TCAST: The Future of Data & AI

Since at least the 1990s, teenagers have been the demographic most concerned with a changing climate and the environment as a whole. Thinking back, it’s not hard to remember various start-ups, NGOs and marketing campaigns that were directed at and often featured teenagers in their marketing. That is because when people are in their teens, they are very receptive, energetic, and usually at their most idealistic. Most teenagers since the invention of the word at least want to try to solve all the world’s problems. 

According to a recent article by Bloomberg, the situation hasn’t changed much. Approximately 69% of teenagers around the world currently view climate change as an emergency. It doesn’t go into comparing that with percentages from other times but experience indicates that the numbers would be fairly high. The key of course is channeling that concern into action. In all seriousness, being concerned and angry while sitting at home and tweeting about it probably does more harm than good. 

Some have certainly figured out how to channel their energy productively. Plenty of people who grew up in the 1990s are now running companies that have taken the job of caring for the environment seriously. That’s the whole reason for LEED standards, the growth of geothermal technology, more efficient batteries, recycling water bottles into clothing, and the list goes on. They’ve helped drive changes in other companies as well. When was the last time you saw a fast food place with a Styrofoam container? How many different hair sprays contain CFCs? If it wasn’t for people from that generation growing up and converting their concern into productive action, the environmental situation would be much worse. I know, for example, that the local river is cleaner today than it was thirty years ago, and there is less litter lying around locally as well. 

So, how can we help encourage other teens to channel their energy productively? One way is to share the stories of people who have made a difference. If people see an emergency before them but no clear way of dealing with it, it is at least as likely that they will be paralyzed by despair as galvanized into action. Telling the positive stories of those who have managed to improve the environment can give hope that something can be done and inspire a new generation to take up the mantle. This is part of the reason some religions have specific saints, to provide examples of how to deal with the trials and tribulations the world will throw at you. Examples are powerful motivators regardless of what you want to motivate. 

Another, of course, is education. But, and this is key, not merely telling people about the climate, but teaching them how to figure it out for themselves. Instead of just telling people how bad things are or might be, give them the tools to educate themselves. Where can they go and find the data for themselves? Show them how to deal with difficult questions by letting them ask those questions and taking them seriously. Real education isn’t creating drones who repeat what they are told. It’s helping people develop their capacity for independent thought. That, plus the energy of youth is precisely how teens become young adults developing out-of-the-box solutions that can have a genuine, positive effect. 

Finally, encourage them to take care of the little things. To go out and take care of some of the litter at the local beach. To go to the town meetings on approving a new power plant, or a car charging station. Or to go out and plant trees, volunteer at the animal shelter. Encouraging teens to take care of small local things helps build a real appreciation for the environment and gives them a personal experience with making the world a better place. 

As a bonus, there is always signing up for TARTLE. Share data on what your local issues are and what works and what doesn’t. That information can help drive positive change in the future. 

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

Since at least the 1990s, teenagers have been the demographic most concerned with a changing climate and the environment as a whole. Thinking back, it’s not hard to remember various start-ups, NGOs and marketing campaigns that were directed at and often featured teenagers in their marketing. That is because when people are in their teens, they are very receptive, energetic, and usually at their most idealistic. Most teenagers since the invention of the word at least want to try to solve all the world’s problems. 

According to a recent article by Bloomberg, the situation hasn’t changed much. Approximately 69% of teenagers around the world currently view climate change as an emergency. It doesn’t go into comparing that with percentages from other times but experience indicates that the numbers would be fairly high. The key of course is channeling that concern into action. In all seriousness, being concerned and angry while sitting at home and tweeting about it probably does more harm than good. 

Some have certainly figured out how to channel their energy productively. Plenty of people who grew up in the 1990s are now running companies that have taken the job of caring for the environment seriously. That’s the whole reason for LEED standards, the growth of geothermal technology, more efficient batteries, recycling water bottles into clothing, and the list goes on. They’ve helped drive changes in other companies as well. When was the last time you saw a fast food place with a Styrofoam container? How many different hair sprays contain CFCs? If it wasn’t for people from that generation growing up and converting their concern into productive action, the environmental situation would be much worse. I know, for example, that the local river is cleaner today than it was thirty years ago, and there is less litter lying around locally as well. 

So, how can we help encourage other teens to channel their energy productively? One way is to share the stories of people who have made a difference. If people see an emergency before them but no clear way of dealing with it, it is at least as likely that they will be paralyzed by despair as galvanized into action. Telling the positive stories of those who have managed to improve the environment can give hope that something can be done and inspire a new generation to take up the mantle. This is part of the reason some religions have specific saints, to provide examples of how to deal with the trials and tribulations the world will throw at you. Examples are powerful motivators regardless of what you want to motivate. 

Another, of course, is education. But, and this is key, not merely telling people about the climate, but teaching them how to figure it out for themselves. Instead of just telling people how bad things are or might be, give them the tools to educate themselves. Where can they go and find the data for themselves? Show them how to deal with difficult questions by letting them ask those questions and taking them seriously. Real education isn’t creating drones who repeat what they are told. It’s helping people develop their capacity for independent thought. That, plus the energy of youth is precisely how teens become young adults developing out-of-the-box solutions that can have a genuine, positive effect. 

Finally, encourage them to take care of the little things. To go out and take care of some of the litter at the local beach. To go to the town meetings on approving a new power plant, or a car charging station. Or to go out and plant trees, volunteer at the animal shelter. Encouraging teens to take care of small local things helps build a real appreciation for the environment and gives them a personal experience with making the world a better place. 

As a bonus, there is always signing up for TARTLE. Share data on what your local issues are and what works and what doesn’t. That information can help drive positive change in the future. 

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

There is a new collection of words running around - Environmental, Social, Governance. The aim is to develop principles that will help guide businesses, governments, and other organizations in making decisions that are more environmentally and socially responsible. Proponents of ESG are also very much on the lookout for new industries and how they might fit in with those principles. One of those is the growing worlds of esports and virtual reality. 

I remember my first virtual reality experience. It was back in the early 1990s and there was a big (and expensive) virtual reality set up at the local movie theater. With the bland background and very heavy polygons, it would be putting it mildly to say that the experience was less than immersive. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t likely to go anywhere. Now, though, it has come a very long way. The combination of other advanced technologies like motion sensing, augmented reality, and haptic feedback have given us various levels of virtual reality experiences, from the Nintendo Wii to the Oculus headsets. Now that the experiences are getting better and more detailed, it no longer takes much imagination to see how we could go from where we are now to the technology available in Ready Player One, with full haptic suits and a totally immersive experience with full digital representations of ourselves in a virtual universe. 

Combine that with the concept of esports and that cool omnidirectional treadmill and there are some interesting possibilities. Imagine if you could get together with your Twitter circle for a virtual baseball game. Or a car race. What if you could arrange a time to meet and do a virtual hike of the Grand Canyon, visit the Louvre? Mars? The possibilities are endless. 

How on earth does this have anything to do with ESG principles? The short answer is the potential savings in resources. Imagine if you could test out a car without actually having to drive it? Or try flying a plane in virtual reality? You might find if you wouldn’t like something that you would have spent thousands of dollars on. Virtual testing could be applied to all sorts of things. For example, you could test walking a dog. If you don’t like it, you wouldn’t find yourself returning a dog, which tends to lead to bad results for the little canine. Trying on clothes is another great use. Rather than just ordering something only to be disappointed, you’d get to see how that jacket looks in a virtual setting before you spend money on it. 

It could also open up a whole world for people who would never have the resources to travel. Someone in the lower middle class could explore the Australian Outback. It could also provide a new immersive way of exploring literature or history. Wouldn’t it be great if you could sit in on a Socratic dialogue, or walk through Pompeii before Vesuvius blows up? Needless to say, the educational opportunities are immense. 

In terms of actual sports, some of the tech that could be incorporated, such as treadmills, could actually help the overall fitness of the population. A virtual football game could have much of the athleticism and none of the head trauma. Using virtual reality tech to play something like Call of Duty, which could incorporate a physical simulation of an M4 automatic rifle, with the same weight and shape could actually get you in pretty good shape. 

Of course, none of this actually substitutes for the real thing. The real world will always be superior precisely because it is real. That’s something that even the creator of the Oasis in Ready Player One realized, total immersion in the virtual leads to a disconnect from reality. Used judiciously as a tool though, it could be used to expand people’s horizons and get them to a place where they have a greater appreciation for the world around them and a better understanding of how we are all connected in the long run.

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

There is a new collection of words running around - Environmental, Social, Governance. The aim is to develop principles that will help guide businesses, governments, and other organizations in making decisions that are more environmentally and socially responsible. Proponents of ESG are also very much on the lookout for new industries and how they might fit in with those principles. One of those is the growing worlds of esports and virtual reality. 

I remember my first virtual reality experience. It was back in the early 1990s and there was a big (and expensive) virtual reality set up at the local movie theater. With the bland background and very heavy polygons, it would be putting it mildly to say that the experience was less than immersive. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t likely to go anywhere. Now, though, it has come a very long way. The combination of other advanced technologies like motion sensing, augmented reality, and haptic feedback have given us various levels of virtual reality experiences, from the Nintendo Wii to the Oculus headsets. Now that the experiences are getting better and more detailed, it no longer takes much imagination to see how we could go from where we are now to the technology available in Ready Player One, with full haptic suits and a totally immersive experience with full digital representations of ourselves in a virtual universe. 

Combine that with the concept of esports and that cool omnidirectional treadmill and there are some interesting possibilities. Imagine if you could get together with your Twitter circle for a virtual baseball game. Or a car race. What if you could arrange a time to meet and do a virtual hike of the Grand Canyon, visit the Louvre? Mars? The possibilities are endless. 

How on earth does this have anything to do with ESG principles? The short answer is the potential savings in resources. Imagine if you could test out a car without actually having to drive it? Or try flying a plane in virtual reality? You might find if you wouldn’t like something that you would have spent thousands of dollars on. Virtual testing could be applied to all sorts of things. For example, you could test walking a dog. If you don’t like it, you wouldn’t find yourself returning a dog, which tends to lead to bad results for the little canine. Trying on clothes is another great use. Rather than just ordering something only to be disappointed, you’d get to see how that jacket looks in a virtual setting before you spend money on it. 

It could also open up a whole world for people who would never have the resources to travel. Someone in the lower middle class could explore the Australian Outback. It could also provide a new immersive way of exploring literature or history. Wouldn’t it be great if you could sit in on a Socratic dialogue, or walk through Pompeii before Vesuvius blows up? Needless to say, the educational opportunities are immense. 

In terms of actual sports, some of the tech that could be incorporated, such as treadmills, could actually help the overall fitness of the population. A virtual football game could have much of the athleticism and none of the head trauma. Using virtual reality tech to play something like Call of Duty, which could incorporate a physical simulation of an M4 automatic rifle, with the same weight and shape could actually get you in pretty good shape. 

Of course, none of this actually substitutes for the real thing. The real world will always be superior precisely because it is real. That’s something that even the creator of the Oasis in Ready Player One realized, total immersion in the virtual leads to a disconnect from reality. Used judiciously as a tool though, it could be used to expand people’s horizons and get them to a place where they have a greater appreciation for the world around them and a better understanding of how we are all connected in the long run.

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

Well, the rich and the powerful are at it again with some new pledges from their favorite vacation spot. Per the usual arrangement, they gathered to speak at length and in eloquent language about climate change at the conference, right after they arrived in their private jets. Surely they have the technology to pull off a decent Zoom call. 

In any case, this time around, over sixty big businesses have pledged to all and sundry that they would be more transparent. This latest pledge includes commitments to issue reports on things like greenhouse gas emissions, equal pay, water use, plastic use, and a lot more. It is of course good to pay attention to all of these things and that is the first step to actually doing something about improving the environment. However, does any of this even imply that anything is actually going to be done? Let’s take a look.

What is this pledge? It is a pledge to commit to report on various metrics. Well, that’s less than impressive. First, pledges have a way of not really materializing. There is always some reason they can’t be fulfilled. Commitments are no different. Maybe they are met, maybe they aren’t. Often, we never know because our memory is basically non-existent, the only thing we seem to have less of is follow-through. So if we remember that there was a commitment, we most likely won’t even follow through to see if anything ever came of it. For a lot of people, that’s due to just plain laziness, for others, they’ve just come to accept that nothing is ever really going to change. And then, there are the reports that these companies (including MasterCard and Unilever) say they will be producing. Reports like this don’t change anything in and of themselves, at best, they are interesting spins on data. At worst, they are tremendous wastes of money that mostly exist to give the illusion of action. What usually winds up happening is that the pledges get lauded in the press and the companies go about business as usual. Or they might make some effort here and there, reducing plastics one year, emissions by a bit the next, and other token gestures. 

My personal favorite token gesture was actually at a local restaurant. If you recall a few years ago, everybody was very worked up over plastic straws and this restaurant was no different. They had signs proudly proclaiming that they weren’t using them anymore. Well and good. However, my drink was served in a single-use plastic cup and I ate with single-use plastic cutlery. Seriously, who are we trying to kid here? 

My point here is that most of these pledges and reports are basically like ditching plastic straws while keeping the plastic cups. The cup might not fit up a turtle’s nose but it still is contributing to the problem of microplastics in the ocean. The main difference is that one has imagery attached to it that plays on our emotions. The pledges come with a lot of evocative headlines and photo-ops with people in suits signing things with fancy pens. In the end, it’s all theater.

If these companies are serious, they are going to have to start taking real action. For that, they are going to need some real data and not just react and make promises based on whatever headlines they see trending on social media. We encourage all of these companies to get in touch with TARTLE to investigate the best possible ways to get that data. We can put them in contact with real people on the ground in countries around the world to get a better read on what sort of policies and changes they most need to see that could make a real difference in people’s lives.

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

Well, the rich and the powerful are at it again with some new pledges from their favorite vacation spot. Per the usual arrangement, they gathered to speak at length and in eloquent language about climate change at the conference, right after they arrived in their private jets. Surely they have the technology to pull off a decent Zoom call. 

In any case, this time around, over sixty big businesses have pledged to all and sundry that they would be more transparent. This latest pledge includes commitments to issue reports on things like greenhouse gas emissions, equal pay, water use, plastic use, and a lot more. It is of course good to pay attention to all of these things and that is the first step to actually doing something about improving the environment. However, does any of this even imply that anything is actually going to be done? Let’s take a look.

What is this pledge? It is a pledge to commit to report on various metrics. Well, that’s less than impressive. First, pledges have a way of not really materializing. There is always some reason they can’t be fulfilled. Commitments are no different. Maybe they are met, maybe they aren’t. Often, we never know because our memory is basically non-existent, the only thing we seem to have less of is follow-through. So if we remember that there was a commitment, we most likely won’t even follow through to see if anything ever came of it. For a lot of people, that’s due to just plain laziness, for others, they’ve just come to accept that nothing is ever really going to change. And then, there are the reports that these companies (including MasterCard and Unilever) say they will be producing. Reports like this don’t change anything in and of themselves, at best, they are interesting spins on data. At worst, they are tremendous wastes of money that mostly exist to give the illusion of action. What usually winds up happening is that the pledges get lauded in the press and the companies go about business as usual. Or they might make some effort here and there, reducing plastics one year, emissions by a bit the next, and other token gestures. 

My personal favorite token gesture was actually at a local restaurant. If you recall a few years ago, everybody was very worked up over plastic straws and this restaurant was no different. They had signs proudly proclaiming that they weren’t using them anymore. Well and good. However, my drink was served in a single-use plastic cup and I ate with single-use plastic cutlery. Seriously, who are we trying to kid here? 

My point here is that most of these pledges and reports are basically like ditching plastic straws while keeping the plastic cups. The cup might not fit up a turtle’s nose but it still is contributing to the problem of microplastics in the ocean. The main difference is that one has imagery attached to it that plays on our emotions. The pledges come with a lot of evocative headlines and photo-ops with people in suits signing things with fancy pens. In the end, it’s all theater.

If these companies are serious, they are going to have to start taking real action. For that, they are going to need some real data and not just react and make promises based on whatever headlines they see trending on social media. We encourage all of these companies to get in touch with TARTLE to investigate the best possible ways to get that data. We can put them in contact with real people on the ground in countries around the world to get a better read on what sort of policies and changes they most need to see that could make a real difference in people’s lives.

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

In the United States, it is possible to take everything you have, pack it up and move all the way across the country with no one questioning it. You just go, find a place to live and you’re good. These days, thanks to the digital revolution and the gig economy, it might even be possible to keep your job. You can even travel all over the world and bring your computer and your work with you. Yet, there is one particular thing you can’t easily take with you – your medical records. 

The reasons for this are simple. Medical information is some of the most personal there is about you. It can affect your job, your insurance, and reveal areas of weakness that bad actors could take advantage of. Because of that, naturally, you want that information kept private. Not just from your neighbor but from other companies as well. However, is it really private? And there are certainly times that you would want your information readily available. Just imagine you are several states over on vacation doing some hiking. You trip and hit your head on a rock, knocking yourself unconscious. You weren’t out by yourself so your friends got you to the hospital. The doctors hit you with some anesthetic – which you happen to be allergic to. You have a massive reaction that delays the surgery you need to relieve pressure on your brain. The end result is that you lose function on the left side of your body. This entire situation could have been prevented if the doctors could have had quick and easy access to your records that detail all your allergies. If they had that information, a different anesthetic would have been applied and the surgery would have happened sooner without any complications. Now, for the reasons already stated, it is hard for other medical facilities to get your information. At the least, it takes your express permission for them to get it, which you can’t give if you are knocked out with a concussion. Wouldn’t it be better if you had an advanced version of those medical bracelets with a code that provides access to your records? Or if you could just have a digital version on your phone? Something that would make it possible for medical personnel to access your information in an emergency situation could save a life. 

Yet, this is often difficult at best. Ironically, hospitals and other companies that deal with medical information will often sell your information to third parties. It gets used in crafting new drugs as well as new procedures and policies. Sure, your name isn’t attached to the information so it is anonymized to a large degree. However, that is still your information and it doesn’t seem right that Bayer or Moderna should be able to access your information more than you can. And let’s be honest, how likely is it that your medical data is truly anonymous? Just as companies buying your data from T-Mobile can figure out who and where you are if they want, an insurance company will likely be able to connect the dots if they put forth a little effort. It would be fair to point out that having your medical data on the cloud somewhere also exposes it to getting hacked and exploited. However, that is a risk you are choosing to take. 

That’s why TARTLE has partnered with medical providers around the United States to allow TARTLE members to have control of their medical data. Our members can more easily store and share their medical information as needed, allowing them to more readily deal with medical issues. After all, if you are going to be sovereign over your data, don’t you think that should include your medical information as well?

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

In the United States, it is possible to take everything you have, pack it up and move all the way across the country with no one questioning it. You just go, find a place to live and you’re good. These days, thanks to the digital revolution and the gig economy, it might even be possible to keep your job. You can even travel all over the world and bring your computer and your work with you. Yet, there is one particular thing you can’t easily take with you – your medical records. 

The reasons for this are simple. Medical information is some of the most personal there is about you. It can affect your job, your insurance, and reveal areas of weakness that bad actors could take advantage of. Because of that, naturally, you want that information kept private. Not just from your neighbor but from other companies as well. However, is it really private? And there are certainly times that you would want your information readily available. Just imagine you are several states over on vacation doing some hiking. You trip and hit your head on a rock, knocking yourself unconscious. You weren’t out by yourself so your friends got you to the hospital. The doctors hit you with some anesthetic – which you happen to be allergic to. You have a massive reaction that delays the surgery you need to relieve pressure on your brain. The end result is that you lose function on the left side of your body. This entire situation could have been prevented if the doctors could have had quick and easy access to your records that detail all your allergies. If they had that information, a different anesthetic would have been applied and the surgery would have happened sooner without any complications. Now, for the reasons already stated, it is hard for other medical facilities to get your information. At the least, it takes your express permission for them to get it, which you can’t give if you are knocked out with a concussion. Wouldn’t it be better if you had an advanced version of those medical bracelets with a code that provides access to your records? Or if you could just have a digital version on your phone? Something that would make it possible for medical personnel to access your information in an emergency situation could save a life. 

Yet, this is often difficult at best. Ironically, hospitals and other companies that deal with medical information will often sell your information to third parties. It gets used in crafting new drugs as well as new procedures and policies. Sure, your name isn’t attached to the information so it is anonymized to a large degree. However, that is still your information and it doesn’t seem right that Bayer or Moderna should be able to access your information more than you can. And let’s be honest, how likely is it that your medical data is truly anonymous? Just as companies buying your data from T-Mobile can figure out who and where you are if they want, an insurance company will likely be able to connect the dots if they put forth a little effort. It would be fair to point out that having your medical data on the cloud somewhere also exposes it to getting hacked and exploited. However, that is a risk you are choosing to take. 

That’s why TARTLE has partnered with medical providers around the United States to allow TARTLE members to have control of their medical data. Our members can more easily store and share their medical information as needed, allowing them to more readily deal with medical issues. After all, if you are going to be sovereign over your data, don’t you think that should include your medical information as well?

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

“The statistical method shows the facts in the light of the ideal average, but that does not give us a picture of their empirical reality.” – Carl Jung

Pithy, isn’t it? Okay, it’s actually a rather dense quote. What it means is “stop putting people in buckets”. Thanks for coming to our TED talk and we hope you enjoy the day. Just kidding, let’s dig into this a bit. 

First, isn’t it interesting how people can often spot problems early, long before the rest of us catch up? Typically, we ignore them and their concerns until it is years, sometimes decades later and someone else remembers the lost insight. That is the case here. That quote from the great psychologist is from 1957, decades before the digital revolution was underway, yet it is incredibly relevant to the present day. It is an indictment of our overreliance on statistics in our decision-making processes. 

Even the fact we tend to ignore insights like this, insights that are ahead of their time, proves the point of the quote. We ignore things like this based on an unconscious analysis that is grounded in statistics. Fifteen years ago, most people would have said, “I’ll never really ignore people in favor of my phone or an attractive spreadsheet.” Because a thing has never happened or has only happened rarely, that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen. We hear this kind of thing in politics all the time. “No one has ever been elected with this….” Insert whatever statistical fact you want. And then it happens.

The truth is, statistics are great predictors until they aren’t. Just because a thing usually happens in a certain way, there is no particular reason to think they will always go that way. What’s worse is that we think knowing some statistics is the same thing as really understanding something. We tend to treat them as explanatory when they are only descriptive at best. There are many times when statistics aren’t even properly descriptive. Instead, they are illustrative of the analyst’s biases. 

This is particularly true when applied to people. Imagine someone who gets a ton of ads for Christmas music. Why might that be? Because they often buy Christmas albums? Not necessarily. Remember, the algorithms that drive the ads operate by cross-referencing certain behaviors. In this case, let’s imagine that this person with all the Christmas music ads tends to order a new ugly sweater on Amazon every year. The algorithm assumes that the person likes everything having to do with Christmas. Maybe this individual does like most things associated with the holiday. Everything but Christmas music. In fact, our sweater-wearing friend hates Christmas music but endures it for the sake of the annual ugly sweater party with his friends. I can guarantee those ads are not going to convert him into a sale for the latest Mariah Carey Christmas album. 

Why do we do this? Why do we make all of these guesses? Why rely so much on assumptions and allow our decisions to be guided by statistics and algorithms? Because it is easy. Find a few statistical correlations and develop an algorithm from them and then run all your data through that. Broadly speaking, the picture it forms may even be accurate. But you don’t really know for sure. You certainly don’t know where it falls short or why. The only way you really can be sure is by going to the individuals behind the statistics, the people actually generating the data that all these programs are trying to classify. Then ask them, “what were you thinking when you did ‘x’?” That’s how you get real knowledge, and real understanding, by treating data with the respect you give to the people who generate it. Because that data represents them and their thoughts. That is powerful and understanding is the first step on the path to real, truthful knowledge.

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!

“The statistical method shows the facts in the light of the ideal average, but that does not give us a picture of their empirical reality.” – Carl Jung

Pithy, isn’t it? Okay, it’s actually a rather dense quote. What it means is “stop putting people in buckets”. Thanks for coming to our TED talk and we hope you enjoy the day. Just kidding, let’s dig into this a bit. 

First, isn’t it interesting how people can often spot problems early, long before the rest of us catch up? Typically, we ignore them and their concerns until it is years, sometimes decades later and someone else remembers the lost insight. That is the case here. That quote from the great psychologist is from 1957, decades before the digital revolution was underway, yet it is incredibly relevant to the present day. It is an indictment of our overreliance on statistics in our decision-making processes. 

Even the fact we tend to ignore insights like this, insights that are ahead of their time, proves the point of the quote. We ignore things like this based on an unconscious analysis that is grounded in statistics. Fifteen years ago, most people would have said, “I’ll never really ignore people in favor of my phone or an attractive spreadsheet.” Because a thing has never happened or has only happened rarely, that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen. We hear this kind of thing in politics all the time. “No one has ever been elected with this….” Insert whatever statistical fact you want. And then it happens.

The truth is, statistics are great predictors until they aren’t. Just because a thing usually happens in a certain way, there is no particular reason to think they will always go that way. What’s worse is that we think knowing some statistics is the same thing as really understanding something. We tend to treat them as explanatory when they are only descriptive at best. There are many times when statistics aren’t even properly descriptive. Instead, they are illustrative of the analyst’s biases. 

This is particularly true when applied to people. Imagine someone who gets a ton of ads for Christmas music. Why might that be? Because they often buy Christmas albums? Not necessarily. Remember, the algorithms that drive the ads operate by cross-referencing certain behaviors. In this case, let’s imagine that this person with all the Christmas music ads tends to order a new ugly sweater on Amazon every year. The algorithm assumes that the person likes everything having to do with Christmas. Maybe this individual does like most things associated with the holiday. Everything but Christmas music. In fact, our sweater-wearing friend hates Christmas music but endures it for the sake of the annual ugly sweater party with his friends. I can guarantee those ads are not going to convert him into a sale for the latest Mariah Carey Christmas album. 

Why do we do this? Why do we make all of these guesses? Why rely so much on assumptions and allow our decisions to be guided by statistics and algorithms? Because it is easy. Find a few statistical correlations and develop an algorithm from them and then run all your data through that. Broadly speaking, the picture it forms may even be accurate. But you don’t really know for sure. You certainly don’t know where it falls short or why. The only way you really can be sure is by going to the individuals behind the statistics, the people actually generating the data that all these programs are trying to classify. Then ask them, “what were you thinking when you did ‘x’?” That’s how you get real knowledge, and real understanding, by treating data with the respect you give to the people who generate it. Because that data represents them and their thoughts. That is powerful and understanding is the first step on the path to real, truthful knowledge.

What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co

Tcast is brought to you by TARTLE. A global personal data marketplace that allows users to sell their personal information anonymously when they want to, while allowing buyers to access clean ready to analyze data sets on digital identities from all across the globe.

The show is hosted by Co-Founder and Source Data Pioneer Alexander McCaig and Head of Conscious Marketing Jason Rigby.

What's your data worth?

Find out at: https://tartle.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TARTLE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TARTLEofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tartle_official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TARTLEofficial

Spread the word!