By auctioning off my non-personally identifiable information, I was hoping to demonstrate the value in a data exchange ecosystem. But then things went wrong…

Recently, Alan Chapell wrote a column for iMedia offering to sell my data to marketers for $1. In doing so, he violated the terms of the eBay auction in which he won my data and where I clearly stated, "You must promise to use my data solely for the purpose of targeting advertising over a 30-day period and you must agree not to disclose my data to any third party."

In his column, Mr. Chapell not only revealed my demographic info but also specific search and web history data. And, as if that weren't enough, he mocked me by refusing to call me by my chosen ghost name, Highly Targeted, instead opting for the cold "Mr. Data."

Rather than take action to prevent Mr. Chapell (who henceforth shall be called Romulan, two can play this game bucko!) from disclosing the rest of my data, I have decided to appeal directly to the marketing community.

What was I trying to prove?
By auctioning off a batch of my non-personally identifiable information, I was hoping to demonstrate the value in a data exchange ecosystem that truly provides value to both consumers and marketers.

In today's environment, marketers leverage cookies, surveys, focus groups and other less transparent methods to identify their core audience for the purposes of targeting ads to them. Too often, marketers stoop to Romulan levels, using shady practices to collect data. And, too often, they use this data to deliver unwanted messages to the people whose data they've procured. This leaves consumers annoyed and unwilling to respond, which leads to marketers wasting valuable advertising dollars.

My endeavor started with the simple premise that there has to be a better way. So I set out to gauge interest in a program by which consumers retained control and profited directly from how their data was collected and used.

In my case, I chose to donate all proceeds from the auction to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to encourage marketers to feel good about their investment.

A better way
I started by outlining the specific data I was willing to disclose (all of which was non-personally identifiable and, I thought, easy to compile):

• My past 30 days of internet search queries
• My past 30 days web of surfing history 
•  My past 30 days of online and offline purchase activity 
• My age, gender, ethnicity, marital status and geo-location

I then took it one step further by specifying what and how the marketer was able to do with my data:

•  The right to target one ad per day to me for 30 days 
• Ads can be created in any desired format (video, text, graphic, audio, etc.) but must be delivered via email

By creating a direct, transparent exchange between the consumer and the marketer, I thought I was creating a win-win situation. I'd get to make a few bucks (for charity) and hopefully receive some relevant product/service offers. And the marketer would have an easy way to learn who I was and what I was interested in so they could create a highly targeted ad campaign and hopefully drive sales. All of which could be done while still protecting my identity.

I had visions of this platform scaling to an automated data-exchange (as digital ad exchanges are all the rage right now) whereby consumers could upload their data for marketers to bid on based on the audience profiles they were trying to reach.

From highly targeted to highly exploited
I should have known better. For whatever reason, when it comes to people's data, there are unscrupulous individuals out there that will take every advantage in an effort to make a quick buck. And, no matter what safeguards one makes to protect his/her data, it is nearly impossible to ensure anonymity.

My first eBay auction generated quite a bit of activity -- 1,071 views and 17 bids -- before being sold for $355 to waxsteve. And it was picked up by a few of the online marketing rags. Clearly, this concept had legs.

Selling my data was the easy part though.

It took me a good six hours to scrape my Google Web History and recent credit card statements and compile all my precious data into a (looooong) notepad file to send to the winner. I then had to figure out how to set up an anonymous Paypal account so that my identity was not traceable. And, of course, I had to set up an alias Gmail account to communicate with the winner and deliver the data.

As it turned out, a few days after my first auction closed, I was contacted through eBay by one of the other bidders (woodchucksh3166, aka Romulan) to see if I was willing to sell my data twice. Sure, I thought, more money for breast cancer research and a chance to see how my idea would scale.

That's when things took a turn for the abnormal and then the flat-out fraudulent.

The first winner decided that running an ad campaign based on my data would not benefit them. Instead, they hoped to parlay their auction victory into a promotion for their company, Campfire Media. Fair enough, though, since that is the product/service they are selling, being a marketing company. And, furthermore, the company contacted me to ask permission before veering off the intended path. So everything was on the up-and-up.

The gang at Campfire crafted a Marketing Game Show for me to participate in. They used my data to determine what types of marketing vehicles I might be interested in and pitted me against two other contestants in activities such as rating video ads and taglines and even weighing in on advertising in Second Life.

While this wasn't what I originally had in mind when I decided to sell my data, I was having fun and the game show seemed to spark some good dialogue, so no harm done. That is, until one of the other contestants turned against me. 
 
It seems Homeless Frank took offense to a few of my comments and raided the Campfire Media office in an attempt to find out who I was.

Unfortunately for me, when I first emailed the winning bidder my data, my real name was included by default in the eBay header. Apparently, Frank was able to find the file with this info in it and now knows exactly who to go after.

Is it the end of anonymity as we know it?
So now I have some guy hunting me down and a Romulan trying to sell my data to anyone who can spare a dollar. Is this what I deserve for trying to test a new data-disclosure model? Is there a way I could have better protected myself?

Who knows.

It seems like I'd have been better off being fully transparent on my end and just revealing my full name and other personal information. Perhaps this is the future of consumer-initiated advertising. No more hiding behind screen names or avatars. No more cookies collecting non-PII. Let's just get it all out there.

For now, though, I'm still clinging (klingon-ing?) to the hope that the marketing community at large will respect an individual's right to privacy (by not buying my data from Mr. Chapell) and recognize a good opportunity when they see it (by buying my data from me).

Let's see if lightning strikes thrice. I have just re-listed my data in a new eBay auction.

To be sure, I will not be putting myself through the hassle of compiling my info again, so I've changed the parameters from my past 30 days data to data from a recent 30-day period. Nonetheless, I must say this was a good month for me in terms of search and web usage and online/offline purchasing.

So please, don't buy my data, unless it's from me.

Highly Targeted is a 29-year-old Caucasian male who lives with his wife in Chicago. He can be reached at HighlyTargeted@gmail.com. Read full bio.