About

Commodify.us is a web application that allows people to visualize and license their Facebook data directly to marketers. After exporting it from Facebook and uploading it to commodify.us, users can choose to license their anonymized data under private, fair use, or commercial licenses and effectively cut out the middle man.

This project intends to correct an imbalance of power in the use of personal information by enabling users to enter a market for their data. As authors and owners, users can become active participants in new streams of creative output. Individuals can change how their data is shared or sold at any time through options in their profile, including an option to delete their account and all their data.

Commodify.Us aims to re-imagine the potential of relational data, creating a casting agency for virtual personas. The scenarios and narratives constructed no longer need to be tied to traditional media such as film or television. Through moving our data off Facebook, stories from our lives can inspire new narratives, while the profits benefit the true owners.

About Commodify, Inc.

Commodify Inc. is an internet startup which produces projects to help individuals capitalize on their online monetary potential. We are intent on imagining new markets where users have control over the transactions made with their personal data. Our highly secure server platform provided by partner R-IV ensures the safety and integrity of your data.

Fair Data on demand

We are looking for smart, innovative and beautiful ideas to make use of our data sets. Browse our Open Data section on Commodify.Us, or get in touch if you are interested in buying fair data. Commodify Inc. is accepting inquiries into the acquisition of high quality data licensed under the commercial license.

Why is it important?

Currently our online personal information, our friends, likes, stories and photos are sold without our knowledge or consent. If Facebook allows us to download our profile data, we should be able to have a space to upload it, and monetize this data ourselves. We should be able to commodify our immaterial labour.

"I created my interior thoughts as a means of production for the corporation that owned the board i was posting to, and that commodity was being sold to other commodity/consumer entities as entertainment. that means that I sold my soul like a tennis shoe and I derived no profit from the sale of my soul."
— Carmen Hermosillo aka humdog, 1994

For all media inquiries, please contact us.