1. We released an update of AzigoLite that adds support for the Google Chrome browser and adds a “Marketplace” tab where users can find and download Azigo-compatible apps with one click. See the Release Notes for more details, or to download this new version.
2. We announced our all-in-one downloader service, where distributors of Information Cards (or Kynetx app cards) can add a bit of javaScript to their page to get a packaged version of Azigo + their .crd file, so that end-users don’t have to do two separate downloads. See Installer Download Service for details.
3. We pre-announced our Marketplace and Affiliate program. Marketplace gives App sellers a way to extend their reach by offering Apps to the entire AzigoLite installed base, while the Affiliate program rewards distributors for creating new Azigo users. See Azigo Marketplace for details, or to sign up to get contacted as soon as these programs goes live, send in your info via our Contact Form.

The Open Identity Exchange (OIX) helps answer the question “Who do you trust?”, by providing a trust framework and open market for certifying that provider’s security, privacy, and operational policies meet required guidelines.

Along with the launch of OIX itself, two identity providers – PayPal and Equifax – were certified as complying with the information card profile of the US Government’s ICAM Level 1 Trust Framework, which allows U.S. federal agency websites, such as the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and the Library of Congress (LOC) to begin accepting credentials from certified providers. Azigo is proud to be the technology provider behind both of these OIX-certified information card providers. These information cards are available at the following web sites:

• PayPal: https://icard.paypal-ids.com
• Equifax: https://equifaxicards.com

“What’s happening is that our privacy has become a kind of currency. It’s what we use to pay for online services. Google charges nothing for Gmail; instead, it reads your e-mail and sends you advertisements based on keywords in your private messages.”

He goes on:

“The genius of Google, Facebook, and others is that they’ve created services that are so useful or entertaining that people will give up some privacy in order to use them…  Their entire business model is based on the notion of ‘monetizing’ our privacy.”

In the general sense, this is capitalism at its best – create a product and price it however you want (in dollars, euro or bits of private data), then let the market decide if they are willing to pay the price. In the cases of Google and Facebook, the market has answered overwhelmingly favorably, with Google running a unique audience last month of 362M [1], and Facebook reporting over 400M active users [2]. But then Lyons gets to the crux of the matter:

“The problem with buying things with your privacy is you really don’t know how much you’re paying. With money, five bucks is five bucks. But what is the value of your list of friends? If it’s not worth much, your membership on Facebook may be the deal of a lifetime. If it’s incredibly valuable, you’re getting massively ripped off. Only the techies know how much your info is worth, and they’re not telling.”

Lyons hits on one problem with the current market for private data – that the consumer is largely in the dark as to what it is disclosed and what it worth, and they have very few avenues to shop it around to get a competitive price. It is kind of a take-it-or-leave-it approach. A consumer could bail out of Google and decide to use Bing instead, but they wouldn’t really have any idea of the price, in this case, what information is each of these behemoths collecting and sharing with their advertisers and other corporate customers?

What if there were a different way?

• What if, instead of big companies covertly collecting massive databases of consumers’ personal data and selling it to the highest bidder, there were a way for individual consumers to each amass a collection of their own personal data and interests in a standard format?
• What if there were open, standards-based ways for consumers to transact that data with companies they trust, when and where they choose, in an open and transparent way?
• What if, because the data was collected and curated by an agent under the control of the user, the data was much richer, deeper and accurate than the data inferred by advertising cookies?

Would companies ‘pay’ more to get this higher-quality volunteered personal data? I think so.

When will this ‘what if’ become reality? I’m not sure, but there are lots of great people working on it in various places. Check out these resources, and if you find one that interests you, and you really want to take back your privacy, join and start contributing!

• The Higgins Project is building an open-source “Personal Data Store” and an active client to interact with it.
• UMA, the User Managed Access working group of the Kantara project is developing specification that let an individual control the authorization of data sharing.
• Project VRM, at Harvard’s Berkman Center, aims to improve markets by defining ways for user-controlled engagement with vendors.
• The Internet Identity Workshop – a meeting place for all of the above, and other groups working on user-controlled personal data sharing.

References:

1. Nielsen Internet Ratings
2. Facebook self-reported statistics

One of the ways I use Azigo is to find Ebates discounts. Ebates is an affiliate-shopping service that pays users cash rebates to shop at their merchants, while also offering other special deals and coupons. Here is a screenshot of my Ebates account summary, showing that I’ve earned $161.65 this year:

Here’s how it works: First, I downloaded the Ebates Deal Finder, then I signed up for Ebates. With that one-time setup complete, now whenever I search online, any Ebates merchants are highlighted in search. One of the Christmas presents that was on my list to purchase was a North Face jacket. I don’t know how they do it, but North Face is one of those brands that seems to be able to control pricing, so that its products rarely, if ever, are offered on discount. Given that, I wasn’t expecting to find a great deal, but when I searched on Google, here  is what I found:

By shopping at The North Face web site, through the Ebates link, I was able to get 8% cash back. (And oh, BTW, thenorthface.com is also a Better Business Bureau Accredited Business, so I feel safe making a purchase there.) All I had to do was click the Ebates logo, and then I got redirected to the retail web site with the correct affiliate code to track the rebate. A few days after making the purchase, the transaction shows up in my Ebates account, and then a few times per year, Ebates sends me a Big Fat Check. Pretty cool.

This video starts out with a story about saving money on shipping, but about half-way through, it covers the Azigo software for the BBB.