It"s a startling idea: Instead of relying on regulators to protect our privacy against telemarketers, data miners and consumer companies, we should capitalize on the value of our personal information and get something in return. That is the idea put forward by John Deighton, a Harvard Business School professor, in a recent working paper titled "Market Solutions to Privacy Problems?" Just what would consumers get in return for their personal information? Money perhaps, or price discounts, better customer service, maybe products tailored specifically to their needs.
This newsposter thinks that, personally, I"m not sure that a few vouchers is recompence enough for a load more spam and solicitations from various companies. However, he does have a point when he says...The information that is gathered about you by stores, researchers and credit agencies belongs to those companies, not to you. They in turn resell that information to others. So if our personal information is such an asset, shouldn"t we benefit from our asset as well? Why shouldn"t intelligent consumers sell their identities to stores they trust? And wouldn"t those trusted stores in return be motivated to use that information wisely?