The Data and Commodification Conundrum

I think the most valuable type of data is the type that you can derive immediate insight from and that answers questions that help big companies succeed. The data that could do this would probably be the type that tells companies what you have a proclivity towards purchasing or using. Since I recently took the GRE, the example that first came to mind involves Princeton Review. This company could access data that yields which form of GRE review, the online class or the in-person class, better prepares a certain demographic. Perhaps they could show prospective Princeton Review students that if you are 30+ and taking a GRE review class, the online class has yielded more success than the in-person class for that particular demographic. This could be because somebody who is 30+ may have a full-time job and cannot fully dedicate enough time and attention to the in-person class as they could to an online class (where they can personally choose what study time works best around a hectic schedule). This kind of data would make the Princeton Review Company more successful in the long run because their students/customers could access these trends, use them to perform better on the GRE, and ultimately be very satisfied with their score and the company itself. If I could access this data, I would share any trends or patterns that could potentially help prospective GRE-takers so they could score successfully and not waste their money.

As for whether I think companies are justified in taking data for commodities, I think this is personally fine in most cases, as long as it doesn’t dramatically intrude on your day. If I had to take a long survey before watching a YouTube video, I would probably be pretty perturbed, but if it were a one-question quiz on identifying if you were male or female, I probably wouldn’t mind as much. This relates to our class exercise, as the physical intrusion of having to answer questions before taking a picture at the bell tower is much more bothersome than a quick questionnaire online. This could also be because how much value we assign to the commodity of the Internet, whereas if we had to give out data in person, we could simply find another commodity. I also think it is justified to exchange data for a commodity if the company is answering an important question. For example, it would be interesting to see the type of studying people do in busy areas verses quiet areas. Our group used PCJ as our commodity and was going to ask people what type of studying they were doing in this busy type of area. Perhaps companies could learn that students study for mathematic-oriented classes better in quieter areas and write papers better in busier areas, or vice versa. This could provide helpful study techniques for students.

I think that Facebook would yield the most data about me. This is due to all of the information I have provided on my profile, as well as the links/articles I click on from my newsfeed that give away tons of data like my age, my relationship status, whether I am in college, my gender, and even my hobbies. Articles that I have clicked on with titles like “How to spend less than 15 dollars for a week of food at the grocery store,” could imply my socioeconomic status. My data could be valuable to companies because they could see how my socioeconomic status, age, or gender affect what kind of restaurants I would be most likely to eat at, or what kind of retail items I would typically shop for. Those companies could then advertise themselves to me and other people with similar demographics.