Facebook is doing great. But in the next fifteen years, if Facebook does not evolve into a real-identity social media, it will struggle. As banking, insurance and more services move social, we will need social commerce. That social commerce will be anchored on real identities. Facebook does not have that today. Anyone can create a Facebook account without the real authenticity as maintained by government.

This assertion goes beyond government efforts to track its citizens. As China modifies its laws to demand that users of social media sites use their real names before they can be on registered, with posting/commentary privileges, on websites, phone apps and digital forums, other countries will pick that and adopt the philosophy. In Africa, Cameroon may prefer that over shutting down Internet. Eritrea and Sudan may join easily, telling citizens to use their real-identities on social media.

Starting Sunday, backstage real-name registration is a must for all Chinese Internet users before they can post comments on platforms in China.

Without registering their real identities in the background, previously registered users cannot post anything, including replies to posts, on Chinese platforms, said the circular released by the Cyberspace Administration of China on September 7.

Users, however, do not have to reveal their real identities on the frontstage of the platforms.

‘‘Such rules will apply to all websites, phone applications, interactive public platforms and any other communication platform that features public opinion on news or with the nature to mobilize the society,” stipulates the circular.

Screen bullets, or known as danmu in Chinese, together with other forms of posts that include such things as emojis and pictures also fall into the regulation scope, as explicitly stipulated in the circular.

The new law is simple: you can be on social media with a fake identity but you cannot have a voice unless you are real. By demanding this, fake news will be managed and decency online will be enforced. Of course, government will be watching. But they are already watching.

Outside China

Initially, this will be a very hard business model to execute outside China. But what I do believe is that some Chinese companies will perfect this and when they do, they will export the ideas to the world. These firms will work to find value in everyone using real identities online. If China makes it easier for people to get services online seamlessly, some will forget the privacy issues and go real in other countries. Over time, more people will register with their real identities. I do believe that as social media matures, there will be a convergence between online persona and the real persona of users. China could be providing a solid case with the new law to test how this will work at scale. Using real-identities online will unlock more opportunities and seed a new business model across many industrial sectors. No one knows but China will offer a case study in coming years.

All Together

I do not think this real-identity social media will work in Africa at the moment. So, there is no need wasting resources pursuing it. My recommendation will be to monitor how the new law in China is utilized not just by the government but by companies. If a social media account can be used seamlessly to provide insurance, it means that “Twitter” handle can become a trusted identity since that is tied to government records. The use of real identities online has a promise but no one knows the full implications.

Is there a collective power that once you take a loan, you may be worried that if you do not pay, your social networks will know because your social media account is tied to that loan? Can companies create products that will appeal to you based on that social connection? It is too early to ascertain all the possibilities but if we run the meatspace (i.e. offline) with real identities, I do think in the near future, internet and social media will need to be managed with real identities. Doing that may not necessarily be bad, if the government element is taken out. Businesses will find more opportunities to provide services right in the places where customers are spending time.

There is no problem in electricity, road construction, transportation or agriculture that someone has not thought about in Africa. From our universities to our research institutes, we have inventions (yes, ideas) for most of the challenges. But despite these inventions, we do not have the products as we continue to experience poor electricity supply, poor roads, poor transportation networks, etc. If you visit food and drinking joints across most African cities, you will be amazed on ideas emanating from people on how to fix our challenges. Indeed, our continent is rich in invention. We are creative.

However, Africa struggles on innovation. That transition from invention to innovation remains our weakest link. We have the idea on how to pipe water from the ground in the Savannah for people to drink. Yet, we do not do it as people continue to struggle with clean water. We have the idea on how to provide the electricity. Yet, it has not been done. So ideas everywhere, but we struggle on product scarcity.

There is a fundamental reason why we have ideas everywhere but people cannot find products to buy. We are inventive but we are not innovative. In this video, I explain how we can change that by looking at more than 500 years of data on the acceleration of human capability to transition from inventive societies into innovative societies in the Western World. I also provide a key enabler that made that transition possible.

I am revisiting this topic as I continue to struggle on our readiness on building the core pillars to accelerate innovation as I did note in my new book – Africa’s Sankofa Innovation.

There are things which you cannot leapfrog, but you can create new basis of engagement. That you are sending drugs with drones to villagers does not mean that we do not need roads for farmers. That you are using mobile apps to bank does not mean that banks should not have rural branches to support farmers and traders on their financial strategies. By trivializing our deficiencies through the ephemeral modern technologies, we lose the capabilities to architect an enduring future for innovation.

Equifax was hacked and excess of 143 million people private data were compromised. Bad people could use the data for identity theft resulting to years of nightmare to the people affected. U.S. Congress and American residents are unhappy. That is rightly so because Equifax was careless. It dropped the ball on the most important raw material of its business: the people’s data.

In a prepared testimony ahead of his appearance before a congressional panel, former Equifax CEO Richard Smith said he was “deeply sorry” about a data breach last month that exposed the personal data of more than 143 million consumers, saying his company “failed to prevent sensitive information from falling into the hands of wrongdoers.”

But as you look into this mess, there is something that is clear: Equifax has a business that is extremely well positioned that even in this mess, it can still profit. I mean, Equifax can be making money even as it is causing mayhem in the lives of American residents. Here are some ways Equifax is profiting:

• Equifax offers enhanced credit monitoring to the same people its data breach is causing harm. So Equifax wants the customers to pay for services to help protect their identities from being used for fraud
• LifeLock, a specialist on identity theft protection, which is experiencing massive business boom due to the Equifax data breach, buys its credit monitoring solutions from Equifax. Simply, even if you do not want to work with Equifax directly and decide to buy solutions from LifeLock, you will still be sending money to Equifax
• U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the tax collection institution, signed a $7.25 million contract with Equifax just as the break was made public in September. The deal is for tax fraud detection and prevention.

Sure, Equifax will pay tons of money through class action. Trial lawyers are already circling. Yet, despite that, it is very evident that this company has deep positioning in the market. It can win on any side of the coin: head or tail.

Think about it, and see how you can build a company that can be structured with such deep positioning that even in crises, your customers will need your services, business partners will sell your services, and the government will come to you and buy your solutions even when you are the main catalyst of the mayhem. Its deep positioning is something every brilliant entrepreneur must aspire to replicate in its industry.

Usually when crises come, people run away from companies. But here, citizens are running to Equifax, partners are selling its solutions, and government needs Equifax help. Its positioning is very uncommon in markets.