Food for thought

I read this article from the bbc and it started me thinking of how maybe individuals can start to profit from their personal data.

Currently individuals do not profit from the sale of their personal data, but can we see a future where they could?  Potentially not only could they profit but they could also have some management and control over who they sign up with and what they sign up for.

This leads me to wondering whether there is a gap for a “self-management” list broker where individuals can sign up with their details/preferences and receive email notifications for upcoming campaigns they may like to opt in to/out of.   The individuals would personally receive part of the rental revenue so the more they sign up for the more they earn.

This could promote DM on the whole as sales literature would have a value to the person receiving it.  Currently, social media sites such as Facebook are ideally placed to implement such a system, as they hold a wealth of personal data but perhaps the gap is currently there for a list broking company to implement such a system before Facebook get chance!  Maybe such a system could be developed in tandem with Facebook, or alternatively a 3rd party application which runs over Facebook.

Imagine the advertisement for the Facebook app where you can “earn money as you use Facebook”.  Surely this would be a win-win situation, as we all get to access a contactable list of people who have actively opted-in to a campaign, and the individuals are happy to receive DM literature as they have a vested interest in receiving it. 

Food for thought indeed!
 
Christian Worseley - Database Architect