How Johnny “Football” Manziel Could Re-Write the Value of Data

What is the Value of Your Data?

Johnny “Football” Manziel has made quite a name for himself over the past 15 months. From winning the Heisman Trophy Award to getting publically kicked out of frat parties, Manziel has been the focus of attention in the sports world. Perhaps his biggest headline involved him receiving cash benefit for signing autographs and jersey sales. This story was released right in the middle of a huge lawsuit the NCAA is fighting regarding paying college athletes. The basic premise in the case against the NCAA is “athletes generate an enormous amount of revenue for their schools but don’t receive appropriate compensation.” In other words, athletes aren’t getting paid their “true value”.

I read an article yesterday about the true value of your personal data and it got me thinking, “Are we being under compensated for our data?” It’s widely understood that companies pay top dollar for access to consumer data. Whether its data from your cell phone provider or data generated from surveys and other market research techniques; data is a highly valuable asset.

The push for “fair compensation” and all the hoopla around data privacy could create the perfect storm. Consumers are starting to wake up to the fact that almost everything they do is being tracked by something and that their data has value.

Companies like Handshake, Enliken and Ctrlio are all in the business of providing consumers a platform for selling their personal data. In an interview with The Next Web, CEO and founder of Enliken, Marc Guldimann, said…

“What data is ‘worth’ can be looked at a couple of ways; what a counter party is willing to pay for it, and the value you can create by using the data. The first example is more obvious, but a lot harder to implement. You need to find a counter party who wants the exact type of data you have for sale, in the format you have available under the terms you offer. It’s very hard to get to scale that way.”

I think Guildimann brings up a great point. A streamlined, scalable process for consumers to sell their personal data may not be readily available to the masses, but it’s definitely on the horizon.

It will be very interesting to watch how the Johnny Manziel/NCAA/Paying-players debacle unfolds. What’s fascinating to watch is if the long-standing principle of college athletes not receiving monetary benefits gets pushed to the way-side? An outcome like this could be the domino that triggers the fall of other long-standing principles (like general consumers not being compensated monetarily for their personal data).

We need your feedback! Do you think the Johnny Manziel debacle could lead to a domino effect? Would you sell your personal data on a regular basis if a streamlined approach was available now?