First we had Gold, then we had land, followed by property and lastly oil. So what is todays most valuable asset. The answer id data. Data has propelled big business into the trillion dollar bracket. This is largely due to the internet and global connectivity.
Data is monetised by psychology. and constructed through Algorithms . Having data on its own has no use but when it is combined on human psychology and their spending preferences you have in your hands the most valuable commodity in history. In the times of barter data would have had little affect but when money came into existence it set the scene for the eventual domination of data in society.
The key to moneys continuous success is that it is fungible and can be split up into tiny components allowing much of the global population to spend smaller amounts more regularly This means that there is a constant stream of customers for an ever increasing products and services. Before promoting goods was a somewhat random process where items became popular based on word and mouth recommendations.
Today our spending habits can be tracked and carefully honed to the individual. The behaviour of people is somewhat predictable and advertising is direct towards that predicability. This trend is likely to continue and wealth will be generated more and more especially with artificial intelligence and the roll out of the block chain Which will become the default system in information technology. The next stage is the growth of datas value will be the development of Quantum Computing which I believe will push this commodity into the stratosphere . The only thing to stop it will be a total crash of the Internet from a natural or Solar disaster.
Peter Bull ( Author of the book Get In Touch With Your Inner Wealth available on Amazon )