My Net Worth...
Stephanie Trunzo
CEO MERGE * Oracle & IBM * Infinitely curious technology executive, sparking change at the intersection of Health & Consumer industries
If you’ve never tried it, you should type your own name into the search bar.
Inspired by a friend to check it out, here are my reflections through three lenses - technologist, meditation practitioner, and as a creative.
As a Technologist?
Okay, so… how old am I, and how much money do I have? That is what Google thinks people want to know about me.
Is it really what people are searching for? I had a friend who is a Google Analytics wiz check it out, and turns out -
#1 search is indeed my Net Worth!
This got me thinking, because I too have typed in someone’s name and been prompted to complete my search phrase with “net worth.”?
Which came first, the search, or the search prompt? ?? ????Or common searches for others with digitally similar characteristics?
Searches work best on precise matches with a lot of sources, so knowable, structured information. It is a lot simpler to figure out my birthday than what my laugh sounds like, for example.
As a Meditation practitioner?
Regardless, why? What is my net worth? If we want to know something about a person, are their financials the most interesting thing? We all know the dangers of the social media skewed versions of ourselves, falsely positive highlights only. But, overall, if you live a fairly technology-involved life, your digital footprint should reflect a more whole view of who you really are.
What is the net worth of a human? All of their assets, reduced by all of their debts, and what remains?
My net worth is plenty. Plenty of hard laughs & hard work. Plenty of love. Plenty of family & friends. I have debts in times of sadness, mistakes, disappointments, but my assets fair outweigh those.?
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I aim to touch people’s lives positively, in both small and large ways. I’ve created some stuff I’m proud of: software, renovated historic buildings, written and spoken words, art, ideas, and a whole amazing human.
But here is the real shame of the way our brains have been shaped to define what we are most curious to know - our lives, just like economics, are constantly evolving. Our worth shifts, even after we are no longer walking (hopefully barefoot) on this Earth. And, worth isn’t defined by a single measure of authority, regardless to what you’re attempting to assign value - money, love, creativity, wrong choices.?
There is no net. There only is.
As a Creative
If you don’t care about the tech, or the philosophical musings, at least agree with me that searching for someone’s net worth is - at a minimum - uninspired.
Let’s give those algorithms something to think about! Start searching for truly fascinating stuff.?It is a long road to shift the taxonomies of online identity, but just a few ideas of things I know I would prefer to know about someone:
Garden tips… pinch the basil off right above where you see small leaves starting and never let it flower
Favorite cereal… Kashi blueberry clusters
Most read book… The Fountainhead tied with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy??
Smiles per day… As many as possible, both on my face and those around me
Sheets thread count… Shrug. Kind of think thread count is fake news
Yoga ... yes, please
No matter what you discover exploring your own digital footprint, I hope it sparks for you some introspection about how you would define your own worth AND changes the way you become curious about other people. Imagine a digital world where we could more fully represent and appreciate 3D versions of ourselves, even if you can't find it from today's search bar.
Super interesting experiment Stephanie Trunzo! Thanks for your insightful ideas??
This is a really dangerous idea clothed in wonderfully self-affirming language.?What you’re talking about is having a corporation (or several, it will become an industry in less than a decade) collect all our data from everything we do in every digital space and in every physical space that collects personal data, and stop anonymizing it.?Are you kidding?Bad outcome?#1:?Hyper-personal targeted ads. About everything.?The complete reduction of women back to the Stone Age in tracking their menstrual cycle. You know why. As a man I can’t even fathom how bad this is, but I know it’s awful.?Bad outcome #2: People can search for your garden tips and your favorite cereal, and how many times you smile (what if it’s too low, Stephanie?) but they can also search for other things that you don’t want to share, , develop queries to sift through your no longer anonymous data, that will help them determine future behavior (what if they don’t like the predicted behavior, Stephanie? What then?), and then develop programs to exploit/control the personal data from everyone they collected it from.?Bad outcome #3: Hyper-personal targeted ads. About everything.?Bad outcome 4-n: Ask someone smarter than I am. Both the problems and the people to examine them? They’re out there. You’ll hear the phrase “total police state” several times.?
Helping Leaders with Velvet Hammer Strategies without HR Intervention for Higher Retention and Smoother Transitions.
2 年Thank you Stephanie. So true that "worth" is in the eye of the beholder. We make it so each day!
Realtor at Realty World - Carolina Properties
2 年Mine comes up as Megan Crean age....I'll choose gratitude for this search :)