Your Personal Data Will Soon Be Yours
By
Mark Cameron
Developing a customer focused strategy and evolving an entire digital customer experience journey is becoming essential for the profitability and even survival of many businesses. But they need to be aware of how public opinion is shifting in respect to online privacy and personal data utilization. This is why the developments in personal cloud technology and movements such as Vendor Relationship Management (VRM), championed by the legendary Internet commentator Doc Searls, are so interesting.
At the heart of the personal cloud movement is the concept that all of the data that you and I create as we go about our daily lives is actually our property. Currently, the consumer has no ownership and usually no visibility over this information. The personal cloud is a place where people can aggregate, curate and utilize that data. It is a place on the Internet they can truly call their own. Unlike cloud storage facilities such as DropBox, the personal cloud is more like a virtual computer created to manage an individual’s online life. I recently spoke to Joe Pine, the author of the Experience Economy and a TED presenter. We discussed the personal cloud movement and he commented that, “People no longer want ads targeted at them. Companies need to use the information they gain from individual consumers to benefit those same consumers.”
Sitting at the forefront of the personal cloud movement is Dr. Phil Windley, based out of Utah. He has developed a personal cloud operating system, CloudOS, that allows these concepts to come into existence. He has developed technology from the ground up to give consumers the ability to store and use their own data. It is the Internet of things with yourself at the center.
Personal clouds give the consumer autonomy and power in the “data exchange” relationship. And that is of vital importance for business leaders. Adopting this technology, understanding the philosophy behind it, and becoming comfortable with using the technology to develop a relationship with customers, changes the current paradigm. The customer’s data is no longer the source of value to businesses that adopt this paradigm. What matters instead is their willingness to allow a relationship to develop.
This is a very different world from the data driven marketing one, currently dominated by Google and Facebook. It redirects the investment that many brands have made into data driven “surveillance” style marketing (much of which had done more long term harm than good) towards customer relationships. In this world, commercial dominance is not gained through control and manipulation. Instead, the most valuable asset is the trust and respect of your market. In this environment, goodwill can be quantified and valued. It puts pressure on companies to spend less on “interruption” marketing and focus instead on delivering digital services that provide real value.
Technology naturally plays an important part in this market transformation, but while personal clouds seem like a likely catalyst for change, putting technology first is usually a mistake. It is more important to develop a strategic approach that will allow your business to innovate and take advantage of these technologies as they mature. To quote Joe Pine again, “Consumers are becoming orchestrators of their own experience, determining what to do when, and personal clouds are making that happen.” A well designed and managed customer experience builds trust. Getting this right will be a top strategic priority for many companies in the coming months.
Yet again, technology is generating a market shift and it is giving more power to the individual. Like every technology that has evolved to directly benefit consumers when the time is right, it will be adopted quickly. The rapid rise of social media saw some organizations taken by surprise. The same will happen in the case of personal clouds. Which camp will your company fall into?
Mark Cameron is CEO and lead strategist of social media conversion and commercialization agency Working Three. While his agency is based in Melbourne, Australia, he works for some of the world’s most innovative and forward-thinking brands. As a regular speaker and writer on social media and digital strategy, Mark stays focused on customers and outcomes, not the technology, leading to simple strategic conclusions.
