Data Bubble Burst — Not there yet, but approaching

Sudhansh Jadon
Aug 9, 2017 · 3 min read
A fancy Data Center

Bubbles are mesmerizing and alluring. Every era in the history of mankind can be defined in a bubble. No history classes, but when we talk about bubbles, the first thing that comes to mind is the dotcom bubble. Most of us have experienced this, and as an Indian I was forced into it. No one was prepared for the crash. India and China were supplying the world with cheap technology (software) and in plenty, however, over-stuffing happened and the bubble burst. I suffered as I was a fresh IT graduate during the burst and ended up in Digital media (I am glad it happened). The question is, are we now in another bubble waiting to burst?

Uber, the company and the idea is amazing but they’ll never be profitable as the margins are just not there. But the definition of revenue as we know it has changed. There are thousands if not millions of e-commerce companies, either disruptive like Uber or Amazon or following the patterns of disruptions. It’s not copying, it’s inspiration ;) That said, the new value of any model is defined by the data it generates. Data is the key, especially if the hidden terms and conditions allow you to utilize it in ways which are legal if not ethical. Think about the data Uber has collected from you. They know more about you than yourself, because we rely on the system to feed us with our own data. Uber may not be profitable by the money it’s making directly, but wait till it collaborates with Google or Facebook or any other DSP for the data it has collected. That’ll be the turning point. Mark Zuckerberg was not in favor of advertising on Facebook initially, but well, times change or money will do it for you.

If I was an investor, I wouldn’t have mind investing in such disruptive data collecting apps or SAAS companies. But, when is it going to hit the critical point and ultimately leading to overstuffing of the data bubble, resulting into another burst? World population is not infinite and we wouldn’t want it to grow any further. So what will happen if everyone has our data, because it’ll make things so easy that we don’t mind selling ourselves for it. Remember Minority Report (2002)? And by the way, no-one cares if you want to sell your data, we don’t have an option, in the end everyone with an internet connection will sell it.

My concern is not your privacy, I am in that business, and it’s because of your data I am getting my salary every month. I am more concerned about the point when everyone is selling your data in a marketplace as everyone will have the same information about you. Name, age, gender, nationality, where you go, when you go, why you go, how you go, who you meet, what you eat, what you wear, what you like, what you don’t like and the list is endless. With technologies like blockchain, it’s clear that we care more about data privacy and security than intrusion, a totally different type of apathetic sin redefined for the modern times. I don’t know the answer to what would actually happen, but I do have some thoughts:

  1. Companies will collaborate or merge to create a single platform
  2. All this data will be sold to the big fish and owners/partners will have a vacation of their lifetime
  3. Innovation will lead to open data and everyone will know everything about everyone — very unlikely :)
  4. The only thing that’ll change is the way we do things, and it’ll keep changing, platforms will either adapt or die like Orkut
  5. A world war will change everything, and these predictions are meaningless

What do you predict will happen?

As published on my LinkedIn

Digital Marketing.. or Online Marketing.. or Digital.. or Marketing?

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