Summary:

So, besides this amusing parallel between data and children, what have we learned? We are reminded to get identifiers for our data, encourage our data to socialize with other data, and plan in advance for the long-term archival of our data. If we can do this in a well-controlled environment, the benefits, individually and as a community, in terms credit, value and reproducibility, are substantial.

In short, if you love your data, set it free, and watch what happens! Its social life may surprise you.