Building Big (Data) Sandcastles

In a recent article, “There’s no such thing as data”, Benedict Evans (if you don’t follow him at ben-evans.com, you should) explores the value of data, and personal data in particular. Providing examples across various categories, he states that “for many of these systems the value isn't in the ‘data’ at all but in the flow of activity around it”. And when it comes to personal data he points out that “data is valuable only in the aggregate of millions”, quoting Tim O'Reilly who said that that “data isn't oil - it's sand”.??

Further than not being the new oil, Ben explains “there is no such thing as ‘data’, it isn’t worth anything, and it doesn’t really belong to you anyway.” Rather that it is “just more software” and the most important thing is “what do you build with it?”?

Whilst I broadly agree with all of his points, the next logical step would be to explore what you could build with the “software” that is personal data to generate value. After all, whilst one should not build on sand, building with sand can create beautiful things… .??

We have spent the last 15 years or so exploring just that in the personal data space, launching several businesses focused on people-centric technology to generate value from personal data, for those same people. Focusing on what drives people first, rather than on needs of the businesses that want to attract and communicate with them, led us to really understand the key motivators to truly engage people and then build a platform to deliver it.?

And following reading Ben’s article, and in particular in an attempt to show how to use personal data to generate true value, I created the following wheel graphic:??

Whilst each element of this personal data wheel merits a post of its own, the following provides a short introduction to the concentric layers. With the most important person, you, at its centre.

All of this is predicated on the fact that the majority of people simply don't do things because they are logical. They aren't motivated by a few pence reward here and there. And they don't trust themselves with "managing their own data" and sharing it with "trusted partners".

People are motivated by more straightforward things, like fun, serendipity, control, trust and fairness, to name a few.

And in launching services that attracted up to half a million people directly and eight million via partners, we learned a few tricks along the way.

So, let's look at the outer ring first, which plays to Ben's observation that it's not about the data per se, but rather what you do with it.?

Starting with the data, our focus is commercial preference data. Stuff and things that you like and seek. It is not sensitive, is often intransient and is largely gender and age neutral. Whilst our online activity can often point to this, it is often woefully wrong and out of date (like when you've already bought it). If you have a Google account, take a look at "My Ad Center" under the options menu (top right) and see how accurately it reflects your current interests.

In order to determine the value of that data, we need to look at the sources of revenue from brands and companies and how they spend that money. The data needs to be matched to those needs and it needs to be dynamic and updatable by the person (or "data subject" using their language). There are multiple category "pots", and each has its own methodologies and needs.

Next, those needs need to be matched against the, more important, human motivators to interact with them. This is the most important part. And if successful delivers engagement rates that are at least an order of magnitude greater than each industry category norm.?

This is intrinsically linked to rewards, that are key to building trusted and fair interactions. Whilst some are monetary, particularly with discounts and "points" for activity, mostly they relate to meeting those human motivators.

The next ring on the wheel focuses on the elements that feed those motivators.?

The most valuable means to collect data is by explicitly asking people. Not up front, but as a natural, seamless part of their regular interactions. Other mechanisms are based on user control and openness to update and delete when desired and delivered in an intuitive format.

The revenue sources are those that deliver the most monetary value globally. Each requires user consent and control.

Again, the most important parts are the monetisation drivers. These must enable a direct connection between the brands and the person, with the minimum number of intermediaries, otherwise the value created and the trust is eroded beyond that needed for genuine engagement. They must be delivered with user control such that people can choose when to look, for how long and how often.

Finally, rewards can be matched to the monetisation mechanisms, providing a fair value exchange and a degree of entertainment, depending on the objective.

The closest ring around the person is the user interface and user experience to deliver against the varied objectives. This must be created entirely around people and mobile-centric design principles. And what we discovered is that an immersive and personalised "commercial messaging" approach is ideal for this. It ensures all of the motivators for monetisation can be met. It can also be delivered as a direct channel to users, or via trusted partnership agreements to accelerate growth. It also does not pollute existing person to person messaging channels, that weren't created for brand communication.

Now, I realise that much of this is intangible without visualising what this looks like. So if you're interested in finding out more, please get in touch and we can show you examples.

And why are we discussing this?

Well, we're exploring a new service approach to delivering it within a legal framework to ensure it must meet the needs of its members first. That approach is a "data cooperative", whereby members have a legal ownership and control over the data and services.

We are discussing this with potential consumer facing businesses and tech organisations. If you're interested in finding out more, please do get in touch.