I've been a bit scarce here over the last two weeks. Health concerns plus a few challenges hindered my online engagements. Glad to be back here in this social home. Taking stock of my power (energy) and data costs over the last months revealed some terrifying figures. It's more difficult here in a developing economy like we have in Nigeria.
Being a digital owner by having control over my digital assets, such as files, data, or intellectual property and a digital citizen by being responsible and ethically using my digital resources, within digital community requires a regular access to the internet as well as effective use of digital gadgets. Most of these gadgets are powered by electricity or some other sort of power/energy source. Internet and power costs has become the top contributors to expenditures related to digital ownership and citizenship.
Generally, expenditures related to digital ownership may include costs associated with acquiring digital assets, such as purchasing software, media files, or digital subscriptions. There are also additional expenses for maintaining and securing digital possessions, like backup solutions and data storage devices, are part of digital ownership expenditures. Investing in cybersecurity as measures to protect valuable digital assets from potential threats are also a crucial aspect of related expenses.
On the other hand, the cost of being a digital citizen can include concerns about online privacy, potential exposure to cyber threats, and the need to navigate a complex digital landscape. It may also involve investing time in staying informed about digital issues, practicing good online habits, and adapting to evolving technologies. Additionally, costs may also arise from efforts to educate individuals and communities about responsible online behavior. Additionally, time spent on staying informed about digital trends, privacy concerns, and online security practices can be considered an expenditure in terms of personal commitment to being a responsible digital citizen.
Put together, all the costs above would depend to a large extent, the workability of the digital gadgets which uses a form of energy and/or access to internet. Covering these cost in a developing economy with inadequate infrastructure, lower standard of living, lower income levels, and less developed industrial base compared to developed countries, is hard.
More than 75% of my daily Hive earnings are spent in power and internet data and in some days where engagement is high, the daily earnings may not be sufficient for these costs. The government of the day had decided to remove fuel subsidy thereby pitching average gasoline retail pump price to about $1 which means that a daily consumption of at least 1 litre will eat up the minimum wage which is about $33. This is happening in an economy where private power generation is the order of the day.
A recent development following the increase in gasoline pump price was the conversion of fuel carburator to gas carburetor so generators can run using cooking gas. With its related risks, many individuals and organisations had adjusted to this new design and feedback has it to be more economical. However, we also witnessed a 60% rise in cooking gas price as demand for it increased. Over the week, I decided to convert one of my generating sets to be powered by cooking gas and that cost be about $50. The first test of the new system was not impressive as the running cost was almost similar with gasoline.
Having to spend $5 for about 7 hours of power is quite expensive. I even contemplate solar energy recently and the initial acquisition cost plus maintenance is still on the high side. This is a dilemma of being a digital owner and citizen in Nigeria. This is just one part of the 2-face coin. Internet data cost is another major source of expenditure.
Streaming a HD video can take up to 3GB of data in an hour. Watching/downloading same may take about half of that bytes. The cost of these internet access is Also very biting. Remembering that you have to spend some good hours researching and creating a post, commenting and engaging other posts, doing some social media promotions and marketing as well as participate in some xSpace sessions or watch videos to learn, leaves one with how profitable digital ownership and citizenship can be.
These rising cost for being a digital owner and citizen has been a concern for some days now and I'm brainstorming on how to manage these costs as well as help those who seek to join us to do same. If you have this similar concerns, how do manage or plan to manage them? I wish to be able to collate ideas and share them in my next thought this. Do you think the cost of accessing digital wealth in the web3 world could be more than the wealth itself?
If you found the article interesting or helpful, please hit the upvote button, and share for visibility to other hive friends to see. More importantly, drop a comment below. Thank you!
This post was created via INLEO, What is INLEO?
INLEO's mission is to build a sustainable creator economy that is centered around digital ownership, tokenization, and communities. It's Built on Hive, with linkages to BSC, ETH, and Polygon blockchains. The flagship application: Inleo.io allows users and creators to engage & share micro and long-form content on the Hive blockchain while earning cryptocurrency rewards.
Let's Connect
Hive: https://inleo.io/profile/uyobong/blog
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Uyobong3
Discord: uyobong#5966