This question came up in the MIT article we recently discussed. It’s a very good question, as the nature of data has a lot to say about how we should treat it and what sort of policies and practices should govern it. Let’s look at a few ideas on the nature of data.
One obvious analogy is to liken data to oil, or most any natural resource. Just as oil or copper needs to be drawn out of the earth, data needs to be drawn from its natural environment in the digital world. Yet, just because the data has been mined, it is still no more useful than unrefined oil. To have its potential unlocked, it has be processed. Oil when refined can be used as gas, plastics, and any number of other products. Data, when refined can help you determine business practices, how to develop your next product, or how to market an existing one.
That seems like a pretty good analogy, but is it complete?
Let’s take a look at another. Weather is a potential analog. How so? It is something that we often can only react to, it simply does what it does with no regard to anything but the laws of nature. Data is similar in some ways. It simply is what it is. In its raw form it merely reflects the way things behave. Often, we can’t do much to direct it, and can only react. This analogy isn’t as strong since we can do a much better job of manipulating data than we can the weather. Yet, it does reflect the perspective of the average person who doesn’t know a lot about data and how it can be used. Once the talking heads start spouting numbers, most people will feel like they just got hit by a hurricane.
Let’s do one more, this time comparing data to a tool. A tool is something that is neutral. It was made for a specific purpose but could be used for many. A hammer can be used to build a house or it can be a murder weapon. Likewise, data in itself is neutral. It can be used to help us understand the world better and to improve our lives and those of others, or it can be used to manipulate and control.
This is a little better than the weather analogy, but still is only somewhat complete. What is it missing? The same thing all of these analogies are missing – the human element. Every piece of data represents something that was generated directly by a person, by machinery built by people, or that can be used to affect the life of another person.
Social data in particular has a significant human element. This is the data we generate online, when we travel, when we use our credit cards to make a purchase. It’s all the data that reflects our lives, our daily interactions with others, the choices we make and even the desires that drive them.
What then is the nature of data, or at least of social data? Its nature is an expression of our humanity. It’s an archive of our lives. So, how should we treat it? We need to treat it with far greater care than a tool, or a natural resource, and more respect than we do the weather. We need to recognize that these are not mere ones and zeroes connected to be exploited and manipulated in whatever way seems convenient. Data is something that reveals a great deal about people and how we choose to live our lives. That’s why TARTLE is committed to putting the power of their data back in the hands of the people who generate it, to give control back to the individual. In that way, people can again have a say in how others view them and their choices, or if they even get to view them at all. With enough support, we can get the corporations to realize that behind all that data, is a person.
What’s your data worth?
