[Music]
yes this is not me in the picture but I
just like a lot of us bought something
online the other day and as you can see
I was in the market for some gym shorts
but not just any old gym shorts but gym
shorts like these with a handy pocket on
the side for my phone now to get there
not only did I have to convince myself
but I'd look good in such shorts but I
had to find the right shorts I looked at
different brands I looked at different
styles I pondered different delivery
options and I also pondered price
finally I landed here on these well
priced very stylish gym shorts and they
have of course the Handy side pocket for
my phone so no more stepping on my phone
in the gym or smashing it on the road if
I went for a run problem solved mission
accomplished I felt sure that if anybody
had seen this had looked they would see
me in fact know me turns out that I've
got this wrong you see the picture of me
and what my unknown retailer thought of
me was a bit different as I said this is
not a picture of me but it turns out
that they think that they know what I
look like to them this is apparently me
based on my digital persona apparently
guys like me well we like 13-inch
off-road antennas rain ponchos charging
cables and we need a rubber strap of
some kind and I was so intrigued about
this rubber strap that I clicked through
to understand just what was this thing
it turns out it's for strapping a
headlamp to a helmet so quite taken
aback by this profiling it got me
thinking this picture that they have of
me is not at all like me it's not even
aspirationally like me a six-pack of
rain ponchos I live in Dubai I could see
how a charging cable was a fit but
everybody has a phone I have an iPhone
so at least that got somewhat right
and here in Dubai everybody pretty much
owns an SUV or a sports car so there's a
50/50 chance with the antenna but the
rubber strap thing I don't own a helmet
or a headlamp bottom line is this
profiling was way off track I was both
mystified and a bit annoyed at the same
time these recommendations far from
bringing me closer to them as a customer
they're in fact pushing me further away
I was completely misunderstood both who
I was and what I wanted but why and to
what end why online do they get this so
wrong so often that was the question in
my mind then and it's the question that
will set about answering now so let's
get started this bad experience reminded
me that you've always had to earn your
right to a relationship with the
customer really what online retailers
want today is what shopkeepers 100 years
ago had to know us well the picture that
you see here is a general store in the
1920s and this guy he knew his customers
well he got there because he was engaged
and he got there because he was an
integral part of their lives he knew not
only the person in front of him but he
knew the relationship that they had to
those around them
he knew birthdays weddings and funerals
he was not only in constant contact with
his customers but he was doing what
humans do well he was observing their
behavior and he was moderating his
behavior and yes he was selling but he
was serving as well he knew them he knew
all of them very well but then it all
started to change it started to change
and it got a bit different in fact very
different
we got on a new ride we industrialized
we mass-produced our populations grew we
became a consumer class obsessed with
convenience the general store became the
department store the supermarket the
hypermarket
and even the convenience store soon the
storekeeper went online and became an
app and we went online as well
we were online and we would this where
we discovered we research we ranked we
rated we bought and we bragged about it
on social media
we're on a ride it was the ride of a
lifetime and really it was a blast but
we didn't think very much about the cost
of the ticket you see with every
interaction online a little bit more is
known about us it does not matter
whether we buy or whether we browse the
fact is our fingerprints are on
everything that we touch online so what
could go wrong not a lot apparently
studies show that more than half of us
are comfortable with information being
amassed and aggregated if it can be used
in some way to our benefit so if you can
expedite my experience deliver more
relevant offers behave in a more
personalised fashion summed up deliver a
better overall experience then this is a
fair trade
please take my personal information and
please put it to good use
but and there's always a but
get it wrong and we're equally
disappointed our standards are high so
high now in fact that more and more of
us get frustrated more than half of us
are frustrated if you make bad
recommendations we are frustrated if you
limit us we do want to see the smart
shopping suggestions but we do want to
see all that's on offer not just what
you think we might like we may cover an
expedited shopping experience but it
needs to be on our terms
are we being difficult or is this
actually deliberate it's probably a bit
of both who we are and what we want is
always in motion you see our identity
and our intention of fast colliding and
both are actually needed this image says
it all or more to the point doesn't say
at all what's wrong here is that we are
actually deliberately different
depending on the circumstance sometimes
we have seen better from just one angle
and we know best so if you want to WoW
me then know me as I want to be knowing
then you all know what I want and it
turns out it's actually worth it today
there is a personal information industry
that's worth billions populated by
providers who collect and collate they
analyze and they abstract not only our
identity but also our intention before
of course on selling it we're certainly
popular but more everybody is getting
famous we like celebrities being chased
by the paparazzi but in a digital world
personal data is collected on all of us
by the swipe and by the like and we
don't even have to buy or try to be
noticed but all this scrutiny that might
in fact provide us with opportunity it
follows then cannot should not we do
something with this I believe that
that's a question that will be answered
soon
in fact I think we can answer it now we
are you see in the movies and movies of
our own making I think in near future
exists where just as a celebrity needs
an agent we will need one too personal
information brokering today only
supports those that sell what if new
brokers emerge benefiting those that buy
and by that I mean us we can have an
agent representing our image our
intention and our interests now we can
be the star of the show but where to
start our agent could firstly act on our
behalf they could establish ownership of
our total personal information now held
by those that sell to us they would
close an immediate gap in our identity
you see who we are to our online
retailer ignores who we are to our bank
or to our internet provider in fact
anybody for that matter our agent can
actually help us take charge they can go
beyond anything these businesses can do
by themselves and it would be a give to
get we would give authorized accurate
picture of us a high-definition image
complete with everything that they have
always wanted and we would get bigger
discounts better prices more extra but
expedited service and you buying
experience well it would have less
friction it would have more accuracy
more transparency and in the end more
customer satisfaction all made possible
because we've made available a complete
picture of us the most useful picture of
us so that's a good starting point but
can we actually go further
I think we can go further you see we
have arrived our star is rising our
agent can represent us not only as who
we are but who we want to be and when an
identity with intention a persona with
purpose
this perspective this context for
engagement is what's lacking today like
a personal stylist they can dress us up
in the best digital persona to get the
best effect my persona is really only
accurate when I provide it because
that's when it reflects my intention
there's no need to guess that's what our
agent can give us agency to manage
ourselves with those that sell and when
it matters so at an individual level our
agent will represent us but could they
in fact do even more our agent can do
more so if we are in the movies what
about the rest of the cast the power of
personal information is magnified when
we're considered as a group find me a
hundred a thousand a million people who
look like him so I can sell to them our
agent would not just represent us but
many of us in it would be the collective
us if our agents can take our personal
information on mass group the
like-minded then authenticity and
intention become facts not false
positives this will become the emerging
engine room for our personal information
economy what we are worth as individuals
explodes when we consider the collective
us but a good movie make that a great
movie always is filmed in a great
location and in the digital world
location has a different name but just
what is that name
it's name is influencer billions are
spent and fortunes are made trading in
influence but is it money well spent or
money well earned
it's true that we do look to influencers
for inspiration but in a very short time
we've become skeptics there are creeping
issues of authenticity and vested
interest influencers are all starting to
look alike whilst we are not this
skepticism and the sameness is not
really serving us very well and it
raises the question if brands are
willing to pay the proxies of us if so
why not pay for proximity to us today
influences a two dimensional arrangement
brand influencer and we are the target
what if we formed a paid partnership
with our own personal information as the
glue we could be our very own match
makeup we'd get influenced only from
those that really mattered no need to
guess our engagement because we would be
engaged money well spent and we would be
spending money too
so in this brave new digital future that
we're living now
are we being misunderstood probably yes
do we need to be misunderstood
absolutely no you see whether we're one
of many or standing alone we do in fact
stand out in the crowd and we are
counted we are the star of our own
movies but we need to be considered from
all angles at different personas at
different intentions some of our desires
are unique to us some and common to a
group of the like-minded but it's always
in context we talk about business to
business or business to consumer or even
direct to consumer what about a new
model what about consumer to consumer
where we are by turns
somebody's customer and they are our
customer we have something to sell back
to the digital world
and it is us we are seeing the dawn of
the personal information economy we are
all celebrities and with a little help
from our agent we could all be rewarded
for a lifetime of notoriety for the
right reason we could all get famously
compensated for being just who we are
and doing just what we do perhaps this
is the ultimate win-win because we won't
be misunderstood our intentions are good
the best in fact because they will be
our own
thank you