Mozilla CEO John Lilly Reveals More Details On Stealth Data Project

Mozilla CEO John Lilly revealed more details of their stealth Data project today, which we first reported here.

In a blog post, he says “data is one of the most important pieces to faciliate understanding (and innovation), and is also one of the most under-explored areas of the modern web.” He also says that Mozilla has two early projects that touch on the idea – Spectator and Test Pilot.

The Data idea is much broader, however. “There are worlds of information about how people use the web that are locked up and not currently shared,” he says. By simply adding optional tracking software to Firefox code, much of that data could be unleashed. Mozilla’s goals with the Data project include:

1. Collects & shares data in a way that embodies the user control & privacy options which are at Mozilla’s core.
2. Enables everyone — from individual researchers and entrepreneurs (both the social and capitalist types) to the largest organizations in the world — to take usage data, mix it up, mash it up, derive insight, and hopefully share some of that insight with others.
3. Helps move the conversation around data collection and web usage forward, to help consumers make more informed decisions.

As we said before, the project is still very early, has no name and Mozilla hasn’t “staffed it very much.” But the potential is huge. Tell them in the comments below and on Lilly’s blog how much you want this to happen.