Our weekly Seminar Series welcomes Avinash (Avi) Collis, an assistant professor in the Department of Information, Risk and Operations Management at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Collis is also a visiting scholar at the Schwartz Reisman Institute, as well as a digital fellow at the Stanford University Digital Economy Lab and the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy.
In this talk, Collis will discuss methods of assessing the value of social media data for users, the analysis of which has implications for policies around data protection and privacy.
Talk title:
“Quantifying the user value of social media data”
Abstract:
We estimate the distribution of consumer valuations of personal data and how these valuations are influenced by real world informational interventions. We do so using an incentive compatible mechanism and capture experimental participants’ willingness to share their actual social media data for monetary compensation. We find that the median participant from a representative sample values their Facebook data, including photos and private messages, at $750. We also repeat this exercise in a sample of privacy conscious individuals involved with the Data Dividend Project, a large data advocacy group. In the DDP sample, the median valuation is higher at $1000. Moreover, we find accurate information on Facebook’s revenue projections or recent settlements for data misuse induces a substantial share of respondents to revise their valuations. The revisions were concentrated in those with low initial valuations. These findings can help inform policymakers and managers interested in data dividends, data protection, and privacy related products.
Recommended readings:
E. Brynjolfsson, A. Collis, and F. Eggers. “Using massive online choice experiments to measure changes in well-being.” PNAS April 9, 2019 116 (15) 7250-7255.
E. Brynjolfsson and A. Collis, “How Should We Measure the Digital Economy?” Harvard Business Review, November–December 2019.
About Avinash Collis
Avinash (Avi) Collis is an assistant professor in the Department of Information, Risk and Operations Management at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a visiting scholar at the Schwartz Reisman Institute, as well as a digital fellow at the Stanford University Digital Economy Lab and the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. Collis holds a PhD in management science from MIT Sloan School of Management. His research interests include the economics of digitization focusing on measuring the welfare gains from digital goods. His research has been published in top tier academic and practitioner journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the Harvard Business Review, and has been covered in major media outlets and policy reports including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the Economist, and the annual report of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
About the SRI Seminar Series
The SRI Seminar Series brings together the Schwartz Reisman community and beyond for a robust exchange of ideas that advance scholarship at the intersection of technology and society. Seminars are led by a leading or emerging scholar and feature extensive discussion.
Each week, a featured speaker will present for 45 minutes, followed by 45 minutes of discussion. Registered attendees will be emailed a Zoom link approximately one hour before the event begins. The event will be recorded and posted online.
Avinash (Avi) Collis