????提供數(shù)據(jù)聚合服務(wù)的第三方竊取互聯(lián)網(wǎng)用戶(hù)個(gè)人信息,，通過(guò)各種程序監(jiān)視用戶(hù)以及將用戶(hù)網(wǎng)頁(yè)瀏覽數(shù)據(jù)出售給無(wú)良商家——網(wǎng)民們對(duì)這類(lèi)不齒行徑已經(jīng)耳熟能詳。但對(duì)于如何控制自己的個(gè)人信息以防泄露這個(gè)問(wèn)題,，網(wǎng)民們就知之甚少了,，更不用提支配個(gè)人信息的訪(fǎng)問(wèn)或使用授權(quán)了。

????不過(guò)現(xiàn)在情況不一樣了,。幾家高科技初創(chuàng)企業(yè)正在為立足于個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)控制產(chǎn)品這一新興市場(chǎng)領(lǐng)域展開(kāi)角逐,。根據(jù)世界經(jīng)濟(jì)論壇（The World Economic Forum）的說(shuō)法，個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)是二十一世紀(jì)的一種資產(chǎn)類(lèi)別,；互聯(lián)網(wǎng)用戶(hù)應(yīng)該從根本上把自己的個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)當(dāng)作“銀行存款”來(lái)看待,。信息技術(shù)行業(yè)市場(chǎng)研究公司弗雷斯特研究公司（Forrester Research）預(yù)測(cè),，個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)管理這一新興市場(chǎng)規(guī)模達(dá)幾十億美元，在接下來(lái)的18到24個(gè)月里更可獲得大幅增長(zhǎng),。僅就美國(guó)市場(chǎng)而言,，每年光是花費(fèi)在第三方消費(fèi)者數(shù)據(jù)收集上的資金就超過(guò)20億美元。Azigo,、Mydex,,、The DataBanker 和 Personal.com等公司爭(zhēng)相通過(guò)個(gè)人信息數(shù)據(jù)業(yè)務(wù)創(chuàng)收。

????這些個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)收集公司到底是怎么運(yùn)作的呢,？大家可以想象一個(gè)基于云技術(shù)的“中心”,，它既充當(dāng)虛擬保險(xiǎn)箱，同時(shí)又是個(gè)人數(shù)字助手,。用戶(hù)能通過(guò)這個(gè)中心管理自己的在線(xiàn)生活,，儲(chǔ)存所有的數(shù)字信息，包括：財(cái)務(wù)信息,、醫(yī)療記錄,、電影、音樂(lè)等等,。智能化軟件控制個(gè)人信息讀取,，確保用戶(hù)只向合法可信的網(wǎng)站提供必要的在線(xiàn)身份信息,?！独赫Z(yǔ)義網(wǎng)改變你的商業(yè)》（Pull: The Power of the Semantic Web to Transform Your Business）一書(shū)的作者戴夫?西格爾認(rèn)為，這些在線(xiàn)保險(xiǎn)箱將最終取代個(gè)人電腦,、平板電腦,、iPhone、微軟（Microsoft）的Windows操作系統(tǒng),、蘋(píng)果（Apple）的Macintosh操作系統(tǒng)以及谷歌（Google）的安卓（Android）操作系統(tǒng),。

????聽(tīng)起來(lái)像是高科技初創(chuàng)企業(yè)的虛張聲勢(shì)？也許吧,。但咨詢(xún)公司波士頓咨詢(xún)公司（Boston Consulting Group）的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,，到2016年，全球互聯(lián)網(wǎng)用戶(hù)人數(shù)將達(dá)到30億,，幾乎相當(dāng)于全球總?cè)丝诘囊话?。將這些用戶(hù)和他們的數(shù)字文檔乘以數(shù)十億計(jì)的信息記錄，大家可以體會(huì)這個(gè)概念有多大,。不難看出風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本現(xiàn)在對(duì)這一領(lǐng)域高度關(guān)注的原因,。投資人斯蒂夫?凱斯就是其中一個(gè)。據(jù)美國(guó)證券交易委員會(huì)（Securities and Exchange Commission）監(jiān)管備案文件顯示,，凱斯的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司Revolution所投資的Personal.com于2011年1月融資730萬(wàn)美元,，今年3月又追加融資350萬(wàn)美元,。Personal.com的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手Singly.com則融資700萬(wàn)美元。

????問(wèn)及籌集初始種子資金是否困難時(shí),，Mydex聯(lián)席創(chuàng)始人威廉?希思沒(méi)有正面回答,，只說(shuō)：“我們得到了需要的資金?！盡ydex是總部設(shè)在英國(guó)的一家個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)控制服務(wù)公司,。而Azigo聯(lián)席創(chuàng)始人兼首席技術(shù)官保羅?特里維希克說(shuō)：“如果你有足夠的用戶(hù),，不難發(fā)現(xiàn)可以利用個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)存儲(chǔ)的各種商業(yè)模式,。”總部設(shè)在馬薩諸塞州沃爾瑟姆的Azigo免費(fèi)提供一種網(wǎng)站服務(wù),，能將用戶(hù)喜歡的品牌,、廣告偏好、商品目錄和每日優(yōu)惠訂閱數(shù)據(jù)等個(gè)人信息歸納到個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)保險(xiǎn)箱,。Mydex的希思說(shuō)：“我們正處在這個(gè)行業(yè)進(jìn)程的開(kāi)端,，但是已經(jīng)能清楚地看到即將掀起一場(chǎng)完美風(fēng)暴的各種要素?！?/p>

????現(xiàn)在看來(lái),，關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題是這種技術(shù)什么時(shí)候能夠成為主流。Connect.me公司的創(chuàng)始人德拉蒙德?里德說(shuō),，一款“殺手級(jí)應(yīng)用程序”將起到催化劑的作用,。當(dāng)出現(xiàn)需要用到個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)保險(xiǎn)箱和個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)服務(wù)時(shí)，就標(biāo)志著這種數(shù)據(jù)保險(xiǎn)箱已成為主流,。里德的公司一直在開(kāi)發(fā)其尊重信任網(wǎng)服務(wù)（The Respect Trust Network）,，從而建立起這一框架。它的運(yùn)行模式是這樣的：用戶(hù)無(wú)需登錄一系列網(wǎng)站,，也不需要使用一堆密碼打開(kāi)瀏覽器標(biāo)簽,，相反，只要登錄一次就可以連接到 “個(gè)人頻道”——數(shù)據(jù)保險(xiǎn)箱,。通過(guò)數(shù)據(jù)保險(xiǎn)箱,，用戶(hù)可以直接進(jìn)入個(gè)人購(gòu)物、銀行或者是博客菜單,，而且始終不會(huì)離開(kāi)該服務(wù)站點(diǎn),。尊重信任網(wǎng)服務(wù)計(jì)劃在2013年末推出。

????曾為美國(guó)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司網(wǎng)景公司（Netscape）和安全軟件公司邁克菲公司（McAfee）元老的卡麥倫?劉易斯則另辟蹊徑,。2011年,，他將Statz.com做成一個(gè)依托于網(wǎng)站的客戶(hù)端，類(lèi)似于金融服務(wù)公司嘉信公司（Schwab）和E-trade公司。在這個(gè)客戶(hù)端上,，消費(fèi)者創(chuàng)建理財(cái)賬戶(hù)以管理自己的數(shù)據(jù)組合,，直接賣(mài)給商戶(hù)。劉易斯把這種模式描述成個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)“同業(yè)公會(huì)”的行業(yè)先驅(qū),。它與惠普實(shí)驗(yàn)室（HP Lab）的策略一致,，在一份題為《根據(jù)個(gè)人的隱私態(tài)度支付個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)費(fèi)用》（Paying Individuals According to their Privacy Attitudes）的報(bào)告里有詳細(xì)的論述。后來(lái),，由于Statz.com無(wú)法獲得進(jìn)一步融資,，劉易斯于是創(chuàng)立了基于相似經(jīng)營(yíng)理念的The DataBanker公司。

????雖然依靠廣告創(chuàng)收的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)產(chǎn)值已超過(guò)美國(guó)GDP的2%,，但是消費(fèi)者應(yīng)該有權(quán)選擇控制自己的個(gè)人信息并從中獲利的觀(guān)念還是太過(guò)激進(jìn),。對(duì)數(shù)據(jù)保險(xiǎn)箱這一理念持批評(píng)態(tài)度的人士迅速表達(dá)了不同意見(jiàn)。美國(guó)無(wú)線(xiàn)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和移動(dòng)計(jì)算咨詢(xún)公司（Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing）總裁艾倫?賴(lài)特在高管社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)平臺(tái)CMO Site上撰寫(xiě)的一篇博文中明確表示：“坦白說(shuō),，我覺(jué)得這類(lèi)公司不大可能成功,。消費(fèi)者已經(jīng)在Facebook之類(lèi)的社交網(wǎng)站上無(wú)償提供了自己的數(shù)據(jù)，同時(shí),，不管是否明確表示了同意,，已經(jīng)在事實(shí)上默許了企業(yè)的數(shù)據(jù)采集?！?/p>

????Internet users have heard plenty about third-party aggregators filching their data, spying on them via all manner of cookies and selling Web surfing data to unscrupulous marketers. Much less has been said about what users can do to control their personal information, let alone have a say in who can snoop around, poke into or use it.

????Until now. A handful of tech startups are competing for a foothold in the emerging market for personal data control products. According to The World Economic Forum, personal data is the asset class of the twenty-first century; users should essentially view their data like "money in a bank." Forrester Research (FORR) projects that the nascent business of personal data management is worth billions and could grow substantially over the next 18 to 24 months. In the U.S. alone, over $2 billion is spent annually just collecting consumer data from third-parties. Companies such as Azigo, Mydex, The DataBanker and Personal.com are racing to cash in.

????How would these personal data lockers work exactly? Picture a cloud-based "hub" that's part virtual safe and part personal digital assistant. This hub allows users to manage their online lives and store all their digital stuff: financial information, medical records, movies, music, and so on. Clever software controls access, making sure appropriate elements of a user's online identity are available to the right, trusted Web sites. Dave Siegel, author of Pull: The Power of the Semantic Web to Transform Your Business, argues these cyber vaults will eventually replace PCs, tablets, iPhones, and Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows and Apple's (AAPL) Macintosh operating systems. Yes, Google (GOOG) Android, too.

????Sound like startup swagger? Perhaps. But by 2016, there will be 3 billion Internet users globally -- almost half the world's population -- according to the Boston Consulting Group. Multiply these users and their digital dossiers over billions of records to grasp the magnitude of the idea. It's not hard to see why venture capital is paying attention. Steve Case is, for one. His company Revolution invested in Personal.com, which raised $7.3 million in January 2011 and added another $3.5 million to its coffers this March, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Sing.ly, a competitor, put together $7 million.

????Asked if it was difficult to raise the initial seed capital, cofounder William Heath of U.K.-based Mydex, deflects a bit: "We've got what we need," he says. "It isn't too hard to see that if you have enough users, there are various business models that could leverage [personal data stores]," says Paul Trevithick, cofounder and chief technology officer of Waltham, Mass.-based Azigo, a free web service that links all one's favored brands, ad preferences, catalogs and daily deal subscriptions into a personal vault. "We're right at the beginning of this process," says Mydex's Heath, "but can clearly see all the ingredients for a perfect storm."

????The crucial question appears to now be when such technologies are likely to break into the mainstream. Drummond Reed, founder of Connect.me, says a "killer app" will be the catalyst. The first service that requires a personal data locker and a personal data network to work will signal that lockers have become prime-time players. His firm is working on The Respect Trust Network to put this framework in place. It works like this: Instead of signing on to a bunch of sites and juggling dozens of passwords and open browser tabs, you'll sign-on once and connect to your "personal channel" -- the locker. From there, you can access your menu of shopping, banking or blogs, without ever leaving the network. It's scheduled to launch in late 2013.

????Netscape and McAfee veteran Cameron Lewis takes a different approach. In 2011 he positioned Statz.com as a web-based client where consumers create a broker account -- similar to Schwab (SCHW) or E-Trade (ETFC) -- and manage a portfolio of their data to sell directly to marketers. Lewis describes this model as a first-of-its kind "board of trade," closely aligned with HP Labs' (HPQ) strategy, detailed in a report titled "Paying Individuals According to their Privacy Attitudes." When Statz.com couldn't find more funding, Lewis started The DataBanker, an outfit based on a similar idea.

????Although the advertising-supported Internet comprises over 2% of U.S. gross domestic product, the very idea that consumers should have the option to profit from or control their personal data is fairly radical. And critics of data lockers have been swift to dismiss the idea. Alan Reiter, president of Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing, a consulting firm, was explicit: "Frankly, I can't see many or any of these companies succeeding," he wrote in a CMO Site blog post, noting that consumers already freely give away their data on Facebook (FB), social networking sites, and agree, with or without consent, to data capture.