Exposing Data

The NYTimes recently exposed some data from NetFlix user queues showing the most popular rented items as well as an overlay of where they happened. Lets take a look at the NYC metro area for the #1 most rented movie: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Then to one of the least popular rentals: True Blood Season 1 Disc 1

You can play around with the interactive slider yourself to see what other movies and shows and see a dozen cities worth of data. It is interesting that more of this data is being exposed to the public. It is clearly being used today by companies like NetFlix, Amazon, Google, and others to craft “better” experiences, but at what privacy costs?

From the maps above you can see which pockets and neighborhoods are interested in which shows. This data could further be correlated to out of home advertising and zip code targeted ads to better inform these people. I wonder if any agencies or brands are correlating these data sets for this type of advertising?

In a Utopian future all ads are all targeted to only those who want to see them. What we know in reality is that advertising is an interruption, but exposing some of this data may make those interuptions a little more relevant than they were before.