to choose!) then you'll receive cryptocurrency payment straight to your account for every single advertisement that appears on your screen. You don't even need to click them.
Brave's native crypto token is called “BAT” or “Basic Attention Token.”
Once you receive your BAT payout each month, you can do whatever you want with them:
Withdraw them to your bank account
Buy gift cards through Brave's integrated marketplace (and soon anywhere on the web)
Trade them for other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum on Brave's partner exchange, Uphold
Or lastly, if you’re particularly optimistic about the future of the project, hold onto it as a long-term crypto investment (like I'm doing).
3. It creates a new internet economy where everyone wins:
Users aren’t the only ones who reap immediate benefits from switching to Brave.
Brave's native BAT currency introduces a completely new way of advertising: Rather than auto-surrendering all data (read: value) directly to the advertising platform (Google, Facebook) for free, the end user (who receives the advertising) is paid directly for their attention.
Here's a breakdown of what this means for all parties involved:
Publishers win: Native tipping system creates a passive revenue stream for creators' site or social media channel (more on this in #15)
Users win: All users receive a revenue cut from advertising through Brave Rewards, and they no longer have to sacrifice privacy, data, or web experience
Advertisers win: Better ad matching, transparency, and conversion rates since users are legitimately excited when they receive ads (cha-ching!)
Brave wins: Advertisers are paying top-dollar for the above reasons
Under the status quo, behemoths like Google and Facebook vacuum up nearly all of the cashflow within the $200 billion online advertising industry.
Brave and BAT are flipping that system on its head, and giving the PEOPLE a stake in the game for the first time in internet history.
Great explanation of the BAT economy from CEO Brendan Eich:
4. Ad-blocking is set by default
If you'd prefer a 100% ad-free experience over passive crypto income, have at it! Getting paid for ads is merely an option -- Brave Browser blocks ALL ads by default, and you’re welcome to keep it that way.
5. Saves you money on data
If you haven't noticed...surfing the web on Chrome has become an absolute mobscene of popups, blinking lights, and constant surveillance in the name of ADS ADS ADS.
But here's something most people don't even realize: all these advertising methods use a TON of data, which costs YOU on your data plan!
After downloading Brave on my Android, my data charges decreased significantly from when I was using Chrome.
6. Saves you TIME
No gigantic ad-tracking scripts means superspeed page load times. This will save you LOTS of time in the long run.
‘Nuff said.
7. Saves battery
I think you get the point--but here's one more reason to hate tracker ads. They KILL your battery. I noticed a definite increase in battery life on my Android and PC after switching to Brave on both devices.
8. Your privacy is respected
Brave's ads are localized, and don't clog up your computer & phone with behind-the-scenes surveillance code. Gone are the days that you feel like you're constantly being followed on the web.
More info on Brave privacy here.
9. You're far safer from hackers, fraudsters, and other cyber-criminals
If you're like me and you've become numb and/or honestly don't care about Google knowing the type of potato chips you like, let me remind you: there's a lot more reason to value internet privacy besides just Google.
Hackers, fraudsters, scammers, and other internet criminals are on the prowl for your personal information too, and they can cause far greater damage than Google when they get their paws on it.
By blocking external ads & tracking scripts by default, you're far safer from these attacks on Brave.
Additionally, Brave is also working on a built-in VPN addition to be released in the near future, which will increase the safety of your browsing even further.
10. It’s extremely easy to set up
After you download Brave Browser, the process of transitioning from your old one (in my case, Chrome), is a piece of cake. The instructions are foolproof, including how to easily import your bookmarks from your previous browser.
I had the full process finished before my episode of Black Mirror was over.
11. It looks and feels exactly like Chrome
So if you’re a fan of the familiar, never fear: you won’t even notice the difference when you download Brave Browser.
It took me about 2 hours to forget that I wasn't on Chrome anymore. Brave looks and feels exactly the same.
Can you tell the difference between this and Chrome? I sure can't. (Optional dark mode enabled)
12. Thanks to a stellar team, Brave is here to stay
Brave's team is second to none. Period
I'll let you do your own research on this one, but I will say this: the team is led by Brendan Eich, the guy who created JavaScript and Firefox. So...he knows a few things
13. The development team values user feedback
I've followed around a dozen members of the Brave team on social media just to stay in the loop, and I've been extremely impressed with the fantastic customer service they provide on their own time, on places like Twitter and Reddit. I've also sent a handful of feature requests to the Brave team myself, and I've gotten a response on probably 80% of these inquiries.
This is top-level service, and proves that they are listening to what people actually want.
14. Its community is growing rapidly
What used to be a community of crypto-nerds has exploded onto the mainstream scene.
You may recognize a few of them...
(Go to: 2:20:35)
Joe Rogan isn’t alone...Brave is approaching 20 million monthly active users as of June 2020.
It's exciting to see that people and businesses are realizing their right to reclaim their privacy and start earning passive income at the click of a button.
This is the real deal, folks -- a truly groundbreaking opportunity to claim your stake in the fairer, more lucrative future of the internet!
15. It gives content creators (AKA "publishers") a huge boost
Now let’s dig into some of the reasons why content creators MUST download Brave Browser.
If you're making dope stuff online (Blog, YouTube channel, Twitch stream, you name it), then the passive income benefits you'll receive from Brave are two-fold.
Have you noticed that little triangle on the corner of my blog profile picture?
That's the "Brave Publisher" verification logo. This means every person that visits my site through Brave can send me a tip, by clicking the BAT banner in the top-left corner of their window.
Better yet, the default setting for Brave Rewards has Auto-Contribute enabled, which triggers tips AUTOMATICALLY from normal users to Brave Publishers. Thanks to this, I've already received a handful of BAT each week, without even mentioning it to my audience.
In other words, once you become a verified publisher, you’ll begin receiving BAT tips passively from your Brave-browsing audience!
16. Creators are in good company
There are over 700,000 Brave Publishers as of this writing. Here are a few you may have heard of:
Wikipedia
The Guardian
VICE
Washington Post
Khan Academy
LAD Bible
NPR.org
This means all of these huge brands have an incentive to transition their audiences to Brave,
leading to
more users in the BAT tipping system,
leading to
more BAT income for ALL creators.
And what if you don't have your own website to collect donations?
No website, no problem.
On Brave, you can also send & receive tips through most social media platforms:
Twitter
Reddit
YouTube
Twitch
Soundcloud (soon)
Unsplash (soon)
And many more on the way!
Once you download Brave Browser, you'll start seeing this button pretty much everywhere you go.
17. It incentivizes GOOD CONTENT on the web
Since this tipping system integrates with so many social media platforms, it's drastically changing how content is valued on the internet. Instead of publishing a post and begging people to join your Patreon or GoFundMe, your tip jar will be open and ready to receive tips from your friends & fans 24/7!
As more influencers jump into this Brave tipping economy, the tipping pool will continue to grow. And as I explained in the previous point, this incentivization for valuable content will initiate a snowball effect, and in turn help all creators boost their online income streams.
PRETTY. FREAKING. COOL.
CREATORS: Click this link to Download Brave Browser, and start monetizing your work!
18. It values artists
Brave doesn’t just help the bloggers and YouTubers, it opens up exciting opportunities for other artists too, specifically photographers.
Whenever you open a new tab on Brave, you’ll see a beautiful photograph from one of Brave’s many photographer users.
We’ve all seen these landscape shots on other browsers, but have you ever seen the artist properly credited on the photo? Doubtful.
Brave doesn’t just credit the artist -- they go a step further by providing a clickable link, so the artist can drive traffic straight to their website or Instagram page! This is such an awesome way to celebrate the artistic talent in the Brave community, and I really hope they're able to keep some of these beautiful shots in the mix as the stampede of sponsorship opportunities approaches.
PS...I've been trying to get my photography featured on the homepage for a while now--if any Brave team members are reading this, hit me up ;)
19. It has a great affiliate program
For those who don’t know, affiliate programs are just a referral system where you get paid for referring new users to the platform. (Kind of like I've been doing with these orange banners ;) ). Did Google pay you to tell your friends to download Chrome? I didn’t think so. It's a tall task going after Google's market share, so Brave pays you a commission for every new user you bring on board!
Remember, affiliate programs never last forever. To take advantage of this early adopter deal, tap that orange banner so you can start referring your friends and family for cash!
I’ve been doing affiliate marketing on my website for almost a year now, and Brave has one of the best affiliate programs I’ve ever seen.
Generous payout
Easy linking
Clear stat-tracking
Awesome product.
That's all you can ask for as an affiliate marketer!
20. It's the perfect introduction to the world of decentralized cryptocurrency
Decentralized (verb) : The process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative group.
Folks, I've been blabbering about crypto & the future of decentralization for several years now, and the simple fact is...90-95% of people haven't even begun to wrap their heads around how big of a deal this is.
Brave is a perfect example of a forward-thinking team challenging one of the largest, most centrally-controlled industries in the world today (internet data), and telling Google to fuck right off.
For every person that downloads Brave, that's one more person that realizes that WE DON'T NEED multi-billion-dollar tech companies to create the playbook, where they make billions off of our data, and get nothing.
It's time to WAKE UP.
Conclusion:
Old internet browsers are stupid.
Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc. operate on an ad-spam model that doesn't just foot you with the cost of running those ads, but also steals the share of the advertising revenue that belongs to you.
Big tech is making billions of dollars on your data. They struck gold on your property, and you're not seeing a dime.
-Data Dividend Project
When you download Brave Browser, you are voluntarily opting out of this nonsensical system, in exchange for one that:
Rightfully PAYS you for spending your attention on ads
Keeps your browsing private
Speeds up your computer
Saves your data, battery, and time
Gives artists and creators a seamless way to monetize their work.
After digesting these benefits, I hope you can understand why I'm so passionate about this project.
Brave is more than just a browser -- it's a vote for a future where the people have full ownership of their data, and demand compensation for their important place in the digital economy.
When you download Brave Browser, you're no longer a product of the internet. You're a paid participant.
Welcome to the future!
-Ben
Additional Resources:
The most comprehensive YouTube video I've found on Brave & BAT
Extra credit reading: “What is your data worth?” - Medium
CEO Brendan Eich at Brave media events:
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