How Much Is Your Search Data Worth?

By Joe on March 19, 2007

Microsoft is offering their larger customers an opportunity to cash in on a partner’s employees using Internet Explorer 7 and their BHO. It seems interesting that Microsoft is on the verge of a potential revenue sharing opportunity, but I aim to know more about how much an individuals search data records can potentially be worth?

John Battelle talks about Microsoft’s plan to pay large corporate partners based on how many computers and the volume of search data. In exchange for this, the company can earn “credits” for MS products and services. The major drawback that I find is their requirement to uninstall any other third-party browser toolbars (such as Google or Yahoo) and must use Internet Explorer 7. How does this help the employee? What type of disclosure is there about their search data being logged?

In any case, I aim to find the answer of how much someone’s search data is worth to a search provider, such as Microsoft. In their examples, they stated they would pay $2 – $10 per PC depending on usage per year. So roughly, based on that formula someone’s search data is worth $0.83 per month.

83 cents?! Now if they only intend to use that data to improve their search results, then that’s money well spent if you ask me. However, how many of you think that is their sole purpose with this data? I suspect Microsoft is probably going to use that for improving their targeted advertising and measuring their effectiveness.

I believe my search data is worth much more than $0.83 … and I should retain my right to opt-out of this program. How much do you think YOUR search data is worth? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Junkyard Willie

1.) Isn't it funny that when the issue is the government invading the privacy of the public everyone gets their panties in a bunch; but when it's corporations doing it (who then give or sell your data to the government- just like they've been doing since the FDR administration) nobody seems to give a fat fiddler's foreskin?

2.) Your readers should know that anything you do on the internet you might as well be doing out in the middle of the street. If you have pictures you wouldn't want to see plastered on the side of a Circle K then for Allah's sake whatever you do don't post them online. Same goes for search results- you wouldn't go to the library (or police station) and ask the nice lady "where are all them picture books with underage kids in them at," would you?

3.) I used underage kids for a reason too- now that the public is tired of hearing about terrorists the new excuse to infringe on the online privacy of US citizens is fear of "online predators" fed by shameless titillation-fests like "To Catch A Predator." It's a two-fer-one; the populace gets a group that's safe to hate every week (and all the bigots are sure to see their ethnicity of choice among the pedophiles); and then they give corporations and the State a free pass on trawling their data. Hey, if unaccountable third parties don't sift through every byte of your traffic, online predators might come steal your children in the night- and remember, if you're not doing anything wrong, what do you have to worry about?

4.) I wonder how much of this is building up to the point where ISP's voluntarily turn "suspicious" information over to copyright holders in an effort to continue the "War on Piracy," or as I like to call it the "War on Kids who are Downloading Good Charlotte Albums and Will Ferrel Movies."

5.) All that said, surf safe and smart and try not to loe much sleep over it; because if you had anything to hide, they would probably have it already anyway :(

How Much Is Your Search Data Worth?

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