This research has important public policy implications. Do consumers prefer their online experiences to be customized? How should consumers' data be used to target them? Should regulators step in, and if so how? I have spoken at workshops organised by the EU Data Protection Supervisor, by the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel, to the Bank of England, and to UK government regulators. My research has also been cited by many governments' national data protection regulators worldwide.

I have also published research using various big data sources such as credit card data and textual data to show that spending money on products and services that match one's personality leads to greater life satisfaction, that people tend to date others who have a similar personality, and that people who swear seem to be more honest.

I am open to consulting for and collaborating with companies, both to put research findings into practice and to take advantage of the different resources that companies can bring to bear on research problems. I am regularly invited to speak to businesses on the topics of 'Opportunities of big data', and 'How to use customers' data in a way that ensures they are comfortable'.

I am keen on disseminating my research through the media. I interviewed on CNN, Sky News, and various radio stations including BBC World Business Report about my Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences article linking Facebook Likes with intimate personal traits [watch coverage]. The article was listed in the top 10 most influential papers of 2013 by Altmetric.