App Cost/Benefit Analysis
by Miki Saxon
A post I wrote after two researchers made headlines by hacking a Jeep and taking control of its vital functions focused on the idea that nothing would change until consumers voted with their wallets and demanded better security.
Until that hack, combined with several major data breeches in the last couple of years, the general public didn’t seem particularly concerned — and that nonchalance is especially prevalent in those who grew up wired.
In a comment on that post I wondered if consumers just didn’t care or didn’t understand, but there is another option.
I read a article about Conspire, a new site that helps find business emails and sent it to several people I thought could use it, including Ajo Fod, founder of QuantPrice and occasional contributor here.
Conspire uses your email account as the basis for a game of Six Degrees of Separation. Sign up, and it analyzes your email. Then enter the name of the person you want to search and it finds someone in your contact list to introduce you, examining that person’s social-media connections. It may even find multiple people to help introduce you. Then it will recommend the best choice.
Ajo joined and sent me an invitation. I haven’t accepted yet, because Conspire requires your email account information and password (plus my email uses POP3, not IMAP).
I asked Ajo if he was concerned about security and here is his answer.
Security is a concern,
… but benefits are a bigger.
… I’ve been hit before by a bad egg that decided to spam all my contacts.
… so, yes, I was worried when I gave out my email/password.
… In this case. I did some research and thinking and the potential seemed big.
I do worry about credit card numbers and identity.
… In my mind, the benefits outweigh costs.
People still send me phishing emails.
Perhaps, being an Indian security is a lesser concern to me than other people my age in the US.
Actually, Ajo gave it more thought than most people I ask no matter their age.
There is one more thing you should think about when doing a cost/benefit analysis.
Time.
What is the ROI for the time you will spend?
Is the new app a time saver or time waster?
Money can be replaced, but once time is spent it’s gone forever.
Flickr image credit: Jason Howie
