Blockchain technology has the potential to impact many aspects of business and communication. But much of the discussion to date has focused on its impact on banking and financial transactions. While these two areas are significant, blockchain's impact may extend beyond currency and finance to affect marketers of all products and services. 1. Changing Data Collection Anyone can connect to the internet, but they must first passthrough traditional gatekeepers such as ISPs and web browsers. These companies can learn almost everything we do online, from what we buy to what we read and who we talk to. Blockchain technology could be a solution to this problem. Blockstack, a blockchain-based network that bills itself as "a new internet for decentralized apps," is a good case study for the data privacy issue. Because Blockstack's network is based on blockchainverified signatures, your personal data stays with you rather than being stored on servers owned by your application. Using a website or an app is analogous to inserting a key into a lock: You keep a personal copy with you at all times, and when you're finished, you take it out of the lock. There is no ongoing record of who used the lock and when.