The final session at C3 continues to inspire some ground-breaking thought. In his “Equals Drommond” blog, Drummond Reed, long-time Executive Director of the Information Card Foundation provides perspectives and foundational thoughts regarding concepts thqt underlie VRM and more specifically the Personal Data Ecosystem take shape.

During the final panel at C3, Drummond was particularly struck by Orange-SF’s Mark Plakias’ use of the term “Personal Cloud” to refer to way that people upload personal information, photos and activity streams to remote sites – including Facebook. The notion of a Personal Cloud serves to fundamental needs. First, it has the potential to be part of a common lexicon of terms that make the technologies more understandable (and thus accessible) to end-users. Second, because the term “personal cloud” has a long history that applies not only to data storage and protection but also to a wide variety of cloud-based, as outlined in this piece that Nova Spivak originated back in 2008.

More than a decade ago, The Cluetrain Manifesto authors started the “Markets are Conversations” meme. To this day, we know that the most productive conversations start with common understanding. As images of “data lockers,” “personal data stores,” “personal portals,” and “the desktop of the future” all merge together, we have a chance to equate that convergence with the concept of the personal cloud – a repository for people to upload, interact with and control the data and resources that are of personal interest. Indeed providing the secure storage, control mechanisms and personal assistance is the emerging business opportunity that makes the concept so attractive.

Categories: Articles

Tags: VRM, conversational commerce, Personal Data Ecosystem, Internet Identity