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0 pointsbrudgers14y ago0 comments

>"unless"

You, me and The Lorax all agree its possible.

We just hold different opinions regarding under what conditions it is likely to occur. Google or Facebook's proprietary access to the data they have collected only makes strategic sense so long as there is strategic value in exclusivity. Given that there already are a variety of ordinary existing circumstances in which exclusivity is not strategic - e.g. subpoena - the argument that it is only in extraordinary business circumstances that the data might be sold needs a stronger case made in its favor.

We are not talking about a few million dollars, but several billion or more. Just look at patent portfolios for a parallel way in which the market may suddenly revalue intangible assets. Particularly consider the case of Nortel and if Facebook could experience a similar demise over the next twenty years. Even if Facebook stopped collecting data today, most of it would still shed light on living people.

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jbooth14y ago· 2 in thread

I'm saying it's very low on the list of possibilities. Most of the data is of transient value (browser cookies last around 30 days on average). If Google is whittled down to a shell of its former self, to the point where they'd consider selling that data, presumably what data they have at that point isn't really that valuable.

brudgersOP14y ago

On the one hand, I find it hard to believe that Google is not extracting data from cookies and looking at it over the long term.

On the other hand, I know that much of the data which Facebook is collecting will be pertinent twenty, thirty and forty years from now...e.g. my cousin will still be gay in 2036.

Finally, the notion of Google selling their data only seems remote given the current state of affairs. If Facebook starts selling direct access to their data, it makes Google far more likely to follow suit not only based on a need to stay competitive but also because the standard of acceptable behavior has been lowered and a new status quo has been created.

One need only look at the speed at which telephony has changed over the last five years or the music industry over the last ten to realize that business models of established companies can change rapidly.

eurleif14y ago

>On the other hand, I know that much of the data which Facebook is collecting will be pertinent twenty, thirty and forty years from now...e.g. my cousin will still be gay in 2036.

I think Google could probably guess most gay people are gay from their searches, and the pages they visit.

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