Requesting Archive
Do bank runs and tech company archive requests have parallels?
Every few months, I remember to request backup archives from various tech companies. Google, Facebook, and others have had this feature for awhile, though it’s unclear how to easily use this data once they’ve packed it up for you.
In looking at user behavior, archive requests are probably a counter indicator of consumer confidence in one’s brand and longevity. This morning, I requested it from Twitter, you know, just in case…
If I were making a large advertising campaign and purchase from a platform, archive pulls is likely one of the metrics that I’d want to look at. Will my advertising efforts be worthwhile on the platform? Will my brand be tied to the platform’s?
Pulling data and packaging it requires some effort and it’s likely in the dollars per request. Twitter and other platforms have the ability balance the work by stating that it can take up to 24 or longer. In extreme cases, there’s likely a self-limiting feature / bug — more requests will slow down the site making it more difficult to make requests.
In that respect, bank runs are similar. You can only have one line out the bank and as more people queue, it takes longer for people who need to stand in line to take out their money.
However, if there were a true implosion, it might still be possible to access one’s data, unlike money after a bank run or bankruptcy. Grooveshark was an incredibly wonderful service and long after it blew up, one could still access their playlists.
There’s an opportunity for third party services to maintain one’s social graph and data and be able to analyze for patterns. This is a service people would pay for to own and control, or at least understand, how they’re being influenced.
