Comparing data with oil is done, but it can lock up our thinking, imagination, and power to act.
Data powers the new economy in the way that oil powers the traditional economy. But the analogy between data and oil breaks down right after that.
Oil and data as raw materials have very different economic characteristics.
First of all, oil is gone after consumption. Data is not. (1)
We have the opportunity to reuse and repurpose data repeatedly to create supply chains for a positive impact.
Another characteristic is that data creators can exclude others from using data. Companies can do it for one single reason: building economic power. Possible negative externalities are known; Big Tech is entering their end game (1).
But what is next?
Data life cycles will start and end with the individual.
Every data subject (2) will get its digital twin with personal data on Threefold Grid. The digital twin on the Threefold Grid is open-source software (3).
The latter means that the tools of production and consumption to create value from data are also very different from that of oil. The machines for making value from oil are in the hands of capital incentive companies.
As a follower of these posts, you know that Co-Inpetto Farm contributes to the rollout of the Threefold Grid. Co-Inpetto Farm is, at the same time, a finance and learning mechanism for communities (4). Community leaders can ensure that no one needs to be excluded from digital services to consume and contribute.