How to find out what the data miners know about you

September 16, 2013

A funny thing happened last week while I was across the pond at IFA Berlin 2013, snarfing bratwurst and playing with wicked-cool electronics: Acxiom opened the kimono and showed us its data bits. On September 4, the biggest name in data aggregation that most people have never heard of, let alone are able to pronounce, unveiled AboutTheData, a portal that lets consumers log in and see what marketers think they know about you. That Acxiom was working on a consumer data portal was first noted by Financial Times reporter Emily Steel last April and mentioned here at TY4NS as well. Regular readers will remember that back in May I interviewed Jennifer Barrett Glasgow, chief privacy officer for Acxiom, who denied that her employer was actively working on a data portal for consumers. Well, so much for that. Apologies to my readers and to Emily Steel for suggesting otherwise. Shame on Acxiom for not being honest with me. About AboutTheData’s data The portal itself is not a huge leap forward in transparency, but it’s a step in the right direction. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2048800/how-to-find-out-what-the-data-miners-know-about-you.html#tk.rss_all