Take my data and I'll take your money
Your data is extremely valuable to public and private sector organizations. Wouldn't it be nice to finally get paid for it?
Amazon recently made headlines when they announced a new program that will pay $2 a month to watch where you go and what you see around the internet. “Your participation will help brands offer better products and make Amazon ads more relevant.” That’s a gentle way of saying “help us sell you what you want to buy.”
The high level concept is nothing new. Long before the internet, brands would spend large sums of money researching consumers, trying to figure out anything and everything about buyer personas. They’d have limited-time offers, referral programs, and plain old surveys with coupons attached. You might say advertising agencies had teams of real-life algorithm engineers. Advertisers have always been heavily motivated to understand you, because the more a retailer can predict consumer behavior, the more likely they are to increase sales.
Makes sense, right? Consumers don’t complain about this sort of research, because those Amazon “customer also bought” suggestions are amazingly good at knowing what else I’d probably add to my cart.
It’s hard to fathom the amount of money Amazon pockets each year. Their revenue has continued to rise even through the pandemic. How much can half a trillion dollars a year buy? I don't know—a lot.
Why would urbanists care about selling data?
Metropolitan Planning Organizations would love to know where you live, where you shop, where you work, and all the streets and sidewalks and alleyways you used to get from here to there. Part of their role as regional planners is to prioritize funding for bike lanes, vanpools, intersection modifications, and so on. Transportation and public works departments would have similar interests.
Consumers getting paid for their data does have a huge upside for travelers and public agencies. One of the many applications is "zero dollar transportation." I’ve written about this before, but here are a couple of situations where a form of exchanging data-for-cash could apply to 21st century mobility.
Scenario #1 - Personal Automobile
A private auto dealership offers a data exchange program that features a la carte menus for someone in the market for a personal vehicle.
A customer buys a new car for $40,000 and nobody tracks any of the data from sensors throughout the car. The vehicle is off the grid, besides registration and inspection stickers.
A second customer buys an identical car, but opts to reduce the price to $20,000 by agreeing to certain tiers of data being tracked (weather, mileage, and condition of tires, brakes, and shocks).
A third customer buys the same car as the other two, but reduces the price to zero dollars by allowing all vehicle data to be tracked, including occupancy and location.
Scenario #2 - Access to a Library of Transportation Options
A public agency manages a digital platform where a traveler can plan, reserve, and pay for trips on a single platform (mobility-as-a-service). Customers have access to multiple brands, vehicle types, and subscription options available all in one simple place.
A customer selects a $300 monthly subscription that gives access to the train, bus, bicycles, and cars. They happen to own a personal car, but they no longer need three.
A second customer opts for the "free" transportation package by exchanging access to personal data.
Like the personal vehicle, a MaaS scenario would have multiple data tiers. Some MaaS platforms could be public, while others are operated by private organizations (like WeChat or Twitter).
“This makes me nervous.”
Surveillance has been a major threat to privacy since 9/11, let alone the privileges we freely give to internet companies and app developers. We forget the (at the time) shocking revelations by Edward Snowden, Wikileaks, and others. Of course data privacy and security is a major issue.
Do you use any Microsoft, Google, or Meta products? Look at the terms and conditions of the apps on your phone if you need a shock to the system about the permissions given without any compensation to you.
I gave a MaaS presentation in mid-2020, describing the dangerous overreach by the Chinese government. Since they track everything, the Authority was able to quickly prevent any real or perceived disobedient citizens from traveling to work, school, or the market. I’m not hand-waving the value of data. It is extremely valuable to both private corporations and public agencies. Wouldn't it be nice if you were paid for it?
“This gets me excited.”
I don’t know what fair compensation would be for a program like Amazon. I do know data-for-cash is a worthwhile conversation, especially for people willing to explore creative ways to offset costs of goods and services.
Here’s a homework assignment. Go for a 15-minute walk and let your mind wander on the zero dollar transportation. Think about different ways that you buy bundled packages or services, where some of the perks aren’t paid directly by you.
I bet you’ll be surprised at the number of scenarios you’ll come up with that could be adapted to 21st century mobility.