Historically, the Web delivered most of its value by satisfying explicit user actions—users entered a search query on Google, users entered a review on Yelp, user added their friends on Facebook.
However, as people spend more time online (and perform more of their activities online), they leave a trail of “digital breadcrumbs” that expose data about themselves. The result is an immense amount of implicit user data. Netflix knows what movies I watch and like. Apple knows what music I purchase and listen to. Amazon knows what books I purchase and like. Evite knows what events and parties I’m going to. TiVo knows what TV shows I like. OpenTable knows where I like to eat. Fandango knows what movies I go to. Ticketmaster knows what shows I’ve seen. American Express knows my spending habits.
However, until now, that data has existed in silos. There has been no easy way for me (as a user) to access and benefit from that data. The next big wave of Internet value creation will come to those ...
