a large amount of data collected from the internet comes from user-generated content. this includes blogs, posts on social networks, and information submitted in forms. besides user-generated data, corporations are also currently data mining data from consumers in order to understand customers, identify new markets, and make investment decisions. kirkpatrick the director at united nations global pulse labels this data "massive passive data" or "data exhaust". data philanthropy is the idea that something positive can come from this overload of data. data philanthropy is defined as the private sector sharing this data in ways that the public can benefit. the term philanthropy helps to emphasis that data sharing is a positive act and that the shared data is a public good.