These days, people are giving up volumes of personal data to Big Data collectors in exchange for free email,free social media, and free varmint hunting videos.

As one author has said, it is sort of like Native Americans selling Manhattan for beads. They thought it was a good deal, since as hunter gatherers they believed nobody owned it anyway. They had no idea what they were dealing with.

I think people believe that their personal data is metaphysically only theirs and nobody else’s.

But I have a suspicion someday data collection will be so important to the data harvesters, that it will be practically, if not legally, impossible to be off the network. If your data is not out there, you won’t be able to get a job, get medical insurance, etc.

Sort of like if you don’t have good credit you can’t get a car loan or take out a mortgage.

Shouldn’t people be a little more cautious? At least make Big Data pay you for your data rather than give it away for nothing.