If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Get Paid

Do you know how much you're worth?

Consumers are fed up with how their data is being used to target them with advertising. Short of opting out by adopting ad-blocking technology, what can they do?People.io describes itself as is a startup that wagers that their attitude might be, if you can't beat 'em - join 'em. That is, give consumers control of handing over their data and give them an incentive to do so in the form of credits for products and subscriptions. (No cold, hard cash — yet.)People.io promises that their data will be protected, and if they leave, all of it will be permanently deleted. The company makes money from brands that buy advertising via their B2B platform to engage with those consumers that opted in.This exchange is an example of what we call UnMoney, a new way of looking at value outside of the traditional monetary system. That someone's personal data can be viewed as assets is nothing new, but creating a platform where those personal assets can be exchanged for products and goods shifts the locus of authority from advertiser to consumer. In this instance of the emerging UnMoney economy, the consumer thinks about themselves and their habits and personal data as a value and agrees to exchange it for something else.

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