EaaS - Electricity-as-a-Service: flip a switch, and you get electricity.
GaaS - Gas-as-a-Service: turn on a knob, and you get gas.
WaaS - Water-as-a-Service: open a faucet, and you get water.
MaaS - Music-as-a-Service: click on a button, and you get a song.
SaaS - Software-as-a-Service: click on a button, and you get an app.
PaaS - Platform-as-a-Service: click on a button, and you get a cloud platform.
CaaS - Contact-as-a-Service: click on a button, and you get contact information about your contacts.
Most of us don’t build our own grid to get electricity, do we.
Most of us don’t dig our own pipelines to get gas or water, do we.
Most of us don’t write our own songs to listen to music, do we.
Most of us don’t develop our own software to get apps, do we.
Most of us don’t create our own platforms to use the cloud, do we.
Why build when you can simply subscribe?!!!
So,
Why do we keep creating somebody else’s contact information?
Why do we need to print our own cards?
Why do we need to scan other people’s cards?
Why are we still building address books anyway?
Why do we need several address books?
Why do applications such as email have their own address book?
Why doesn’t synchronization really work?
There are many reasons which cause many problems in address books, but the main reason for their failure is that we have been stuck in the past thinking that today’s digital address books are nothing more than a digitized version of this archaic one shown here or its cousin – the Rolodex. Therefore, we have been squaring a circle for the last decades by building centralized databases when we should have been building decentralized or distributed databases because applications such as Address Books, Contact Management (CM), Personal Information Management (PIM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and the likes are inherently network or peer-to-peer applications. Thus, all current solutions have been turned on their head because they allow users to create other people’s contact information resulting into debilitating silos. As if that was not enough, we compound the problems by insisting on having several address books combined with social networks which pile up their problems on top of each other. For example, have you ever tried to synchronize your address book with LinkedIn?!!! And, do you remember the damning class action lawsuit against LinkedIn for spamming contacts in their users’ address book?!!!
Data about your contacts must come from a trusted source. Furthermore, the data must be verified, vetted, and validated in order to afford users a high degree of confidence in the information provided to them about their contacts.
Data Integrity is one of the cornerstones of CaaS. Data about your contacts must meet a high standard in terms of being correct, accurate, valid, complete, and up-to-date at any time and all the time.
In CaaS, Contact Information in a profile is not limited to coordinates such as a phone number or an email address, but it implies “information” about a contact that encompasses a digital footprint that paints a complete picture of contacts that describes their background, experience, expertise, interests, hobbies, education, associations, etc.
Users shouldn’t lift a finger to get access to the information that they need about their contacts. The system must be simple, accessible, usable, useful, and even delightful.
All the data, especially Personal Information, must be secured and safely stored with proper physical and digital protection including encryption and blockchain.
Users should be able to dynamically define privacy settings on any sensitive Personal Information in order to establish their relationship with their contacts, and to allow them to access/use their Personal Information according to a set of predefined rules.
Users should be able to leverage their contacts in their social network by asking questions like “who knows who” and “who knows what”.
Database management System (DBMS)
Decentralized Database that supports peer-to-peer network of contacts.
Cloud Computing
Distributed and highly scalable systems that allows updates of contacts to be downloaded to address books, and CRMs like updates of apps on smartphones.
Data Science
Big Data Analysis in order to validate contact data, make referrals, establish relationships, analyze activities, etc.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Use of AI for authentication, recognition, validation, etc.
Machine Learning (ML)
Use of ML to offer highly customized and personalized user experience.
Social Network Analysis (SNA)
Support of the theory of the “Strength of the Weak Ties” combined with extensive analyses such as Degree of Separation, Degree of Centrality, Betweenness Centrality, Closeness Centrality, and the likes for the purpose of discovering potential connections, making referrals, etc.
Encryption
Key Personal Data is encrypted for the protection of users’ privacy.
Blockchain
Some key Personal Data is stored in our private Blockchain. A connection between two contacts is established through a Virtual Card, which represents a user specific Persona, and which is governed by a Smart Contract that defines the privacy settings of the Personal Data shared between the two contacts.
Crypto Currency
Company Tokens are offered to users as awards for certain activities such as completing a profile, making referrals, etc.
Users shall have all rights and titles to their Personal Information. Corollary, social media and social networking companies shall not have any right or title to any Personal Information that belongs to users.
Users shall have the right to protect their privacy by managing who, when, where, why, and how their Personal Information could be used.
Users shall have the right to connect or disconnect with anyone at any time for any reason.
Users shall have the right to reclaim their entire or partial Personal Information that they have shared with someone in case they decide to redefine or disconnect their relationship with that person or entity..
Users shall have the right to create their Personal Information once, and then share or distribute it entirely or partially, but always safely, without having to recreate it or type it over, and over, and over again.
Users shall have the right to a safe Universal Login that does not track or trace them.
Users shall have the right to a Universal Autofill that automatically and safely complete forms with accurate data. Forms shall be linked to users’ profile providing current data at all times and offering control to users by allowing them to dictate the rules of the usage of the information provided in forms.
Users shall be entitled and able to rely on the Personal Information given to them by their contacts with data, which is accurate, correct, complete, up-to-date, protected, and secured at all times, in any app, and on any device.
Users shall have the right to be compensated for the authorized use of their Personal Information by anyone including social media and social networking companies.
Users shall be entitled and able to leverage their social network safely, easily, and fairly.
Get instant gratification by connecting with new people with just once click without the frustration, the errors, and the loss of productivity that typing or scanning causes.
Never lose a contact at any point-of-contact including person-to-person, call, text, or email.
Know your contacts well by:
Having their up-to-date contact information at any time and all the time.
Getting the inside scoop about their latest social media activities.
Having high quantity and quality of vetted and validated information about them.
Protect your privacy by:
Controlling access to your Personal Information to start with.
Dynamically deciding who can use what, where, why, and how.
Reclaiming your Personal Information that you shared.
Redefining existing relationships by modifying privacy settings of Personal Information
Promote and monetize your Personal Information, if you choose to do so.
Leverage your contacts by analyzing your social network.