Profit From Data

Posted by Michael Maturo on Jan 13, 2012 in Technology | 3 comments

Data = Profit for you, your business, and Rockland.

I’m tired of tired ideas.

The fate of the county I grew up in is tied to the few large-scale opportunities still available, each of which helps to decide whether Rockland evolves with or falls victim to the technology-driven future.  As a technology consultant, I’m all-in and want my home county to be, too.

Proposed Patrick Farm development.

Debate rages on about the 500-home Patrick Farms proposal in Ramapo, which would plop 1,500 residents in an area already ecologically and transportationally challenged by the Rockland Boulders Stadium for the sake of politicians who correctly want to attract tax revenue.

Orangetown grapples with 300 centrally-located acres, formerly Rockland Psychiatric Center (RPC), with only one modern idea proposed almost two years ago.

Then-Orangetown Supervisor Paul Whalen was courting technology data centers.  Perfect location: exit 6 on the Palisades Parkway, a quick ride from the GW Bridge, and electric and digital infrastructure already built or about to be built.

Rockland has the talent (RCC, STAC, Dominican, LIU), the community (highest per-capita rate of philanthropies in the state, if not country), and the political prowess (intelligent and driven state senators, assembly people, and federal representatives) to embrace the future’s technology-driven profits.

As a county, we would benefit, since a data center’s infrastructure almost guarantees faster Internet and more reliable power to neighboring businesses, homes, and towns, plus a clean tax ratable to boot.

You can personally profit from your data, too (I use all of these and have stock in none):

1. Mint.com (https://www.mint.com/what-is-mint/): What would you pay to track all of your bank accounts, credit cards, expenses, and income all in one place?  It’s free from the immensely reputable makers of Quicken financial products, since you are also shown personalized offers that save you money, whether earning more interest with another bank or paying less interest with another credit card.
2. BillGuard.com (https://www.billguard.com/power_to_the_people): Worried about fraud?  You should be.  Credit card fraud alone is $7,000,000,000 a year, and since banks only catch a third of that, we as consumers are paying in fees etc. the remaining $4.7 billion.  By connecting to any form of plastic you’re holding, the service anonymously scans for potential fraud.  If someone flags a company on their bill and you have the same company on your bill, you’re asked to take a closer look.  It’s personal good (reducing the time and aggravation of fraudulent charges) and collective good all in one.
3. Path.com (https://path.com/): Social profit is as good as monetary profit and in the age of half-truth, half-cautious Facebook posts, how do you connect more deeply and share your story with a tighter group of people?  Built for mobile users, you tell a story with a simple interface — photo, video, location, feelings — with a simple group — your core friends and family.  No overly-public sharing, no ads accosting you.

Data has always been around but it’s never been more available and potentially powerful as now.  Better for you to personally and professionally embrace it before someone else does.

Michael Maturo, a former Rockland County elected official, is a techno-political consultant out of Brooklyn, NY. His experience includes Microsoft’s Global Board of the Future, Putian University in China, and locally-focused educational and social activism in Los Angeles and New York.