User-created content was created by the user, and the right to publish, export or retract that content should remain with the user.

Attention data, on the other hand, was created by the service provider. So what if it’s based on observing you? The attention data is rightfully owned by the business that put the effort into generating it.

I think data portability, especially in the sense that dataportability.org use it, is about freeing user-created content from service provider lock-in.

OAuth will only help you move your user-created content. Nobody will help you with your attention data.

I have longing for the day of true data portability. That said, I see a massive advantages which couples to form a potentially devastating situation.

By allowing true data portability website will be forced to invest a great deal more in user interfaces and the overall user experience (as the barriers of entry/exit are effectively destroyed). While I think this would be great and would amount to constantly improving experiences there is of course the other side of the coin.

Small players will have the ability to hit very niche markets and provide very specialised needs they will therefore have the ability to VERY quickly hit critical mass but the draw back is that as soon as the “big boys” see they are loosing customers to a particular service then its simply a matter of them developing that niche product which their users will simply “port” back into. While this is useful and certainly great for us users it may result in MASSES of startups going belly-up - which is terrible for the overall development of the internet.

Very interesting discussion to be had here…