We’ve been talking a lot about the prevalence of data, and how interacting with it empowers people. I’ve also been looking at lots of beta and public web apps which are, by definition, connected to the rest of the world.

There are some obvious cases where my data is helpful (I know, as a linguist, I should say “data are”, but I’m seeing how this feels). I recently set up a home computer with users for both me and my wife. My iCal and Mail automatically sync using various systems like Plaxo, MobileMe and some well-earned IMAP settings; so within about 15 minutes of hearing the first ever “dun!” as it turned on, all my contacts, calendar events, reminders and emails had appeared more or less as they are on my laptop.

“Does it know my addresses, too?” my wife asked hopefully. Sadly, no. It’s taken a lot longer to get her data acquainted with the new computer. Not only that, but the computer it replaced is on a different platform. So, via an external hard-drive and lots of tweaking, I think I have all the files from the old one.

When you think about all the times we use connected software, it makes you wonder why on earth we have to keep doing this again and again. Alongside the obvious data, like contacts, calendar events, and personal settings; there is a world of nearly-immediately useful stuff. When and where I heard that song might not be life-changeing, but it certainly helps with earworms, right? So, was I listening to Last.FM, Blip.FM, Spotify, iPlayer, or—heaven forbid—the radio? Where was this photo taken? What happened in March to make my heating bill so high? When’s my next car service needed, and why did these particular tyres seem to wear out so badly? These are questions I’ve asked myself within 10hours of writing this.

A level further, is a host of semi-useful data just waiting to be connected and used. This guy collated everything into charts. Another has his house twitter whenever anything significant happens. We have all become aware of how important collected information can be to large organisations when it comes to margins, analytics, and strategy. Just look at your wallet and work out how many “loyalty” cards you have. But, when is this going to be useful to us, directly, without waiting for it to all get munged by a large body in order to get a few points-pence off your next purchase?

So, I guess what I’m asking is: “What would you collate?” What data would you most like to see as a next step toward usefullness? Perhaps the solution is more important, actually… what would you like to change? Your spending habbits, your health, your credit limit over time?

I’d be very interested to see where people want their data to work with/for them…