For the first time in history, oil is no longer the most sought after commodity in the world. Nowadays, the new commodity which has big firms and giants spending lots and lots of money is none other than data!
Data is so precious that individuals will do anything to keep it protected and stop it from being violated. In contrast, companies are willing to pay massive amounts of cash just to get their hands on the data sets.
To be honest, these companies are minting money from data collected from individuals. Titans like Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon thrive and earn massive profits.
Reportedly, they collectively racked up over $25bn in net profit in the first quarter of 2017! Moreover, Amazon captures half of all dollars spent online in America. Google and Facebook accounted for almost all the revenue growth in digital advertising in America last year.
In this time and age, it has become tough, more like next to impossible to live without using their services. Can you imagine life without Google search? How about life without Facebook? No more online shopping without Amazon?
However, if you put your mind into it, not all data sets make one vulnerable and victims of data theft. Data sets released by hospitals and research centers can help save lives and make predictions that may just help save the human race!
Now that we understand that data is an asset in this digital age, the question is, how much is it worth?
It pays a lot. However, while it does churn a handsome amount, at the same time, it puts many at risk as when the data is hacked, it is straightforward to retrieve almost everything about a person.
This includes their residential address, email IDs, bank account numbers and PINs, Social Security Numbers, and more. This means individuals are prone to identity theft if the data gets in the hands of the wrong people!
This is why a proper regulation needs to be put in place so that data is not stolen or used for theft.
We have now to see how great companies plan to use the data for the interest of the people.
What do you think they will do with the information? Share your thoughts with us below.
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