StJohn Deakins from citizenme on safeguarding digital identities

StJohn Deakins, CEO of citizenme on protecting online and digital footprints across social media

Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your name and what do you do there at citizenme?

StJohn Deakins (SJD): StJohn Deakins, I?m the founder and CEO of citizenme. I?m managing the creation of the citizenme platform, which will give people full ownership and control of their digital identity.

SMP: Briefly, tell us about citizenme (for those that don?t know), what is it and what does company do?

SJD: I believe visibility and ownership of our personal data should be a fundamental right for all. Citizenme is a service that?s designed to help people to take back control of their digital identity and allows them to manage how they appear across social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. It reveals what of our personal data is publicly available, how we ?look? on different sites and help people manage what is visible and what is private. It also gives internet users a way to get back most of the cash that?s currently being made by others from selling their data, if they wish to.

Our aim is to change the face of personal digital data management for the better, for all and forever. It will also let people use their digital identity for personal gain instead of allowing it to remain part of the billion dollar business of personal data exploitation. Citizenme is currently in closed private beta and will be moving to open beta in June this year.

SMP: Who are your target audience and why?

SJD: Everyone is a digital citizen, so our audience is pretty broad. We want to enable everyone who is concerned about how their private data is being used to take control back of this personal information and manage it for themselves. However attitudes about how to deal with our digital identity information varies widely by age group.  From our research, Internet users over 45 in the UK emphasise transparency about where personal data exists, how it?s used and the need for some control. At the other extreme, for digital natives (18-24 year olds) these same desires hold true, plus they are more open to exchanging data in return for reward, as long as it?s on their terms.



SMP: How is protecting ownership of personal data and digital identities important?

SJD: Protecting personal data and our digital identity are critical. It is expected that 80% of the world?s population will be online and ?digitised? in the next five to 10 years, meaning that more and more people will demand control of their data and to get sight of how it is being used. At the moment this happens without their knowledge or explicit consent. For example, when Instagram sought to update its terms and conditions, explaining to users that they would use their pictures for adverts, there was public uproar. Citizenme aims to demystify privacy issues so that the digital citizen is in control of their identity.

SMP: How does citizenme do this?

SJD: The two most important tools that citizenme will provide people with are visibility of their personal data, and control over it. We ultimately want to allow everyone who accesses the Internet to get information about their own data in real-time and provide the ability to take back control of it.  

For example, a citizenme user (or citizen) will be notified if Facebook updates its Terms & Conditions (T&Cs), and these changes will be explained in easy to understand language. They can then choose to take action. It gives users back control and choice by enabling them to understand how their data is currently being used, and managing this use going forward. Some may want to keep all their information private, while others may wish to use some of their personal information in return for rewards. The choice is theirs.

SMP: When was the company founded, how is it funded and how many people work there?

SJD: citizenme was founded in 2013 and we have eight employees at the moment. Our team consists of digital architects, designers, marketers and database engineers. We?re also supported by industry expert advisors from the digital advertising, data security and privacy sectors.

SMP: When will the service launch and how are you going to let people know about it?

SJD: The citizenme service will be in invitation only beta in March 2014 and in open Beta in June. We will be adding functionality through this year.  Service integrity is very important as we?re a service that provides trust about information. We therefore aim to grow the citizenry in a very measured way. User feedback and recommendations will both be key to us.  

SMP: What are the challenges that you?ve encountered and how are you overcoming them in what you have been doing so far citizenme?

SJD: A major one is consumers understanding of what happens to their data. This hasn?t been helped by some fairly short term thinking from some Internet sites and services which have tried to obscure how they make money and what they do with their user?s data. Thankfully news events in the last 12-months have helped bring these issues to the fore and consumer mindsets are changing quite rapidly.  This growing distrust creates a knock on risk for the ecosystem. By restoring trust we will help both consumers and the Internet ecosystem that they enable.

SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?

SJD: We?re in Alpha testing at the moment.  Seeing the service materialise into a tangible application that people can play with is always a wonderful thing.

SMP: What are the main social channels are you using, why and which are the most effective for citizenme?

SJD: We use a wide variety of social channels.

Our official website is where we ask digital citizens to share their email address with us so we can keep them up to date with citizenme and when our platform will be launched.

We are prolific tweeters @ctznme and I?m also very active on Twitter too @StJohnDeakins. We find Twitter to be excellent at engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including journalists and concerned citizens. We also use Facebook and have a presence on Google+.

Out of all the channels we find Twitter to be the most effective, given the speed with which you can engage with people, but also because communication is to the point thanks to the 140 character limit. Brevity is king on Twitter and we like it like that. I was a producer of the documentary Twittamentary which helped me understand how powerful it is as a social channel. It connects people based on shared interest and is the social network where you meet people that you will know in the future. For us, as a new company in a nascent market, that?s essential!

SMP: How are you balancing using social environments that maybe exposed to the privacy concerns that citizenme strives to educate and protect users about/from?

SJD: We like to practice what we preach. As avid users of a range of social media channels, we ensure that we get up to speed about a platform before we take the step to use it. By educating ourselves, we understand better how they operate. For example, any time T&Cs are updated on a social platform we use, we have a read so we understand it, and ask questions if not. Transparency is key, so if you don?t ask, you don?t get. After learning everything ourselves, we store that up ready to share with our users. If we have privacy concerns, we make sure we investigate, and ask questions about it. If we?re feeling uncomfortable with something, then we?ll take a break until our issues have been resolved.

By asking questions, and sharing that information with our followers, we?re educating them in turn too, and empowering them not to be afraid to ask questions or to gain a clearer understanding of the platform they?re using. Knowledge is power.

SMP: What sort of activity / engagement are you receiving across the social channels that you use and how do you create / sustain this?

SJD: Our belief is that we?re all becoming digital by default.  Hence the need for a service, which helps us ?see? all our digital personas.  So social channels are central to our community outreach and engagement. We?re still in pre-launch mode but have received a lot of interest and currently have 1,437 followers on Twitter and 2,240 likes on Facebook. Social channels are already creating excellent opportunities that we wouldn?t have seen otherwise. For example, I now write a blog for the Huffington Post thanks to engagement with them on Twitter. I was also introduced to one of our advisors by a mutual tweep on Twitter.  So social dramatically boosts our network potential.

A critical way of sustaining interest and engagement across our social channels is to provide our followers with relevant and interesting content. We have no problem retweeting really interesting stories or flagging great pieces of journalism on the topic of personal data and other relevant topics in the same sphere. We find it a really useful way to get conversations going amongst interested parties and to hear a variety of interesting and insightful opinions being expressed.

As we move into invitation only Beta, we?re also starting to use our blog to keep users up to date on the progress of both the service and the company.


SMP:  What do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities for both citizenme and its users regarding personal data and digital identities?

SJD: We face a number of challenges. Firstly, we want to demystify T&Cs, as currently there is no incentive for the people who write T&Cs to make them understandable to the end user. Many Terms claim broad rights to own our content and to sell our personal data. We do this by presenting T&Cs in simple, plain language that can be understood by all. citizenme then alerts citizens to any changes to T&Cs any possible problems and providing the ability to make changes if they wish.

Another challenge we want to address is giving people complete control over their digital identity and giving them options of how to use this information. Some may wish to anonymously sell their own data on their own terms for rewards, while others may wish to simply use the citizenme service for transparency and control of their private data. The key is providing simplicity and choice. This doesn?t currently exist which is very dangerous for the social media, digital advertising and ecommerce ecosystems as it severely damages trust. For example, Big Brother Watch says 68% of people fear for their online privacy, meanwhile a recent Ernst & Young survey reports that a massive 92% of UK citizens are now concerned about what they post on Social Media sites. If consumers distrust, they disengage. We aim to help fix this.

SMP: What is the most challenging part of building upon the brands presence in digital environments (including social media)?

The biggest issue is noise.  As I mentioned, I was lucky enough to help produce the social media documentary, Twittamentary.  In the four years since the movie was filmed, social media has become a primary communications channel for many large international brands and social channels are incredibly noisy. With the possible exception of ?Fenton?, nothing goes ?viral? without large volumes of paid media.  Popular sites are becoming much more ?effective? at monetising their advertising for customers. Whilst paid, owned and earned media still exists as a concept; the reality is that for brands on a number of social media platforms in 2014, earned media comes at a price.

SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect of personal digital information over the next 12-18-months and why?

SJD: We?re all becoming digitally self-aware. As everything we do becomes reflected digitally (from paying a bill to visiting a doctor to ?liking? a friends baby pic) we transact our digital identity and leave a fragment of our persona with the other party.  Digital Natives already get this ? and an example is the new trend of ephemeral and semi-anonymous networks, such as SnapChat, Secret and Whisper. Such apps allow users to post information anonymously within their contacts list. The arrival of these services shows a growing consumer desire to take back control of personal data. This shift in mind set has only just begun.

SMP: What are your top five predictions for social media for the next 12 to 18-months ? and what sort of impact could this have on what people do with their personal digital information?

SJD replies with:

1. User Control. More control mechanisms in existing applications and a host of new ephemeral messaging applications all working on variations of Snapchat functionality (disappearing pics, messages, videos etc).
   
   
2. Anonymity makes a comeback. After Mark Zuckerburg famously declared that anonymity was ?duplicitous?, expect the pendulum to continue to swing the other way. Consumers are concerned so will trend toward disengagement (Boomers, GenX) or masking identity (millennia?s and digital natives). All will seek more control.
   
   
3. More Multibillion $ Acquisitions. The ?old guard? of Social (Facebook, Twitter) will spend more billions in an attempt to stay ?cool? as core demographics continue to trend to ?average? and become increasingly disengaged. Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and others are also hunting for ?the next big thing?, which will push prices still higher.
   
   
4. Diversification and Decentralisation.  Growing concerns about our data will encourage users to spread their time and attention across more social networks. This will enable new and niche networks to thrive.  However, older network accounts (like Facebook for teens) are rarely deleted. Therefore, the number of social profiles per user will continue to multiply and a networks share of attention and engagement will become the key metric.
   
   
5. G+ will remain off most users radar but become increasingly powerful. Google+ is much more than a social ?destination? (like Facebook or Twitter).  It?s an identity ?glue? or medium that enables Google to aggregate our personal data across all Google services (search, android, browsing, Gmail, glass, car etc) and to index us. As the world becomes connected via mobile through the rest of this decade, Google will become the first marketing company to get a 360 view of the vast majority of humanity. That?s kinda powerful.

Of course, making predictions about where social media will go next is a tad tricky as it?s such a fluid and constantly changing environment, so don?t hold me to these (but at least three will be right)!

SMP: What are your top five tips for people to manage their digital profiles and personal data?

SJD replies with:

1. Remember Online and Offline are now the same thing.  One of the most retweeted comments in our movie Twittamentary is: ?Be careful what you say on Twitter Baby!?  Essentially, post comments that you?d say in real life and remember that you?re not just talking to friends but also sharing with marketers, profilers, data harvesters, future employers and others.  In public and semi-public forums try to be the authentic in-real-life you that you would normally be in those situations.  For example you probably wouldn?t shout across the office that you hate your boss (if you would, you might want to consider a change in situation).  Once you?ve posted (or even almost posted) it?s pretty much permanent.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. If something seems too good to be true? Be aware of trade-offs when signing up for any ?free? service it?s either a loss lead or you?re trading something without realising it. This might be content (e.g. if you send a picture using Twitpic you give them full ownership of that picture to sell on to a stock photography company, advertisers, whatever they like). Or your personal data (e.g. many ?free? game apps)
   
   
3. Delight in ?duplicity?.  Don?t feel ?duplicitous? for sharing slightly different personal profile details on different sites that you join. An old direct marketing trick and is to use slightly different personal details on different sites to help track where personal data has been traded (e.g. if someone thinks I?m 2 years younger XYZ has sold my details).  It also means I have a little more control over access to the ?real me?.
   
   
4. The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated and be graceful. For example, maybe ask someone before posting a funny picture of them. Thoughtfulness begets thoughtfulness - so pay it forward.
   
   
5. Sign up for the citizenme beta!

SMP: Best way to contact you and citizenme?

SJD: @ctznme is the best way to get in contact with us.



SMP: StJohn is an interesting name, how did that come about?

SJD: It?s an old English name, but how I got it is another story. My dad grew up on a farm in Devon and during the war an evacuee from London stayed with them for a year to dodge the doodlebugs. He and my dad became great friends. His name was StJohn. It?s an interesting name to have in the UK as it?s somewhat loaded with assumptions about my identity. However I just spent 12-years living in East Asia and for most Asians it?s just another western name.

SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?

SJD: S.E. Asian Mango and British Raspberry?s with Greek Yogurt ? which nicely sums up my three favourite places (maybe with some NY pastrami on the side).

SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?

SJD: Combing my kid?s hair for Nits last night after an alert from another parent ? bizarrely the school doesn?t share when there?s an outbreak because of personal data concerns. A nice example of the fine line between protection of personal information and the best interests of the community!

SMP: If you weren?t working on citizenme what would you be doing?

SJD: Another Start-up ? I have a couple of other ideas that need to be built. One thing at a time though!

SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?

SJD: Half term holiday walking in the Fells with family and friends. We?re making the most of being back in the UK after 12 years in Asia.

SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?

SJD: Check Twitter (actually when I wake up ? my phone is my office).

SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?

SJD: The ability to provide people with wisdom of self through an understanding of others.

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