Behavior Generated Content

by Eric Friedman

Behavior generated content is the by product, or data exhaust(as I like to call it), or using a product or service the way you normally would only now some data is collected in the background. As my friend Mike Singleton’s article points out this activity is being captured by services like Foursquare (USV is an investor), Blip.fm, and even my own project Eat.ly.

I like to think that it is the equivalent to keeping track of your stats while playing baseball – this information can be used later in many helpful ways.

First, the data can be used to see what you have been up to. How many times you were up at bat, struck out, got on base, etc…

Second, it can be used to track your position on the team. It lets you know how much play time you have gotten in relation to the rest of the team.

Third, it lets you know what you were up against and how you performed. By seeing the 360 degree view of your performance via data, you cannot dispute the facts or fundamentals of what happened.

A more technological example is Amazon.com. It tracks your behavior via implicit votes (or clicks) and contours what you see based on your interests, recommendations, and your purchasing history. Everything you click on, order, search for, and compare is a vote or behavior generated content about you. Amazon uses this data to make your experience better. Your behavior is generating automated content that is used to curate your next experience and make it even better.

My friend Sam Huleatt had a tipping point moment using Foursquare as to why this sharing is a net benefit. In conclusion he writes that it is about incremental improvements to life, which is similar to my Amazon example given above.

(Disclaimer; I am working on Eat.ly as described above with Mike and Sam and we spend a lot of time thinking about how BGC can create a better experience)

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