Database Reference
In-Depth Information
infiltrated the trading floors and bankers' offices, these producers closest to
the customer went to IT and said, “Support this.” IT staffers first responded
by saying, “We don't support this.” Then the bankers and traders said, “You do
now.” This worked because the people closest to the money ultimately get
what they want.
Gutierrez:
How do you think about the move to being more open with data
given fear-inducing stories of job loss and data privacy?
Ehrenberg:
The way that I operate, as somebody who knows the good and
the bad, is that I am quite open with my data. Why is that? Because I want to
live in a world where I see things and have opportunities that are meaningful
to me. As I've made my data available, I have found that the offers I get and the
opportunities that I see are increasingly relevant and better tailored to me.
Overall, this had led to very positive experiences.
Clearly there is a difference between PII and other types of data. For example,
the difference between your Social Security number versus being cookied or
tagged where somebody keeps track of your clickstream. I'm extremely care-
ful with my PII. As it relates to my clickstream and preferences, I don't care,
because my own experience gets better and better. So I would say to people
who are concerned, “Look, if you're spending time on the computer and you
like to check the news or you want to shop, if you are willing to let people
follow you and follow your clicks, then you will read better and more relevant
stuff, you'll get offers that you care about, and the whole experience will ben-
efit you.” That said, I do know people who are sensitive about these issues and
opt-out, but they represent a very small segment of the population.
Conversely, when it comes to your Social Security number and your highly
personal data, you're right to be concerned and careful about what you share.
You should always be extremely careful what sites you put that information
on because there are bad actors, as in the Target case, where you can be doing
something that seems innocuous and yet have your personal data be exposed.
So you can never have zero risk if you're on the grid. If you're willing to engage
on the Internet, you are going to encounter risk.
Gutierrez:
In terms of education, as more and more people come into con-
tact with data and come into contact with companies that are doing interest-
ing things with data, what do you view as the future of getting educated in
data literacy?
Ehrenberg:
I'm actually putting my money where my mouth is. I'm very
active with the University of Michigan School of Information [UMSI]. UMSI
focuses on the intersection of programming, data science, user interaction,
and entrepreneurship. I've invested a lot in the program, and believe that their
broad-based curriculum is the wave of the future. It is geared towards asking
hard questions and acquiring practical tools for solving hard problems. This
has application in both for-profit and not-for-profit settings, and UMSI has a
