by Angela Guess
A new type of data management company, Personal, is betting that if consumers have more control over their own information, they’ll be more willing to share that information with companies that they believe can deliver value to them. The article states, “Every marketer knows that consumer data can fetch a good price. But an emerging class of companies and services is offering tools that return to people control of their own online information. In some cases, they even plan to let users exchange their data for better deals and services.
The article continues, “Launched in private beta this year, Personal gives users so-called ‘private data vaults’ to let them store a range of information from social networking activity to credit card transactions to travel itineraries and more. Much like the financial management site Mint.com, once users provide the credentials for different online services, Personal imports a copy of the data.”
It adds, “The site organizes the data in category-specific, encrypted “gems,” which let people easily search their own information or grant permission to share it with others. For example, a user could privately share recent baby-related purchases with a sister or ask a friend for a dogsitter’s phone number. Eventually, he says, Personal could serve as a marketplace that lets consumers and marketers trade data for a wide variety of deals. Another startup, Singly, takes a slightly different approach with its Locker Project. Instead of offering a full data management service, it’s creating an open-source platform of secure digital data lockers… Even big companies like credit-reporting giant Experian are moving in the same direction. In May, Experian bought myID.com, an identity management tool that helps users monitor their digital footprint and build an online profile of their private data.”
photo credit: Personal
