The Hidden Value of Social Media Data
Legacy media used to be the only source for news and information. However, its centralized and politically biased views are now making it obsolete. Where do people now look? Social media. A Reuters Institute survey of 94,000 people found that since June 2022, 39% had canceled or renegotiated news subscriptions, partly due to financial constraints but also because traditional media fails to meet evolving reader expectations. Amongst other reasons like marketing, and socializing (in the first place), the distrust of legacy media has spiked social media’s growth in the past years.
This brings us back to humans being the product on social media. Why? Humans always leave trails. Our presence anywhere leaves clues for anyone willing to investigate who was there before them. The same applies to social media—our public interactions create a digital footprint that reveals our interests, preferences, and behaviors. Large technology companies have long recognized the value of this publicly available data, using it for their own gains. However, what if we could harness publicly accessible social media data in a way that benefits individuals and communities, rather than just corporations?
Now as social media continues to grow, technology companies will continue to get richer using our data. This is why Teneo is trying to give you back what you owned: your share of the revenue off the data you help generate. It gets better: this symbiotic relationship between Teneo and its community (Teneo Community Node) is built on the blockchain in the DePIN ecosystem. You have absolute control over your own social media data, and you will know if there are any slight of hands.
DePIN: How Blockchain Restores Data Ownership
What is DePIN and Why Does It Matter?
Instead of relying on centralized corporations to control networks, DePIN uses blockchain and distributed systems to allow communities to own, operate, and benefit from the infrastructure they contribute to.
Social media data has been one of the most centralized digital assets, controlled by a handful of companies that extract value from users without sharing the profits. DePIN disrupts this model by giving power back to individuals—allowing them to collectively participate in and benefit from the infrastructure that fuels data-driven applications.
Why Blockchain is the Ideal Solution for Social Media Data
Blockchain introduces three key innovations that make data ownership and monetization possible:
- Transparency – Every data transaction, access request, or reward distribution is recorded on an immutable ledger, ensuring users can verify where their data is used.
- Decentralization – Instead of a single entity controlling social media data, it is distributed across a network where users have a say in how it is managed.
- Token Incentives – Blockchain allows data contributors to be fairly compensated in a provable, automated way, removing the need for intermediaries.2
The Role of Teneo in DePIN
Teneo builds on these principles by creating a community-driven data network. Instead of a few corporations profiting off data, users can opt in to share public social media insights, and receive Teneo Points as a reward. This creates a more equitable system where individuals benefit directly from their contributions.
Teneo’s Solution: Monetizing Your Own Data Fairly
How the Teneo Community Node Works
Teneo’s Community Nodes allow everyday users to participate in the network by running a lightweight browser extension. This extension unlocks publicly available social media data—like trending keywords, hashtags, and posts—and aggregates it into a structured dataset.
Users are rewarded with Teneo Points, creating a sustainable reward system for contributors.
The Revenue-Sharing Model: Earning from Your Own Data
Unlike traditional platforms that extract user data for free and sell it at a premium, Teneo involves the community along the value chain:
- Users earn Teneo Points for running a node — keeping the Teneo Community Node online helps accumulate rewards.
- Referral Rewards – Users who onboard others to the network earn extra points, promoting organic growth
Transparency, Security, and User Empowerment
Blockchain ensures that every transaction—whether it’s data collection, data access, or reward distribution—is publicly auditable. This prevents the possibility of hidden exploitation, making it a fair and trustless system.
With Teneo, users are no longer just the product—they are active participants in a decentralized data economy.
The Future of Social Media Data Ownership
As awareness grows about how big tech exploits user data, we’re likely to see a shift in expectations:
- Users Will Demand More Control – More people will seek out platforms that give them direct ownership of their data, much like they now demand privacy-focused messaging apps over ad-driven alternatives.
- Decentralized Data Markets Will Emerge – Similar to how DeFi (Decentralized Finance) has challenged traditional banking, DePIN solutions like Teneo will challenge how social media data is gathered and monetized.
- Businesses Will Rely on User-Driven Data – Instead of buying mass-harvested data from corporations, companies will turn to decentralized, opt-in models that provide higher-quality, real-time insights directly from engaged users.
Teneo represents the future of ethical data usage. As more industries realize the potential of user-powered data ecosystems, blockchain-based solutions will become the new standard. Teneo’s Community Node-first approach positions it at the forefront of this revolution, making sure that the people who power the network also profit from it.
The hidden value of social media data has been monopolized for too long. Teneo is rewriting this narrative by making users the owners and beneficiaries of their own data. With DePIN-powered blockchain solutions, the future of data ownership is decentralized, transparent, and fair—and Teneo is leading the way.