I had an interesting experience this week. I was asked to be part of a panel concerning the use of new data from an emerging video delivery platform. We were examining questions like, if this media delivery platform was able to provide new measurements, not only how should it be used--but how could it change the currency being used by the industry today. In other words, what is the value of new quantitative data versus old quantitative data for advertisers?

In our rush to monetize the digital world, content owners often overlook the basic needs of the consumer. And in many cases, legal eagles, marketing whizzes, and sales sharks think in absolutes--you may do X, but you cannot do Y. If you do Y, then you may do Z--but only if there is a full moon and you surrender your Social Security number and first-born.

In a previous life, I used to visit retail stores to "observe subjects in the natural environments." What I was really doing was watching and learning how people evaluated and adopted technology at the source. I was what I lovingly refer to as a technopologist: an anthropologist concerned with how people used, adopted and adapted technology in their everyday environments.

In the last few weeks, it seems as if television executives have discovered one of the powers of the Internet: self-expression....