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The problem with business models like readyforzero's 'sell our users information for money' is that it relies on users not realising that this will happen. Use

by A1kmm 16y ago

The problem with business models like readyforzero's 'sell our users information for money' is that it relies on users not realising that this will happen. Users let sites like readyforzero access their personal information; if they, say, put on their front page 'It's free because we sell information on your credit card transactions so businesses can decide not to offer you credit if they look too bad', most users probably wouldn't sign up - they want to make their credit rating better, not risk making it worse. Relying on consumers not knowing about business practices is not a sustainable business plan for a model that needs high numbers of users to be profitable.

lorenbaxter 16y ago
That's a serious concern, and I'd like to help address it (I am the director of UX at ReadyForZero). A core tenet of our business is that we always act in the interest of the user. So far, our monetization works as follows: - Someone is on our site getting out of debt, and we have a good picture of where they stand financially (their data). - We know what Lending Club looks for in approving folks to get debt consolidation loans. - We can run this user's data against what we know about Lending Club's model, and see if (A) they would be likely to qualify and (B) it would save them time or money. If these things turn up true, we recommend to the user that they go apply, showing them the data that led us to this recommendation. - If they apply for and get a loan from Lending Club, we get a referral fee. Up until the user decides to go apply for a loan, we have sent no data at all to Lending Club. This kind of model is how we plan to approach the whole business. It's about giving people control over their financial situation and data, not taking it away. There are plenty of opportunities for us to profit with this model in an open, ethical, and transparent way, all the while keeping people in the driver's seat.

by A1kmm 16y ago

lorenbaxter 16y ago

That's a serious concern, and I'd like to help address it (I am the director of UX at ReadyForZero). A core tenet of our business is that we always act in the interest of the user. So far, our monetization works as follows: - Someone is on our site getting out of debt, and we have a good picture of where they stand financially (their data). - We know what Lending Club looks for in approving folks to get debt consolidation loans. - We can run this user's data against what we know about Lending Club's model, and see if (A) they would be likely to qualify and (B) it would save them time or money. If these things turn up true, we recommend to the user that they go apply, showing them the data that led us to this recommendation. - If they apply for and get a loan from Lending Club, we get a referral fee. Up until the user decides to go apply for a loan, we have sent no data at all to Lending Club. This kind of model is how we plan to approach the whole business. It's about giving people control over their financial situation and data, not taking it away. There are plenty of opportunities for us to profit with this model in an open, ethical, and transparent way, all the while keeping people in the driver's seat.