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Flipping the Paradigm
Back in my fantasy world, I want to flip the paradigm around. I want complete control over my own data, what I let other companies have, and I will be making money from this. Some of my data I will just hand over in exchange for certain access or use of technology; for other parts of my data, I want a fair and equitable compensation.
In order for this idea to work, my fantasy world can’t be populated by me alone –millions of other Internet users are here with me. People who have different motives but who will also benefit from the arrangement. I imagine people who have been having a tough time making ends meet earning a little bit more cash by giving data vampires more access.
I imagine parents helping to fund their kids’ college educations by making money off those same kids’ online activities (should they choose to allow it, of course). I imagine people trying to save for special purchases being able to do so a little more easily by being compensated for electronic activities that reveal that new car, home, or vacation they’re actually trying to save for. I imagine entrepreneurs being able to fund their new business ideas through the money they earn in merely conducting online research and transactions. In my crazy fantastical world, it’s not the big tech companies alone who make the big bucks. In my world, our consumer value as individuals is not only recognized and protected but also monetized.
And Now a Word about Privacy Protection
Recently the U.S. government rolled back regulation written to help protect private citizens against the sale of their data collected by Internet service providers. ISPs obtain this data very differently than many of the other Internet players because whereas we can more easily choose what sites we browse, platforms we use, and apps we download, it’s not very easy to switch between Internet service providers on a day-by-day, case-by-case basis. In some areas of the country, consumers don’t even have a choice – there’s only one solitary provider where they live. To me, this lack of control makes for the greatest argument why the privacy protection regulation mattered.
As of this writing, however, it appears that the states may be picking up the issue to try to impose restrictions at the state level. Perhaps the time is right for states to also consider ways to help their constituency monetize their online usage. The states that do, after all, will also directly benefit through the increased household incomes of their citizens. On the other hand, if no regulation exists, my wild and wacky world goes up in smoke, and I will have to concede defeat.
But it’s sure been sure fun to imagine for a while.
Hollis Thomases, a “recovering” digital marketing entrepreneur and pioneer, is the founder of ReinventionWorks, a think-tank and platform that teaches adaptability. ReinventionWorks licenses content to and develops unique programming for organizations and businesses confronting constant change.
By_Hollis Thomases
