Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
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Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#2TLDR: companies will likely shaft you as the market value for your individual dataset isn't that much, companies derive value by aggregating data over a large number of consumers.
Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#3TLDR: companies will likely shaft you as the market value for your individual dataset isn't that much, companies derive value by aggregating data over a large number of consumers.
How are you getting shafted if your individual dataset isn't worth that much?
Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#4I was thinking about a related idea recently - how much is my grocery information privacy worth for me? Summed up, I'm currently saving just over 11% on all the groceries + ~7% on fuel cost by sharing that information with 5 companies. (car insurance, CC, shop card, honey, airline)
I'm not attached to this, I'd rather the programs like this get destroyed. But also by stacking the offers, I believe I'm getting more value here than they do.
So for now I'm cool with this exchange. Would others put the privacy/money break-even somewhere else? (This is assuming reasonable shopping - I make a full list before starting to order a pickup, I rarely actually go through a shop, so there's no upsell here)
Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#5TLDR: companies will likely shaft you as the market value for your individual dataset isn't that much, companies derive value by aggregating data over a large number of consumers.
How are you getting shafted if your individual dataset isn't worth that much?
The only reason I'll pay you a dollar for your data is that I'll make 2 dollars selling you shit you wouldn't have bought otherwise using it. And for me to make 2 dollars, you need to buy 20 dollars worth of shit. Shit you didn't actually want or need.
Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#6TLDR: companies will likely shaft you as the market value for your individual dataset isn't that much, companies derive value by aggregating data over a large number of consumers.
How are you getting shafted if your individual dataset isn't worth that much?
It's an externality. The harm to you and society from being tracked and data-mined is worse than the profit that companies make from that data. Even if they paid you all their profit it's still bad. And in reality they would find a way to pay even less than that.
Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
How are you getting shafted if your individual dataset isn't worth that much?
The only reason I'll pay you a dollar for your data is that I'll make 2 dollars selling you shit you wouldn't have bought otherwise using it. And for me to make 2 dollars, you need to buy 20 dollars worth of shit. Shit you didn't actually want or need.
If I sell my data for a dollar and subsequently ensure I only buy what I need, am I ahead?
Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
How are you getting shafted if your individual dataset isn't worth that much?
The only reason I'll pay you a dollar for your data is that I'll make 2 dollars selling you shit you wouldn't have bought otherwise using it. And for me to make 2 dollars, you need to buy 20 dollars worth of shit. Shit you didn't actually want or need.
Very cynical take assuming retail is zero-sum. It could also be helping you find the products you need at an opportune time, increasing the value for all parties. Or based on purchase patterns, they're able to stock inventory more accurately based on predicted purchases, and save on storage and transport.
Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only reason I'll pay you a dollar for your data is that I'll make 2 dollars selling you shit you wouldn't have bought otherwise using it. And for me to make 2 dollars, you need to buy 20 dollars worth of shit. Shit you didn't actually want or need.
If I sell my data for a dollar and subsequently ensure I only buy what I need, am I ahead?
That's a fine question. I don't know you. You might well be impervious to advertising. And if so, you'll gain a dollar.
But I know the average person is NOT impervious to advertising. Quite the opposite, since ww2 billion dollar companies have risen based entirely on the fact most people are very susceptible to advertising. And every year, advertising gets smarter, more specific, more common, more aggressive, more tailored etc.
So you'll have to ask yourself: are you smarter than the average bear?
Or rather, are you smarter than Googles billion dollar bear hunting machine designed to catch bears that are too smart to be caught by any other bear catching machine? And are you smarter than it is, even though you gave it all your data for a dollar? And instead of a dollar, you settled for free email and tailored autoprediction to save you typing...
Sometimes the smartest thing to do is admit you're not THAT smart. I know I'm not.
Re: Why Getting Paid for Your Data Is a Bad Deal
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only reason I'll pay you a dollar for your data is that I'll make 2 dollars selling you shit you wouldn't have bought otherwise using it. And for me to make 2 dollars, you need to buy 20 dollars worth of shit. Shit you didn't actually want or need.
Very cynical take assuming retail is zero-sum. It could also be helping you find the products you need at an opportune time, increasing the value for all parties. Or based on purchase patterns, they're able to stock inventory more accurately based on predicted purchases, and save on storage and transport.
That's fair. But how much of advertising actually informs you of a new and useful product? Vs how much just tries to upsell you, convince you you want something you didn't want 5 minutes ago, or push brands that add nothing substancice?
I know I'm a cynical uni bomber type, I don't expect anyone to 100% agree or for adverts to disappear. But dwhen was the last time an advert actually informed you of a product you didn't know about and would have been interested in buying if it weren't advertised to make it so?
Most modern advertising is a less than zero sum game for the consumer.