A tectonic shift

The information flows that define how our society works – its institutions, services and economics – are in a state of transition: from ‘top down’ and ‘one way’ (organisations publishing information and sending messages to individuals) to ‘bottom up’, ‘peer-to-peer’ and a ‘two way’ information exchange.

Personal Information Management Services

This tectonic shift is making new types of Personal Information Management Service (PIMS) possible.

PIMS are services that work for individuals helping them to gather, use and share the information they need to achieve their purposes. In commercial and practical terms this boils down to making better decisions, and implementing these decisions better.

Many of the building blocks of PIMS already exist. They include online search, peer-to-peer information sharing and social networking, comparison services, and so on.

The role of Personal Data Stores

But before this wave of innovation can really fulfil its potential, we need another capability. Individuals must be able to volunteer and input information about their specific needs, circumstances, preferences and priorities – so that the right information, products and services can be supplied to the right individuals, in the right ways at the right time.

This doesn’t only benefit the individual, it benefits every organisation supplying that individual with products and services too, whether  in the public or private sectors.

In other words, it brings significant benefits for everyone.

Personal information empowerment is key

If individuals are to input this information, it first needs to be created or gathered and stored. And this needs to happen in a structured, disciplined way if it is to work efficiently.

Also, the only way it’s going to happen on a mass scale is if individuals implicitly trust the process: if individuals are empowered to become managers and ‘owners’ of their own personal data.

A solid foundation

Personal Data Stores make this possible. Personal Data Stores are the underpinning and foundation stone of an entire ecosystem of specialist Personal Information Management Services. These PIMS will offer a million and one different services and functions. But, in one way or another, they will all be acquiring and using personal information to add value.

By providing the foundation stone of trusted information sharing under the individual’s control, Mydex is helping to build that eco-system.

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