Press

O’Brien: Kaliya Hamlin tackles our online identities by Chris O’Brien in the San Jose Mercury News, March 7th, 2012

On Tuesday, the World Economic Forum acknowledged Hamlin’s work in this area by announcing she was one of the 192 people from around the world selected for its Young Global Leaders program. The WEF is based in Switzerland, and is perhaps best known for organizing the annual Davos forum.

People like Hamlin interest me because they constitute what I think of as tech’s quiet influencers. Their power doesn’t flow from holding a big corporate title, but from their passion around a subject and their ability to persuade others through their writing, talks and research.

Web Chat: Protecting Online Privacy hosted by Allan A. Friedman, Fellow, Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution

 12:42 Comment From Robert E: Could stronger measures to protect data stifle innovation in the tech sector?

12:43 Allan Friedman: On some level, these rules could stop a firm from finding new ways to exploit consumer data. There’s no question about that, any more than other popular consumer protection laws such as automobile safety or drug testing can have that unintended effect. However, I would argue that finding ways to engage consumers while respecting their privacy and giving them control of their own data could create far more opportunities for innovation. For example, the “personal data ecosystem” movement aims to shift control of data to consumers, allowing more opportunities for people and firms to exploit the value of our digital lives

Your Virtual Self: Who Owns It and What’s It Worth? by Nick DeMartino at  TheWrap on Nov 14, 2011 via Reuters

Even larger forces are at work in the geek community to organize around individual control of data, for instance, the Personal Data Ecosystem, a consortium that is working on creating user-centric digital identity schemes, some of which were explored at the Internet Identity Workshop, convened last week.

Call It Your Online Driver’s License by Natasha Singer, September 17, 2011

Industry experts expect that each authentication technology would rely on at least two different ID confirmation methods. Those might include embedding an encryption chip in people’s phones, issuing smart cards or using one-time passwords or biometric identifiers like fingerprints to confirm substantial transactions. Banks already use two-factor authentication, confirming people’s identities when they open accounts and then issuing depositors with A.T.M. cards, says Kaliya Hamlin, an online identity expert known by the name of her Web site, Identity Woman.

Should We Monetize Personal Energy Consumption Data? by Christine Hertzog July 4, 2011 on the SmartData Collective

This energy consumption data may benefit from a new approach to the growing awareness of the value of personal data.  There’s an interesting organization called the Personal Data Ecosystem Consortium that promotes the idea that “individuals control their own data by enabling a thriving network of businesses around personal data stores and services.”  I like the idea of an ecosystem that lets me benefit from my data. After all, if it is valuable enough for grocery store chains to entice me to share it in exchange for cents off of items, then perhaps there are other ways I can gain value from my data. The same could be true for energy consumption data.  My energy consumption data could have value to utilities and to other companies that could offer me solutions that range from home energy audit services to more energy-efficient appliances.

Battle brewing over control of personal data online by Mike Swift, June 26, 2011. (quote pulled from the Fay Observer version)

That premise is about to be tested. A host of startups from Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C., are rushing to market with an array of online products that let individual users control or manipulate their personal data.

Meanwhile, the Personal Data Ecosystem Consortium, a Silicon Valley trade group founded in October, is working to nurture a food chain of Internet businesses that would embrace the premise that individuals should control their own data.

Où va la “quantification de soi” ? by Hubert Guillaud, Le Monde, June 3, 2011.

Elle qui promeut un écosystème des données personnelles a quand même trouvé un moment pour défendre sa vision dans laquelle les usagers contrôlent leurs données via des espaces de stockage personnels, plutôt que celui de leurlaisser accéder seulement à des applications dans lesquels les utilisateurs n’ont pas vraiment accès à leurs données, autrement que via des services web et des interfaces de programmation qui ont surtout pour fonction d’envoyer un peu de leurs données ailleurs (comme sur Twitter ou Facebook).

 Why the Online Identity & Data Ownership Debate Matters by Venessa Miemis, Emergent by Design, April 28, 2011

The issue with these things, moreso than that they are happening, is that we don’t have access to that data that we generate. Challenging this unfortunate reality was the big thrust that led to the formation of the Personal Data Ecosystem Consortium, a coalition of individuals and organizations who realize what’s at stake if we don’t reclaim the data that is ours.