This document discusses making online business models more transparent and fair. It notes that while the online world creates new value and businesses, questions who generates this value and who profits from it. As an example, it examines FAO's AGRIS data ecosystem and whether it is transparent to members about how data is used. It proposes ideas like getting explicit permission from data providers and offering micro-payments or credits in return to make the business model more fair. The overall message is that online businesses are not bad, but the way they make money from others' information should be transparent and fair.

1. Towards fair and transparent
online business models
Nikos Manouselis, CEO Agro-Know
nikosm@agroknow.gr

2. inspired by…

3. Nikos
• MSc, MΕng, PhD
• >150 publications
• 1 like-a-post-doc
• 1 (almost)
research position
• >5 rejected
University job
applications
• Agro-Know in 2008

4. An extraordinary company that captures, organizes
and adds value to the rich information available in
agricultural and biodiversity sciences, in order to
make it universally accessible, useful and meaningful.
http://www.agroknow.gr

5. advocates of open
• CIARD.net: a global movement dedicated to
open agricultural knowledge
• Global Open Data for Agriculture and
Nutrition (GODAN)

6. FAO’s AGRIS (http://agris.fao.org)

8. the online world is so cool

10. so many fantastic services & apps

12. many disruptive business models

14. yes, it is cool. it also generates
new businesses. like Agro-Know

17. but who generates this value?
and who owns it?

18. let’s do the math: who generates it
• value: $212 billions
–per employee: ~ $21 millions
–per user: ~ $150
• so who do you think generates
this value?

19. …and who makes money out of
this value?

20. is this transparent?

21. is this fair?

22. does this mean that we should
not have online businesses?
should we close Agro-Know?

23. how can we do fair business from
the value that our users generate?
I do not have a reply, yet. I have
plenty of questions. And an
example to share.

24. FAO AGRIS ecosystem (simplified)

25. who generates the value?

26. and who can use the AGRIS data?

30. hm. is this transparent to the
AGRIS members? and is it fair?

31. thought #1
1. all AGRIS providers to know that Agro-Know
is processing their data at no cost for them
– explicitly asks their permission to use their data
in our online product
– all AGRIS providers get some additional free
Agro-Know service in return

32. thought #2
• a micro-payment model in place for each
AGRIS provider
– we cannot pay cash, yet; but e.g. credits-per-
views can be collected by each provider
– new services & features to be offered by Agro-
Know according to the collected credits

33. wrapping up
• online world: helps us disrupt some
monopolies that were based on who
owns the information
• lots of new value, generated by all of us,
instantly created online
• new types of threat: who owns the
online information channels?

34. take away message
• doing business online is not bad
• but the way we make money from other
people’s information should be
transparent and fair
–…whatever is legal, is not always ethical

35. my question to you
How can we help make this happen?

36. thank you!