论数据货币化的必然性

HOW TO MONETIZE YOUR DATA IN THE RIGHT WAY

如何以恰当的方式将数据货币化

编译：数据观|和璟祎 校对|黄玉叶

In the face of overwhelming evidence, consumers can no longer ignore the fact that major tech and social media companies engage in mass data harvesting and the selling of user information to third parties – one need only look to the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal (which impacted not only the users of a given app but their Facebook friends, too). The old adage stands – if it’s free, you are the product.

大量数据表明，消费者再也不能无视大型科技和社交媒体公司大规模收集数据并向第三方出售用户信息的事实 —— 我们只需要看看最近英国数据分析公司Cambridge Analytica 的丑闻就知道了(它不仅影响了特定应用的用户，也影响了他们的Facebook好友)。老话说得好：羊毛出在羊身上。

It’s a paradigm many have gotten used to over the past decade. The question is, are users getting value for their money? Given the fact that some of these companies are now sitting on piles of cash with billion-dollar valuations, it certainly seems that users have gotten the worse deal (Facebook’s Q1 reports indicate advertising revenue of almost $12 billion, while Alphabet, Google’s parent company, made over $26 billion). This is before factoring in the risks associated with security and data privacy which have come to light with the proliferation of data breaches (few will forget the Equifax breach of 2017 anytime soon, or the disastrous consequences following).

在过去的十年中，许多人已经习惯了这种模式。问题是，用户是否物有所值?尽管一些公司现在已经坐拥数十亿美元的估值，但对于用户来说，他们显然所获甚糟。(Facebook的第一季度财报显示广告收入接近120亿美元，而谷歌的母公司Alphabet则赚了超过260亿美元)。随着数据泄露事件的激增，安全性和数据隐私相关的风险已经暴露出来。 (很少有人会忘记2017年Equifax公司数据泄露事件和之而来的灾难性后果)。

It’s a difficult dilemma to defuse. On one hand, recent events have served as a wake-up call, to an extent, and individuals are increasingly wary of the seemingly nonchalant approach to the storage of their sensitive information. On the other, social media platforms and the likes have become an essential way of interacting with friends, family and even managing business communications.

这是一个难以化解的困境。一方面，近期的数据泄露事件在一定程度上为世人敲响了警钟，用户个人对这种敏感信息的存储方式从冷漠变得越发警惕。另一方面，社交媒体平台和“点赞”已经成为人们与朋友、家人、甚至业务管理沟通交流的重要方式。

It’s clear that data is the new oil that fuels the economy. This fact isn’t going to change anytime soon. What can be changed, however, is the way in which that data is stored, protected, and monetized. It’s crucial to the long-term viability of the burgeoning data economy that individuals maintain complete control over their own data.

显然，数据是为经济提供动力的新石油。这一事实不会轻易改变，然而，可以改变的是数据存储、数据保护和数据货币化的方式，个人对自己数据保持完全的控制——这对于蓬勃发展的数据经济长期生存至关重要。

The Value of Your Data

数据的价值

The figures referenced above regarding the revenue brought in by tech giants from advertising are staggering. It’s no secret that these sums are built on the arbitrage of vast amounts of personal and behavioural data. That these companies can make so much from their users should prompt a new consideration: how much should individuals whose data is being used be entitled to?

上文提到的关于科技巨头从广告中获得了惊人的收入。众所周知这些数字是建立在大量个人和行为数据的基础上套利。这些公司可以从他们的用户那里获利颇丰，那么，那些使用数据的用户应该享有多少权利?

Calculations of the exact figure vary hugely, ranging from as little as $0.20 to over $240 per year. Wherever the actual amount lands on the spectrum, it must be remembered that the figure would only reflect its value in the existing infrastructure. As a new data economy, based on blockchain and decentralized technologies gains ground, new business models for data syndication will emerge.

精确数字的计算差异很大，从每年0.20美元到240美元以上不等。无论频谱上的实际金额是多少，就必须记住，这个数字只反映了它在现有基础设施中的价值。随着基于区块链和分散技术的新兴数据经济崛起，新的数据联合商业模式将会出现。

Worth noting also is that the financial value of data should by no means be the only metric by which to assess its importance. After all, was a lack of financial reward behind people’s anger with Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data?

同样值得注意的是，数据的金融价值绝不应该是评估其重要性的唯一指标。毕竟，人们对Cambridge Analytica使用Facebook数据事件愤怒的背后，是否是缺乏经济回报还不得而知。

The idea of a multi-faceted approach to measuring the value of data should be adopted sooner rather than later, given the aforementioned risks concerning data breaches. The Equifax failure saw the data of 143 million people syphoned by hackers. Once again, this was a case of individuals being concerned about the ammo malicious actors now have, versus lack of financial compensation they would have been entitled to if the data was shared consensually.

考虑到上述数据泄露的风险，我们应该尽早采纳多面评估数据价值的方法。Equifax的数据泄露导致了1.43亿人的数据被黑客调用。再者，与缺乏经济补偿相比，这是一个用户关心的恶意行为，但如果这些数据是用户自愿共享的，他们则有权获得经济补偿。

The Starting Point: Data Privacy

起点：数据隐私

In considering the best way to ensure individuals can monetize their own data correctly, it’s wise to first consider how it’s currently stored, and who it’s controlled by. As mentioned, blockchain and decentralized technologies will play a crucial role in the new infrastructure, with decentralized data storage bringing vastly increased levels of security and privacy to the new data economy.

考虑到要确保用户能够恰当地将自己的数据货币化，明智之举是首先考虑当前如何存储它，以及它是由谁来控制。如前所述，区块链和分散技术将在新的基础设施中发挥关键作用，分散的数据存储将极大提高新兴数据经济的安全性和私密性。

The original, single system database model that the internet was built on has several sources of failure and a concerning lack of privacy. The current, centralised, cloud model mitigates the points of failure, to an extent, but still provides no privacy, as a string of high profile data breaches has shown.

互联网建立的原始单一系统数据库模型存在几个失败的来源和一个关于缺乏隐私的问题。当前集中化的云模型在一定程度上缓解了故障点，但仍然没有提供任何隐私泄露的解决方法，正如一系列高调的数据泄露事件所表露出来的那样。

Decentralised database storage not only eliminates points of failure, it also provides the highest levels of privacy and can scale efficiently. For personal data storage, that means a public/private key infrastructure that gives individuals full control over the lifecycle of their data, including where it is being used, for how long, any updates to it and its removal from any applications using it.

分散的数据库存储不仅消除了故障点，还提供了最高的隐私级别，并且可以有效扩展。对于个人数据存储来说，这意味着一个公钥/私钥基础设施，它可以让用户完全控制其数据的生命周期，包括使用地点、使用时间、它的任何更新，以及从任何使用它的应用程序中删除。

Such a change in the way personal data is stored and controlled could transform the possibilities of how it is utilised in innovative business models within the new data economy.

这种个人数据存储和控制方式的改变，可能会改变新兴数据经济中，如何在创新商业模式中利用它的可能性。

Data Syndication for Financial Reward

数据联合的经济奖励

From this foundation of personal data privacy, individuals will be empowered to share their data and receive financial compensation in return. Not only that, such an infrastructure would encourage new models for publishing platforms to be built that remunerate individuals for the part they play.

在个人数据隐私的基础上，用户有权分享他们的数据并获得经济补偿。不仅如此，这样的基础设施还会鼓励建立新的发布平台模式，为个人所做出的贡献提供报酬。

This system of data syndication and financial reward will be enabled by the token economics that goes hand in hand with decentralised networks. The exchange of digital tokens would not only ensure that individuals do not have to expose their personal data in exchange for services, but also that they could choose to only share specific subsets with specific groups.

这种数据联合和经济奖励的系统将通过与分散式网络密切相关的令牌经济来实现。数字代币的交换不仅可以确保个人不需要公开他们的个人数据以换取服务，而且他们还可以选择只与特定的组共享特定的子集。

To truly understand how to monetize data in the right way, it’s first essential to establish new ways for individuals to control it. Through decentralised database storage, they can take back that control and a new data economy based on responsible curation, storage and dissemination of data between individuals, companies and governments can be bootstrapped.

要真正理解如何以恰当的方式将数据货币化，首先必须建立个人控制数据的新方法。通过分散的数据库存储，他们可以收回控制权，并建立一个在个人、公司和政府之间基于负责管理、存储和传播数据的新兴数据经济。

注：《论数据货币化的必然性》来源于 Dataconomy (点击查看原文)。数据观编译/和璟祎，转载请注明译者和来源。

责任编辑：黄玉叶