Every time we use the phrase “data portability” here on Compiler inevitably some people misunderstand what we mean by it. And those folks are not alone it would seem, which has prompted Michael Pick of Smashcut Media to create the above video explaining what your data is and what it means to make it portable.

First there’s the data — the information you give to a website about yourself, be it a username, e-mail, who your friends are, what you like to read, listen to, watch and more.

Then there’s the portability element, the notion that you shouldn’t have to give this information to every site, the sites should be able to get it from each other or a centralized location.

A first glance that seems like a no brainer, but then again this is potentially a lot of personal information. While we’re of the opinion that you should never give a site information you aren’t comfortable seeing in public, data portability isn’t just about portability. And I think that is the key take-away point that the above video — portability without control is exploitation.

The good news, as the video proudly trumpets, is that “some of the biggest companies in the world” are have agreed to take part in the discussion regarding how to give you that control.

The bad news is that some of the biggest companies in the world are part of the discussion about how you should control your data.

See Also:

• Google and Facebook to Join the Data Portability Debate
• Creating Proprietary Content is Like ‘Writing in Sand’
• Facebook’s Zuckerberg on Growth, Money and the ‘Social Graph’
• Google Wants Global Privacy Rules