6/25/2014 What Is "Big Data," and Who's Collecting It?

http://lifehacker.com/what-is-big-data-and-whos-collecting-it-1595798695 1/6
WhatIs"BigData,"andWho'sCollectingIt?
2,213 4 AlanHenry
Filedto:ASKLIFEHACKER
46minutesago
DearLifehacker,
I'vebeenhearingmoreandmoreabout"bigdata."Whatisit,andisitsomethingIshouldbeworriedabout?Is
thisanotherwaycompaniesharvestmydataandsellit?
Sincerely,
BewitchedbyBuzzwords
DearBewitchedbyBuzzwords,
"Bigdata"isthelatesttechindustrybuzzphrase.Dependingonwhoyouask,iteitherrepresentsathreatto
personalprivacy,orarevolutionindataprocessingandcomputing.We'llsaythisrightoutofthegate:"Big
data"meanssomanythingstosomanydifferentpeoplethatitrunstheriskofmeaningnothingatall.That
said,therearesomeplaceswhereeveryoneagrees.Let'sdivein.
TheManyMeaningsof"BigData"
TheBiggestTechIndustryBuzzwords,DefinedforNormalPeople
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6/25/2014 What Is "Big Data," and Who's Collecting It?
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Wikipediadefinesbigdataas"anycollectionofdatasetssolargeandcomplexthatitbecomesdifficultto
processusingonhanddatabasemanagementtoolsortraditionaldataprocessingapplications."It'sadefinition
thatmakessense,andit'sthemostcommonwayyou'llhearscientists,economists,andstatisticiansdescribeit.
Putsimply,"bigdata"describeshugeamountsofinformationthatiseasytoobtain,butsomassivethatthey
challengecurrentcomputingtechnologies.Bigdataistheproblemyouhavewhenyouhaveinformation
cominginfrommultiplesources(computers,satellites,mobiledevices,cameras,microphones,andmore).That
informationneedstobemovedaround,stored(we'retalkingpetabytesandexabytes,forexample),and
processed.
Ifthatwereall,we'dbefinished.Unfortunately,"bigdata"hasalsoturnedintoanoverusedmarketingphrase.
SoftwarecompaniesandITserviceprovidersuseittoconveythesuperiorityoftheirproductsorthequalityof
theirtalenttocustomers(andtotheircompetition).StartupsandSiliconValleymainstayslovetoclaim"Our
systemsarereadyforthechallengesbigdataprovides,"or"Ourdatascientistsknowhowtohandlebigdata."
Unfortunately,thosestatementsdon'treallysaymuch.
Theinformationthatcountsas"bigdata"alsomuddiesthewater.Manycompaniesleveragethetermwhen
they'retalkingaboutthedatatheycancollectandprocessaboutpeople,specificallytheirusers.Thedatais
usefultobettersellproducts,targetmarketingefforts,orjustmakebetterproductstosell.Privacyadvocates
havelatchedontothatdefinitionaswell,campaigningagainst"bigdata"asyetanotherintrusionintopeople's
privatelivesandpersonaldata.Inscientificorfinancecircles,though,"bigdata"representseverythingfrom
meteorologicaldatafromweatherstationstomarketdatafromfinancialexchangesaroundtheworld.Allof
thosedatasetsfittheoriginaldefinition,buttheirusesandtheconnotationsassociatedwiththepeople
collectingthatinformationarefundamentallydifferent.
WhenBigDataIsaProblem
LotsofHealthAppsAreSellingYourData.Here'sWhy
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Sowhatshouldyouthinkwhenyouhear"bigdata?"Itdependsonthecompanythat'susingthephrase.If
sometechstartupyou'veneverheardofisproudofhowtheir"algorithmforprocessingcatpicturesmeans
they'recapableofmanagingbigdata"andthattheirservice"islike[xcompany]for[ynoun],"thenyoushould
probablybeskeptical.It'sdistinctlypossiblethatsaidcompanyhasarevolutionarywaytoaggregateandmake
senseofallofthecatpicturesontheinternet,butit'smorelikelyit'samarketingslogan.Similarly,thetermis
oftenusedtoconfuseyouintothinkingtheservicedoessomethingmorethanharvestyourdataformarketing
purposes.Ifyouhearsocalled"databrokers"likeAxiom,CoreLogic,orDataLogixusingthephrase,they
certainlyhavetonsofdatatomanage,butthey'reusingthephrasetodescribewhotheycanharvestfrom,how
theycanprocessit,andwhotheycansellto.
However,ifyouhearahealthcarecompanytalkingaboutthechallengesassociated
withhandlingpatientrecords,electronicdocuments,andexperimentalpapersfromthousandsofbranch
hospitalsandresearchinstitutions,thenyou'reprobablylookingatalegitimate,scientificuseoftheterm.Plus,
therearecompaniesthatspecializeinprovidingsoftwaretohospitals,financialmanagementcompanies,
researchinstitutions,andgovernmentagenciesspecificallytohandletheirdatachallenges.Whenyou
hearDARPAcallingfornewwaystomanagebigdata,youknowthey'relegit.Similarly,scientific
organizationsandresearchinstitutionslikeNOAA,NIH,orNASAtalkingabouttheirbigdatachallenges,it's
likelynotabuzzphrase.Ifyou'relookingatanadforIBM,Oracle,SAP,orSAS'snewdataprocessing
technologies,you'reprobablyintheclearandthey'reusingthephraseinthemanneritwasoriginallyintended.
WhatBigDataMeanstoYou
FTCAsksCongressToRequireTransparencyFromDataBrokers
Readonconsumerist.com
6/25/2014 What Is "Big Data," and Who's Collecting It?
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Bigdatamayfeellikefaroffnumbercrunchinginadatacentersomewhere,butitdoeshaverealworld
implications.Privacyadvocatesareconcernedaboutmassivevolumesofinformationthatcanbestoredin
easilyaccessed(andofteninsecure)databases,andthensoldortradedatwill.Withascrapofinformation,it's
notdifficultforanycompanyorgovernmentagencytobuildacompletepictureofaperson,theiractivities,
theirpurchasing,reading,orbrowsinghabits,andmore.Bestofall,theydon'thavetocollectanything
identifiableontheirown,andtheycanusewhattheygetforanypurposetheychoose.
Onthebrightside,theproblemwithbigdataispartofwhatmakesitsouseful.It's
impersonalandcontextless.Justbecausethedataisgooddoesn'tmeanthatthedecisionsmadeusingitwillbe
equallygood.Forexample,GoogleFluDatadidalloftherightthingsandsourceditsinformationfromallthe
rightplaces,butincorrectlypredictedinfectionratesfortwoyearsinarow.Thatmeanssomeonemaybeable
tobuildapictureofyou,butthedataitselfstillcan'taccuratelypredictyourbehaviororchoices.Bigdatamay
meanthere'salotofinformationfloatingaround,butitstillrequireshumanbeingswiththerightskillsettosift
throughtheinformationandmakeappropriatedecisionsbasedonwhat'sbeencollected.Timewilltellwhat
thosedecisionsturnouttobe.
Fortheaverageperson,thismeanstwothings:One,thevastvolumesof
informationbeingcollectedabouteverythingcanbeusedforgoodorill.Payattentionasthisdebateunfolds
overthenextfewyears,andit'snotassimpleas"bigdatabad,privacygood."Dataisjustthat
information.It'showitsusedthat'satissue.
WhyYouShouldCareAboutandDefendYourPrivacy
Readmore
GoodDataWon'tGuaranteeGoodDecisions
Readonhbr.org
YouDon'tOwnYourData
Readmore
6/25/2014 What Is "Big Data," and Who's Collecting It?
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Second,aswithanyemergingfield,there'sgoingtobeasurgeofinterest(and
opportunity)indatascience.Therewillalsobefluffmarketingofcourse,diluting
thephrasetothepointofmeaninglessness,butthisisanewandevolving
technologyfrontieroneyoucouldgetinvolvedinifyou'reinterestedinpicking
uptheskills.
BottomLine:Don'tBeWorriedAboutBigData,BeWorriedaboutWho'sUsing
It
Attheendoftheday,bigdataandthecompaniesmakingabusinessoutofmanagingitarepavingtheway
towardssomegreatinnovationsinscience,technology,andmedicine.Moreinformationisavailableandbeing
processedthaneverbeforetostudyclimate,genetics,diseaseandmedicine,physics,andmore.However,on
theconsumerside,expectmoreofyourlifeandlifestyletobeleveragedtomakedecisionsaboutyouthatyou
mayotherwisehavenosayin.Ascompaniesscrambletolearnmoreaboutus,evenseeminglyunrelated
industrieswillsuddenlybecomeusefultooneanotheryourshoppinghabitswillbeusefulforhealth
insurancecompaniesandyourinternetbrowsinghabitswillbeusefultofinancialservicescompanies.Unless,
ofcourse,youtakestepstoprotectyourprivacy.
Wehopethathelpscleartheairabit,Bewitched.It'sadeeptopic,andbecauseit'sarisingindustry,it's
changingallthetime.However,it'simportanttoseparatethebuzzwordsfromthefacts,andthesciencefrom
themarketing.Hopefullythishelps.Keepaneyeonthetrendthough,it'snotgoingaway,evenifthe
buzzwordseemssilly.
Sincerely,
Lifehacker
Everyone'sTryingtoTrackWhatYouDoontheWeb:Here'sHowtoStop
Them
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6/25/2014 What Is "Big Data," and Who's Collecting It?
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