by DAVID ZAX, Technology Review
What if Facebook paid you? Several startups envision an era in which we are all the brokers, and beneficiaries, of our own personal data. If you’re a Facebook user–and let’s face it, you are–you might figure that the price is right. “Free” has a nice ring to it, after all. You get a digital forum in which to interact with your friends and acquaintances, to share photos and notes, to poke and be poked–all for nothing. Zip. Nada. Sweet deal, right? How could it get any better? Well, you could be Mark Zuckerberg, who stands to earn $24 billion in Facebook’s upcoming IPO. But wait a second: since Facebook is free, how did Zuckerberg get so rich? You know the answer, of course: advertizing. Facebook owns your data, and is able to monetize that data spectacularly. You get to poke, and he gets to be a multi-billionaire. Fair trade, right?
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/helloworld/27377/?p1=blogs
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