Facebook and the Future of Personal Data

Jul 12, 2012 by Phil Simon in Master Data Management

Jim Harris’ recent post “Is Social MDM Going the Wrong Way?” got me thinking. In it, Jim writes:

Right now, users give away valuable information about themselves, but I fully expect to see services pop up that act as personal data brokers, giving users a cut of the money made from their personal information – the data users explicitly choose to share, not what is gathered about them sneakily. Again, this business model has long existed, but not in a way that allows individuals to participate in the proceeds.

I’d like to expand upon the business model of personal data in today’s post, particularly with respect to Facebook.

We in the United States don’t take privacy that seriously, especially in comparison to European countries. Perhaps the most intriguing analysis here comes from James Q. Whitman, a professor of comparative law at Yale. Whitman recently wrote a profound article addressing this very issue. In “The Two Western Cultures of Privacy: Dignity Versus Liberty” he writes that Americans value liberty while Europeans value dignity.

Well put.

Of course, not everyone in the US looks at privacy the same way that I look at VCR tapes: a relic of a bygone era. In fact, Facebook alternatives abound. Consider Diaspora, a very different type of social network – one that gives users a great deal of control over which data is shared.

As Jim writes in his post, one can certainly envision a day in which personal data brokers – and even data cleaners – thrive. Perhaps a critical mass of people will realize that oversharing is a problem. Think of the recent college grad who’s having a hard time finding a job because of some, er, compromising photos easily viewable by any recruiter. (Note to Millenials looking for a full-time gig. Recruiters go to social media sites early and often when assessing your “fit.”)

Simon Says

Let’s not demonize Facebook here. Facebook forces us to share nothing. We’re squarely in the social web and connecting with friends is certainly fun. I just question whether it’s the premise for such a lofty market valuation, especially if people get tired of being social.

Feedback

What say you?

Read Jim Harris’ recent blog post, “Is Social MDM Going the Wrong Way?“

Tags: Facebook, personal data, social MDM

2 Responses to “Facebook and the Future of Personal Data”

Loraine Lawson

Jul 12, 2012

I do think our sense of privacy will change in the future – although probably not with the Millenials. My child is 9 and is already very aware of Facebook – and she hates it. She hates that I post things she said or pictures. She’s mortified, even though it’s all among family and friends. She’s a very shy kid, so that’s probably a factor. I’ve heard her friends express great disgust as well. I think they’ll only become more angry that we’ve given their privacy away.

Then again, telling adorable but potentially embarrassing stories about children is one of the best part of being a parent.

Another interesting data point, to me, is that FB has become a rite-of-passage among my friend’s pre-teens. Most parents are hesitant to let their children join, so they usually set conditions and an age barrier. The kids will actually bargain for the right to be on FB.

But at the same time, I’ve noticed some of them are getting smarter about who they’ll friend. One child who is like a niece to me won’t friend “any adults,” except her parents, and that’s only because that was a condition of being allowed to use FB.

FB is an interesting phenomena in it’s own right, I think. We talk about social media, but no one’s bargaining over Twitter or LinkedIn. While I don’t like many, many things about FB, there really isn’t anything that competes with FB’s social media function AND platform functions. AND, it’s one of the few places where you see people of all generations. It’s a shame they have to worry about monetizing it, really.

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Peter Perera

Jul 15, 2012

On somewhat of a related note, you may want to read this article: “MDM’s Blind Spot: Social Networks” Check it out at http://bit.ly/vECuTu

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