The current era of data collection is changing and it's for the best.
Angela Benton is the founder and CEO at Streamlytics. She collects first-party consumer information transparently. She aims to disrupt third-party mining of data using cookies and other methods that can raise privacy and ethical concerns. She was recently named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People. Her work helps consumers find out what companies know about them, and pays them for data that they create using streaming services such as Spotify or Netflix.
Benton explained that she started Inc. Real Talk with minorities in her mind, especially the Black and Latinx communities because of the way data and privacy have affected them. She cites the recent controversy surrounding facial recognition data being sold by the police. This data has a higher error rate than data from Black and Asian males, which could lead to wrongful arrests.
She says that AI is used in everyday transactions such as loan applications, car loans, mortgages, credit cards, and other financial services. Benton claims that clients can use her company's methods to obtain ethically sourced data so algorithms don't adversely affect communities who have suffered discriminatory practices in the past.
Below are some suggestions from Benton to find data ethically and without relying upon third-party cookies.
You can create your own combinations of data sets.
Benton states that streamlytics' method of obtaining data is "very old school." She says that instead of using tech to combine data points she suggests you manually compare data and make assumptions using your best judgement. For example, you might have data from Shopify about your customers. Then, you can target the people who fit that profile by going to an advertiser like Hulu.
Your data can be used to find new products
Benton states that you can also use your data to identify common searches and overlapping interests in order to generate ideas for new products. She says that small business owners often send her data requests to find ideas that aren’t on the market. For example, a vegan looking for a vitamin.
Benton was surprised when she presented data to clients using this combination method. "I was expecting it to be more focused on the question of "How can you make more money?" She says. "But, we hear from people that they want data access so they can use it in more creative and innovative ways."
Don't take social media data at face value.
Benton and her company deliberately do not source social data. She believes the data leaves too much out of the whole picture. Although you may be able to see a customer's age and "likes," it doesn't reveal much about their search habits or what they are searching for.
