Sharing the quantified self as an economic transaction : social capital pro spectator support

Abstract

Many quantified-self applications that encourage the use of data ‘beyond the self’ are emerging. Increasingly, quantified-self users are sharing logged data with relatives, friends and sometimes even publicly. Reasons for sharing vary – from an intrinsic need of showing off accomplishments in home energy efficiency, to sharing daily steps in exchange of health insurance discounts. These scenarios are bringing new opportunities and ethical concerns that are still underexplored. Over the last three years, we developed and tested HeartLink, a system that allows athletes to log and broadcast personal data, including locative and biometric data, in exchange of real-time social support from distributed online crowds. Through an ad-hoc 5k race with 5 athletes and 140 online controlled spectators, we studied the effects on the data-sharing athlete and the online spectators. At the workshop we are keen to present emerging insights and discuss future scenarios where quantified-self data could be used in exchange of valued goods, services or social dynamics.