The web makes information available to everyone, but is it really knowledge? As a research tool it works, but it takes time to find the right sources of data. VisibleNation, with your help, is attempting to put the power in the hands of the individual, and it starts with sharing. The more you share the more you can receive. If everyone inputs their life experience we can all benefit. Initially, you will get lifestyle comparisons and as the database grows, you will be able to mine this data freely from the ‘World’s largest lifestyle database’. When the power of accurate information is available free for everyone to use, that’s ‘data democratization’.

Welcome to the Data Democracy – Welcome to the VisibleNation.
It’s natural to make comparisons, whether we are conscious of this or not. We compare ourselves to others and the things they have. We compare whether we are fatter, richer, more successful, and even smarter.

We have embraced human comparison culture, and put it at the heart of everything that VisibleNation (www.visiblenation.com) is building with its free, private and secure comparison platform.
Poor-quality information means poor choices
It is difficult to make informed decisions based on poor or irrelevant information, and the result is that we often make the wrong choices.
Searching online provides us with advertising, and marketing-based media research, personal recommendations and/or extensive personal research all have many downsides in terms of accuracy and takes ages.
To take just one example, price comparison sites are just that – they compare prices. But we need more information and more data to make better comparisons, such as value, performance and suitability. i.e. you may find cheap insurance, but if the cover is worthless it’s a waste of money.

We try to compare online but search engines still give us too much irrelevant information while social networks deliver limited opinion and have a “positivity bias”. People lie and miss out on important information that would be imperative for comparison purposes.

However, there are big changes happening online, driven by the rapid growth of the social web and our desire to share experiences. These two elements are revolutionising access to data. We no longer need to rely on big organisations to tell us what to do and how to do it. We can share our own experiences and data, and learn together. We can start to compare in better ways, with better results.

The beauty of this movement is that the more people share, the more powerful sharing becomes. The VisibleNation team believes that information = knowledge and knowledge = power.

The VisibleNation team identifies with the game-changing ad campaign launched by Volkswagen in the 1950s and ‘60s where, rather than selling “desire and dreams” (the biggest, flashiest, most awesome car ever!), the company took a more direct approach – “here is an ugly car but it is very efficient and cheap to buy and run”.

VisibleNation has followed this open, honest route, and trusts that people will get more accurate research by sharing their data and knowledge. This will help to build more focused and contextual targeted consumer insight.

How does it work?
Let’s look at two typical ways that people would use the web every day. The first example is a young professional, Joe, who is looking to change jobs and buy a house for himself and his partner. Currently, he has no way of making useful online comparisons, based on trusted information from his peers. It could take months to research all the angles. He does not know the quality of locations or potential career benefits. He is effectively going in blind until he succeeds in making the changes so he cannot make a truly informed choice of this potential lifestyle change. VisibleNation offers you these enquiries in one place. All it takes is for people to share.

In the second scenario, a thirty-something single mother, Jess, is looking for an interesting holiday for her young family; something a little out of the ordinary because she wants her two young daughters and son to have new, useful and enjoyable experiences in a new country. She can go to all the usual sources and spend hours doing research, or make a simple enquiry on VisibleNation, ‘what are the best value for money places for people who are the same as me?’ (i.e. same budget, same educations, same number of kids, same interests etc.) She could of course also look at where very rich single men go on holiday too!

There are mummy bloggers, magazines and travel sites aplenty online but, again, none really deliver the two things Jess needs to make an informed and relevant holiday choice – trusted peer group information and knowledge, so she still faces a high level of risk in making her decision.

The VisibleNation Mission
VisibleNation is about giving people the power to make better choices by transforming the way they make lifestyle decisions. The company’s mission is help the Joes and Jesses of this world through its unique social comparison service. VisibleNation is the place where individuals can share trusted information and get greater personal insights through making better comparisons, all perfectly private… so you can tell the truth.

Allan Ireland Park, founder of VisibleNation, enthuses: “At VisibleNation, we want people to share something very simple which, in turn, is very valuable – ‘the truth’. We are bombarded with lies and misinformation every day. But I see a real opportunity to combat this in the way that online sharing is evolving. I realised that if people shared even the most basic information about their lifestyle, the value would be immense and as a result everybody would benefit. Come on! Do something useful today join the VisibleNation!”

Why trust VisibleNation?
VisibleNation is a consumer champion, an innovator and a source of authority, based on a clear vision backed by much planning and deep analysis of how to help people make better choices. The company is managed and staffed by experienced, passionate and knowledgeable professionals who are committed to providing the most relevant and accurate data to the VisibleNation community.

Most importantly, VisibleNation guarantees that your data is anonymous throughout its private network. It ensures that the information and knowledge you share will not provide a trail that leads back to you.

For Eugene Bragin, Chief Technology Officer, this commitment is at the core of everything the VisibleNation team does. He says: “To identify people within the data would cut across everything we are trying to build at Visible Nation. We will never allow this and we do not sell, exchange or share private information with anyone.”

VisibleNation is a commercial proposition but it wants to help change the world by introducing “social responsibility” to data.

Welcome to the Data Democracy – Welcome to the VisibleNation
The VisibleNation team believes people realise that sharing knowledge benefits everyone, not least themselves. Better decisions can be made because useful information is available.

VisibleNation believes that peer-relevant information is the way forward, allowing people to gain realistic insights and make better choices in all areas of their lives. It is going global with strong insights into key markets such as the UK, US, and the BRIC regions

VisibleNation’s focus on better comparisons aids personal empowerment and is embedded in the company’s working methods. It believes that anonymised social visibility is the key to successful sharing.

The VisibleNation team has a direct message to every consumer: “Visit Visiblenation.com, join in, help yourself and change the world. Welcome to the Data Democracy – Welcome to the Visible Nation.”