Web Start-Ups Making Deals for Users’ Private Data - NYTimes.com

Web Start-Ups Making Deals for Users’ Private Data - NYTimes.com: "Web Start-Ups Offer Bargains for Users’ Data
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
Published: May 30, 2010

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As concern increases in Washington about the amount of private data online, and as big sites like Facebook draw criticism that they collect consumers’ information in a stealthy manner, many Web start-ups are pursuing a more reciprocal approach — saying, in essence: give us your data and get something in return.
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Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Aaron Patzer, Mint’s founder, in 2008. He said his idea was simple: “We would data-mine your own data in order to help you.”
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Sam’s Club Personalizes Discounts for Buyers (May 31, 2010)
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Times Topic: Privacy

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WeShop.com, still in development, has built a system that allows people to spread information about their shopping habits.

The budgeting Web site Mint.com, for example, displays discount offers from cable companies or banks to users who reveal their personal financial data, including bank and credit card information. The clothing retailer Bluefly could send offers for sunglasses to consumers who disclose that they just bought a swimsuit. And location-based services like Foursquare and Gowalla ask users to volunteer their location in return for rewards like discounts on Pepsi drinks or Starbucks coffee.

These early efforts are predicated on a shift in the relationship between consumer and company. Influenced by consumers’ willingness to trade data online, the sites are pushing to see how much information people will turn over.

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