The Brave browser was my introduction in the crypto universe. As a previous heavy user of Chrome and someone who wanted to get into the crypto verse, I didn't know where to begin. Bitcoin was the reigning champion and the one crypto that most people recognized. However, it wasn't the first that I would see myself getting into. Rather, Basic Attention Token was the first token to take on that challenge of pushing forth my initiative to learn more about not only the project itself, but also researching more about what the token stood for, how digital advertising was broken (as a previous blogger and content creator on YouTube, I could account for that), and what needed to be done. For me, BAT stood for not only transparency but also a project that would define a new foundation where advertising, content creation, and support could be built from. The moment I got my first grant using the browser, I knew it would be a defining moment - a moment that would continue to pave support for content creators around the world and take on Google Adsense (my previous home for making money on the side). Every month/couple months, grants would come in, providing an incentive to reach out to content creators and sharing the love (in this case, BAT). However, what truly made me realize my appreciation for the project was when Brave Ads finally hit the Dev channel.
At first, I wasn't sure how it would work - whether it would be intrusive, rarely being presented, or whether it would be buggy. The latter ended up being true at first, then again, I was testing the Dev channel, so that was bound to happen. There were quite the number of times when my entire BAT earnings had disappeared. Although, I wasn't the only one to experience that as other users were quick to jump on r/batproject and share their experiences. The Brave team were quick to amend the issue, issuing an increase in the BAT output from the ads. As opposed to earning 0.05 BAT per ad, the ads were providing 0.15 BAT each to help users make up the lost amount. Even that experience wasn't perfect as there were times the amount would disappear; however, that was all quickly amended when the month came to an end and we were provided the funds within our wallets to help distribute to other content creators. I was expecting around 30-40 BAT (including the number I had previously lost). To my surprise (and probably including the grant for the month), the number had rose to a whopping 83.6 BAT. This was quite the surprise but came to show how quickly the Brave team was on to identify the issue of the disappearing BAT and quick to resolve it, while providing the proper incentive for users as they tested it out through the Dev channel. This process was necessary to make the release for General much smoother. The next month came along and the output for each Brave ad was 0.05 BAT again. This was also the moment when I realized that I didn't have to click the ad itself/interact with it - it was providing the BAT whether I closed or clicked it. That made the process much more easier.
The experience testing out the Brave ads on the Dev channel continued to go smoothly, a greater indiciation that it would move into Beta and General channels eventually. I continued to stick to the Dev channel as it passed on to Beta and then eventually hit the General release, a couple days ago. Seeing the community get excited over a project within crypto that actually worked was truly a sight to see.
My experiences using BAT on Brave through either grant distribution or through BAT ads was nothing but positive. I was fortunate enough to help test the ads through the Dev channel, a moment that I felt rather defining as it showed that the whole digital advertising space was about to change. Now I'm happy that users in the General release in some countries are able to experience it. Now time to see it move on to the rest of the world and eventually observe the digital ad space changing in front of our eyes.
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Want to try out the Brave Browser? Referral//Non-Ref
