Privacy concerns, marketing potential and industry use cases highlighted my reading this week, and two new videos from IBM experts show big data applications in action. Let’s dig in.
“Privacy in the Age of Big Data,” by Omer Tene & Jules Polonetsky, Stanford Law Review, February 2
You knew the lawyers would get involved in big data at some point, didn’t you? I kid, I kid! (Please don’t sue me!) As you would expect from the venerable Stanford Law Review, the case is made thoroughly and fairly for “the development of a model where the benefits of data for businesses and researchers are balanced against individual privacy rights.” If you read nothing else this week, read this.
“Big Data Holds Big Potential for Marketers,” by Brian Proffitt, The CMO Site, February 6
Here’s why that previous article on privacy is important: you can bet marketers are going to do everything they can to extract every piece of knowledge they can get from all the data they collect. Proffitt does encourage marketers to think and plan before they leap – always a good idea.
“The Santa Cruz Experiment: Why You Should Care About Big Data,” by Thomas LaRock, Technorati, February 6
If you are a database professional, DBA, business analyst or data scientist, this article is like your version of Queen’s “We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions.” It mentions many possibilities for using big data and gives several links to interesting articles, and emphasizes the point that the market for people who know how to use big data tools will be vast.
“Keep Your Data Scientist, Send Me A Data Artist!,” by Bill Franks, International Institute for Analytics, February 7
The musical analogy above didn’t make you sing? Maybe painting is more your thing. This article deftly illustrates the need for people who can think creatively in analyzing data, not just manipulate it. “The artistry is in how you define the problem, design the analysis, work with the data, and show the results,” Franks says.
BONUS TIP: If you want to build your skills, check out BigDataUniversity.com for free training.
“Two Markets for Big Data: Comparing Value Propositions,” by Wayne Eckerson, BeyeNETWORK, February 6. The last of a three-part series.
In this last of a three-part series, Eckerson looks at the benefits, advantages and challenges associated with two approaches to tackling big data: open source software, such as Hadoop, and analytical engines, including appliances and column stores. He doesn’t prescribe one approach over the other; rather, he gives some nice morsels to chew on.
“What it really means when someone says ‘Hadoop’,” by Derrick Harris, on GigaOM, February 6
You can’t read anything about big data without stumbling across “Hadoop.” But aside from sounding like a character out of Lord of the Rings, what is it? And what are all these other oddly named things – MapReduce, HBase, Pig, Hive – often mentioned alongside it? Wonder no more.
“Three trends that will shape the master data management market,” by John Radcliffe, on ComputerWeekly.com
Radcliffe, a research vice president at Gartner, has been prowling the master data management market for many a moon. So when he identifies trends to watch, people take note. In this piece, he covers two of the topics prominent right here on Smarter Computing Blog: cloud and big data. He urges business leaders to “keep up to date with the convergence of these trends, so that they can overcome the challenges — and seize the opportunities — that await them.”
“O’Brien: Big data and the coming revolution in health care,” Chris O’Brein, Mercury News, February 8
In reporting on presentations from the FutureMed 2012 conference, O’Brien says the common theme was how much information is – or soon will be – available to healthcare professionals, but how ill-prepared they are to act. Speakers at the conference discussed the challenges of access to the data, knowledge of what to do with it, and sheer reluctance to use it. “I mean, I know it’s probably not a good idea to lie around eating french fries and drinking beer all day, yet that is not enough to prevent me from doing it.”
Video: Big Data: Developing apps for InfoSphere BigInsights v1.3
Steve Brodsky, IBM Technical Executive and Distinguished Engineer shows us how quickly and easily apps can be developed, deployed and run with InfoSphere BigInsights v1.3. You can follow along and even download free BigInsights software and a sample dataset.
Video: Overview – Analyzing Twitter data with IBM BigSheets
In less than 5 ½ minutes, David Barnes shows how IBM BigSheets can be used to find buyer sentiment in Twitter data. Should it pique your interest, you can see a longer step-by-step demo.
Leave a comment with your favorite item from the big data beat this week – be it one of the above or something I missed entirely.
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