He who owns the Data Wins

One of foundational challenges of WEB 2.0 is the revenue model. It is a fallacy to believe that everyone can build a universal sustainable business model based on social networking. If you draw a comparison in the real world, think of it as running a Bistro. If you don't have the right location, if you don't have the right brand of beans, if you don't stay current with your decor, if you don't.....you will lose traffic to the next greatest bistro that just went up across the street (and the hours are lousy).

I was sitting in an executive meeting during the WEB 1.0 era, and out of frustration I stated, "He who owns the data WINS". The room went immediately quiet. Executive management got it. Search engines had just established themselves and everyone was rushing to cut a deal. Search engines have a key role in your business, but they should not OWN your business. If there is no content, search engines lose their juice. If you are in a favored position to own a piece of the content, then take it. I will let you peak at the data, I will let you play with the data, I will let you read the data, but its mine. MINE. ALL MINE. If I own the DATA, then I win.

I am the one who said, "He who owns the Data WINS". You can read it here, you can quote it, and I will let you search for it. But..... "It’s Mine".