Data, Data Everywhere….

• November 30, 2022
• Nicki Gerrard
• no comments

Have you ever heard the poem with the words, “Water, water, everywhere, nor any a drop to drink”? If Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner‘, was written today, it’s likely he’d be writing about data. His ubiquitous line would read, “Data, data everywhere, we are surrounded by it”!

Since everything we do creates data, and how we live depends on it. Yet, do we humans, the people actually creating this data, really benefit from it?

Clearly, we do in many ways. Imagine living without data…it wouldn’t be the world we know today, that’s for sure!

Our human data is in constant use, but I’d wager it’s being used by businesses more than being used by you, the person who actually created it! Doesn’t seem quite right, does it?

Democratising data

CitizenMe is here to democratise data and help ensure that the humans who are creating these daily oceans of data can actually benefit from it – both individually and collectively.

The first thing to understand is the principle of how this can all happen – Zero Party Data. In short, this means that CitizenMe holds no data on Citizens who use the platform…nothing, nada, zilch!

The data that Citizens compile on themselves – we call it ‘MeData’ – stays on the individual’s mobile device or personal cloud, never with us.

CitizenMe has no data centres, no warehouses filled with servers, and the app has no cookies; none of the usual ways we’ve come to understand how our data is collected or stored.

Your data stays with you – period!

As a Citizen builds up their MeData, their experience becomes ever more bespoke to them as an individual.

Here’s a really simple example: if you update your MeData to register that you LOVE chocolate, then the following may well happen –

• Paid surveys from chocolate manufacturers become unlocked
• You can answer ‘donate’ surveys from charities supporting cocoa farmers
• You receive fun quizzes about the history of chocolate
• Coupons for chocolate bar discounts are sent directly to you
• You are invited to join a Chocolate Lovers Collective where you can be truly understood by all the other chocolate lovers in the world!

Image credit: Tamas Pap

Now, imagine doing that for all the things you love, hate, need, prefer, or dislike….
All those tiny little details that make you completely unique.
All those tiny little details that only you really know, layered and multiplied up in one place where you are in complete control and only you have access to.

This is your Digital Mirror and only you can see your full reflection.

When you use CitizenMe, you can choose who you would like to share this data with…or not, as the case may be.

You get to see all your personal human data in one place, and YOU are in control of how that data is actually used.

Keeping your information private

Here’s the best bit!… Zero Party Data means everything is anonymous!

Before you engage with anything on CitizenMe, we’ll let you know: the data which will be collected if you participate; at which point you can choose to continue; or maybe you decide otherwise.
The choice is completely yours to make but you are safe in the knowledge that, should you choose to share your data, that exchange is done so with complete anonymity.

And this is the absolute beauty of Zero Party Data; it really does protect the privacy of the user.
It enables Citizens to control who, how, and why they may wish to consent to share data about themselves…rather than having their data lurking on a far-off server somewhere or their data being scraped without their knowledge.

CitizenMe exists to democratise the way data is used, and one of the ways we do this is by giving Citizens the ability to understand more about themselves as individuals through insights.
If you want to understand more about your personality type, wish to know which careers you might be best suited to, or even understand more about the data you collect from a fitness wearable, we have insights to help weave all your unique information together.

Image Credit: Aleksandr Gorin

Human data has real value in many ways but, currently, it’s only businesses that have the means and expertise to translate this data into something tangible and, in turn, be profitable for them.
Does this seem fair to you?

With the CitizenMe app, by flipping the control of that data to the Citizen, suddenly there’s a method of data management that not only protects the individual, but also allows businesses to contact exactly who they want, with pinpoint accuracy, and you, as the owner of that data, are rewarded for sharing particular threads from your life.

Businesses put together a request of the kinds of people they would like to engage with through our app. They then release surveys that appear in the feed of those who meet their criteria. This makes for a more enjoyable experience for you, the Citizen, because the content relates to you specifically, and businesses benefit because they know their surveys are going to precisely the people they want to engage with. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Data for good

CitizenMe believes that data used in an ethical way is hugely positive for all humans, so Citizens can donate data to the causes that are important to them.

Imagine being able to push forward understanding of a debilitating medical condition, supporting research into discrimination, or maybe helping with mental illness at the touch of a button.
The concept of supporting this kind of research by providing information about yourself is not new. Current methods, however, require time, effort, and motivation on the part of the individual to complete what are often very lengthy questionnaires. And all of this is only possible if those conducting the research are able to find willing participants in the first place.

CitizenMe solves these problems. CitizenMe’s App is set up so you can donate data quickly and simply to the causes that are important to you, safe in the knowledge that sharing your information anonymously can help make society a better place.

Your human data is valuable and deserves to be respected and protected.

Most of all, as it’s YOUR data, you should be fully in control of its use.

That is what CitizenMe is here for.