Brainstorming TLP Core Values
I’ve been wanting to share the core values that both inspired the founding of the Locker Project last year and that are driving me so passionately to advance it, but it’s been challenging to summarize such things.
The first and most central value is that of personal data ownership. That may not mean much to most people, but let me try an analogy: it’s been tried often in the past to create micro economies where you get paid by an employer in company “credits” that are useful only at the company store, you never really owned your paycheck/money. I feel like that’s the world that we’ve fallen into when it comes to our personal data, and anything we can do to have more ownership over our data will free us to create a more vibrant digital economy.
Now, it’s not enough to simply own (or at least have a copy of) your data, it has to be useful to you. That’s the second core value, the ability to get immediate and direct personal value out of your data. It’s yours, you should be the first and primary beneficiary of it, and you’ll need an open platform and great tools in order to do that.
My third core value builds on the first two and is the very fabric and definition of (digital) freedom. Everyone must have the capability to both share (or not share!) their data and the right to make those sharing decisions without bias. This one is difficult to summarize but it’s central to any society, that individuals can connect independently and are free to decide to share things between them without any oversight or gatekeepers.
My first attempt to simplify these into three statements a while back was this:
- We believe you should have the ability to make a copy of your data
- We believe your personal data should be always available and most useful to you
- We believe that you should have have the freedom to share your data however you want
They weren’t quite right, and the “We” felt like it created a separation, so I refined them further, here’s my current core values draft:
- I own my personal data
- I want my data to be useful to me
- I make the decisions to protect or share my data
Possibly a bit too far simplified, but they’re a work in progress. I wanted to openly share them with everyone for feedback as well as give some background on my personal drive in building this platform.
Devon is discussing. 
Devon 9:17 pm on May 16, 2011 Permalink |
This is my breakdown of your core values:I = Sovereign IDentity (I)I = Legal Structured Asset (OWN)Data = relational to I on per transaction basis (Data Value)I think you are on the mark in all regards.Its the proper definition of ‘I’ on universal Terms that is holding us back. Without it, ‘you’ and ‘me’ are distinctly un-relational, and data is managed in unpredictable ways with a loss of transactional efficiency.You can define and trust ‘I’ for you. But you can not service ‘I’ for me on those same Terms presently. Without I & I being systemically equal, their is loss in the system caused by the distortion which is being leveraged against I’s everywhere…all the time.
Miten Sampat 12:21 am on May 17, 2011 Permalink |
Thanks for starting this effort Jeremie, it is too important a problem not to try
the three pillars of your thinking are spot on. at the same time, in protecting ones data, it is important to realize the tremendous value each of the platforms give you (in terms of content, services, and personalization).the right answer here will ensure a balance between the need for services to leverage “aggregated data” generated by consumers to make their services better; and one that allows consumers a mechanism to transact specific data on a case by case basis and enforce their rights when they want.fascinating times. PS: i look forward to seeing you at PII 2011
Francis Fallon 11:47 am on May 17, 2011 Permalink |
The only thing that I would add is, and maybe this seems inherent already but, words are powerful-I want MY data to be MOST useful to MEor,I want to HARNESS my dataTo me at least, it’s more than just about ownership and control – it’s about ACTIVE empowering. Leveraging data should do more to benefit each of us than any one else. In my opinion, it’s about being in the drivers seat with my foot on the pedal and my hands at 10 and 2, not just owning the car or the keys.Jeremie, I am not a computer guy- just an advertising strategist very passionate about this cause.When the time comes that you need help getting word out there about this, I would love to champion this cause and join your team should you ever need a loud mouth.Thanks.
quartzjer 12:14 am on May 19, 2011 Permalink |
Thanks for the great feedback from everyone, it’s so exciting to know that many others feel the same urgency and dedication around this kind of model