Readers, I’ll be doing a post about Marc’s company, InsideView, in the near future. In the meantime click through on the link in his post to learn more.

I believe this was both a great PR move and high quality lead generation tool for Jigsaw. In terms of what value the free company data initiative has for end users, I think you’re right on point (though for many SMBs that are just getting started, having at least basic company info is still valuable.)

What I think is most interesting about the move is that it underscores that data has become a commodity. As the number of new, competing data sources continues to grow the price/value of data is quickly approaching $0. Meanwhile the resulting data overload has made user attention quite scarce and hence put a premium on relevance (smart) vs. volume (complete).

Keep in mind that although Jigsaw uses a community user-contributed model vs. a more traditional editorial model like Hoovers or InfoUSA, they are still very much a data company. I would give additional kudos to Jigsaw for conceding the point of data commoditization and trying to capitalize on the inevitable rather than resist it.

So what to do with data fast becoming a commodity? Again, I think relevance is where it’s at. Data wants to be free… but it doesn’t necessarily want to be found.

-Marc

http://www.insideview.com

I myself, now work with a digital marketing agency as a business development executive and know how important it is to listen to others.

I shall be subscribing and read avidly all your future posts.

Cheers!