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People think that their data is worth something, that it is their content on Facebook, Instagram and the like that holds value - it is true - *for a few.* For the most part though, the content that most of us put onto the platforms is largely valueless. What has value however are the relationships we have, the connections between who we are as it is these that are leveraged, these are the roads by which information is disseminated.

Imagine you get a bill from the telephone company and you are sure you have already paid it, who do you contact? well, probably not your mechanic, but if you did and asked them - they would direct you to call your phone provider. When you want to buy bread,  you don't go to your mechanic either. You go to a place you suspect you can get what you are looking for, don't you?

https://i.imgur.com/vErWYbp.png

Google knows who you are - that is what they created Gmail for, to be able to connect you to an account, to a life - what you have they may need or want. Oh, you don't use Gmail? But have you ever sent an email to someone who does someone that channels their email to it? Yeah - they know who you are. Whatsapp end-to-end encryption? Sure, but it is bound to a registered phone number and that decryption takes place on phones that they know the owners of, they know who you talk to, they know your network, they know what you and your network talk about on Facebook, they know all you share, they know where every little piece of digital data you send comes from and where it goes. 

It is the connection that has value, and every piece of data gives them a foot in the door, a handshake to build a relationship with whom you already have a relationship, your friends, your family, your colleagues and your secret lover. While you think you are hidden, they know all and use that knowledge to find the perfect present for your partner, suggest a new game to your children, tailor a feed for your best friend. They don't care what you post, other than the metadata level of it that allows them to crawl your network for opportunities to exploit, ins for their clients - companies and campaigners of all kinds. 

What all of our interaction creates is an immense network of relationships that can pinpoint who we are, where we are, what we like and - *how we like it.* From there, it is a short skip to creating algorithms that detect our patterns, identify clusters and then push information out to where it is most influential to those who are most likely to accept it in, and be grateful for how handy all the technology is, how easy to use, how practical. It all holds so much utility that it is just too compelling not to use. 

And because it is so useful, we give our relationships up for free and even if we don't use Google, their APIs are everywhere, silently building a profile of who we are -  A digital avatar that keeps collecting informational mass that can be leveraged in multiple ways - a Cupie doll representation of us that is willingly or unwillingly open to suggestion. 

Just like you don't phone your mechanic to talk to your telephone company, what these data centers are able to do is contact the places that are likely to have what they look for. What are they looking for? Generally, *a customer.* A customer for something - they don't care much what is being bought and sold as all they manage are introductions, handshakes among previously unknown points to create a connection and a potential relationship between buyer and seller. Playing matchmaker is a lucrative business. Billions and *trillions* worth. 

We handout this information for free continuously, even when we know what is happening behind the curtain because, it is so convenient to do so, and inconvenient to avoid. And, we own none of it as we own none of the networks they roll upon, they collect from, they channel through. Your data is not yours on the internet, but it is owned and it is valuable because that picture of your lunch liked by 5 friends can have its network leveraged, that like on a picture of your dog can trigger a flurry of data flows into action. 

For those of you on Facebook, how many friends do you have there and - do you see *all* of their posts? No, how come, who chooses which updates you get to see and which you don't? You? at any point there are probably thousands of bits of information they could show you but, that feed has been *curated* to provide a view that "something" believes you want to see - *or is it what it wants you to see?*

Relationships and network are the things that have value and the more connections it generates, the more precise the algorithms can hone in and adjust to produce expected outcomes, even if on the surface we believe it is chance and the decisions are ours. Perhaps this is the problem, we have learned to be security ,conscious, to hide away and because of this, our data can be leveraged by a narrow few who hold the collection reigns, those who truly know everything about us, all of our habits and secrets. What happens if all of our digital Cupie doll avatars become public? 

Do they go up in value or down? I don't know but when it comes to networks in general, users pay, owners earn. What I think is happening is that blockchain communities are forming in ways that make the relationships more accessible to more people and that means that through transparency, there is less digital scarcity and perhaps eventually, selling our relationship data is less valuable but creating content becomes more so. At this point, rather than mere cows asked to eat so as to be milked, we become creators who offer what we know and the skills we hold for a price and what we earn, we own so that we can provide value to others we appreciate. 

At the moment though, who we know is more important than what we know because what we know is of very little interest to most people in the world, but who we know connects everyone and likely digitally, there are far fewer steps than 6 degrees of separation. They will have you believe you are without value, but you are their key in to the unreachable, the invisible, the personal.  

These are interesting times on so many fronts and like it or not, we are all participating toward an outcome.

 Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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