What is your data worth?

[Deleted]

Found the article in USA Today interesting.  www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/07/14/facebook-twitter-how-much-data-worth/39677311/

I like the idea of a bill that allows more control from users over our data.  I laugh at the user being able to delete themselves (clearly shows that our politicians don't understand computers at all).  Yes you can delete something from a current database, but that data never dies, there are back-ups that likely follow at least a 5 year retention policy and may include several different types of media, so deleting yourself today doesn't get rid of that data for a long, long time. 

As for the what is your data worth;  I'm curious what you all think your data is worth to these companies?

I'll start:  Facebooks revenue was $16.9 billion, $6.9 billion in profit and claims to have 1.7 billion active mobile users.

So that complex calculation they claim these companies can't do, isn't hard.  $16.9/1.7 = $9.94/yr, or $6.9/1.7 = $4.05/yr.  Now "active" is a word that we already know Facebook inflates, so I'm likely part of that number (as 1.7 billion users is also large considering there is only 7 billion world population and we know places like China aren't big Facebook users).  I can tell you that Facebook isn't making $10/yr or even $4/yr from selling my data, I don't post and have minimal data I have given them.

No for Google, they are probably getting ~$100-200/yr in revenue from someone like me and probably in that $50-75/yr profit range.  That matches very close to what I would have to pay for the services I get for "Free" from them (i.e. data storage, mapping services, etc.).  

Ironically, lots of this data collection has been companies trying to figure out what data is worth something.  Even google is realizing that the last 18 months is what is important (everyone has just been hording data, just in case their new AI algorithm needs something).  But in reality, the data that is valuable is being able to determine you are shopping for a new car and then allowing advertising to match what you might buy (i.e. Toyota wants to make sure you consider and know about their model).  Really this is like Walmart, the sale price of each transaction is low, it is the volume that makes it so profitable.

My data, no more than $500/yr across all these companies, likely more in $250/yr.  

[tskeeter]

From a business valuation standpoint, many businesses sell for three to four times sales.  So, using your Facebook example, I’d say that the value of an individual’s Facebook data is about $16.  Now multiply the $16 by the thousands of organizations that have data about you.  Everyone from the DMV to the last charity you made a donation to.

I think that the key today is that data is pretty cheap to collect, store, analyze, and distribute as compared to what it took years ago.  Think about an organization such as the post office 70 years ago.  Manually going through all of the letters it handled looking for references to purchasing a new car so that the post office could compile a list of potential car buyers that the post office would sell to auto manufacturers.  Such a process would be too expensive do manually.

My post office example does dramatize the issue of privacy.  Would we accept the post office opening all of our mail, reading it, and then selling information that it has gathered about us?  Why do we accept the Facebooks of the world doing the same thing?  Simply because they justify their practices as necessary to improve “the experience” their users enjoy?

[Deleted]

Jul 14, 2019 14:39:48 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

 Would we accept the post office opening all of our mail, reading it, and then selling information that it has gathered about us?  Simply because they justify their practices as necessary to improve “the experience” their users enjoy?

We do, how do you think direct mailing works.  While they didn't open your letter (google actually quit reading your e-mails I think I read) the post office collects huges amount of data for direct mailing.  Notice how so many data sets are sorted by zip code.  Remember when they added the extra -XXXX digits, it was about faster computer routing, but I think it was more about demographics for direct mailing since if you never used it your mail still arrived.  

Why do we accept the Facebooks of the world doing the same thing?

I don't for Facebook, thus why I really don't use it/give it any data (or lie).  Only have an account as some party invites are via it.  Google has been different I will say letting it track you does help (like I never see McDonalds in my restaurant searches even when they are the closest place).  At least in Google's case I see how the data is at least  helping me, even though I realize I'm the product.

[NoNamePerson]

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