Big Data is something we hear a lot about these days. It’s a phrase that gets thrown around in the media about how it’s going to change everything and how if you don’t have a Big Data strategy then you are falling behind. But, what is Big Data?
Big Data isn’t scary, it’s predictable. What does this mean? Well, let me give you an example:
The next time you go to Disneyland with your family, take a look at the lines for Space Mountain. If it’s raining out and the weather report says its going to rain all day with a high of 65 degrees, the line will be short. But if it’s sunny out with a high of 70 degrees the line will be long. Why is that?
Space Mountain is an indoor roller coaster ride in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. The ride is themed as a journey through hyperspace and has been operating since 1977. It’s one of the most popular rides in all of Disneyland because people like roller coasters and they like the thrill of being in space (even though there is no gravity on Space Mountain).
When I was a kid I would
Big Data Isn’t Scary. It’s Predictable.
Big Data is a complicated topic, but understanding the basics can be very useful in daily life. Whether you want to optimize your commute, or find out if it’s better to buy than rent, or even see how long the lines at Disneyland might be, Big Data is all around us.
Here are a few examples of how Big Data has become part of our daily lives:
In our daily lives, we come across many situations where we are presented with data and our experience and intuition tells us what the next step should be. When you walk into a supermarket to buy groceries, you will notice that there are certain items which are placed such that they are in your line of sight. This is not a coincidence, but rather is a result of data analysis.
The store knows that if you see the product, you will be inclined to buy it. This is just one example of the many ways in which Big Data is used today.
Big Data has been around for a long time now and its application in various fields has made our daily lives much easier. However, there are still many people who have reservations when it comes to using their data to predict future events. That’s because they believe that Big Data is scary and unpredictable. But this isn’t true at all!
Big Data can actually help us make more informed and better decisions. It does so by helping us analyze and interpret the data that we collect from various sources. If you think about it, you will realize that most of the decisions that you make on a daily basis are based on your intuition or past experiences.
Data is becoming increasingly important in our daily lives, and while some of us might not realize it, we are using it every day. We use data to modify how we interact with websites such as Amazon or Facebook, to predict the weather, to help us find the quickest route home from work. Companies such as Google and Netflix use data to predict our desires and use those predictions to sell us things or keep us on their sites for longer periods of time. While these aspects of data science are already pretty well known, there is a much larger aspect that is often overlooked: big data. Big data is an even more powerful and interesting tool than most people realize.
Big data refers to the massive amount of information that is generated every second by people around the world. Using big data allows scientists to make predictions about what will happen in the future based on patterns that they discover in this huge set of raw information. For example, Google was able to predict flu outbreaks before the CDC based on search terms that indicated flu symptoms. Similarly, big data can be used by corporations such as Disney to determine how many employees they should schedule at their parks during different times of the year.
Big Data can be a very scary topic because it seems like something out of a dystopian sci-fi movie
Big Data is terrifying to the average person. It’s used by companies to predict their customer’s next move. Companies can find out what you bought, when you bought it, how much you paid for it, and if you liked it just by looking at your order history.
To a lot of people big data is scary because they don’t know how it works and they are afraid that they are being watched.
There isn’t anything to be afraid of. Big Data isn’t being used to watch people. It’s used to predict patterns and help us make better decisions in our daily lives.
We all make decisions every day but how do we know if those decisions are the right ones? We don’t. But what if we could use a tool that would help us make better ones? That tool is called Big Data.
Think about your bank account for a second. You get your paycheck on the same day every week or two weeks. Your credit card bills are due on the same days every month. You go to the grocery store every week and buy certain things for your meals and snacks for work or school. You have rent due once a month or once every other week depending on where you
The big data predictions are, to a certain extent, obvious. That doesn’t make them any less accurate.
For example, do you know what the biggest predictor is for whether someone will pay their mortgage on time or not? It’s whether or not they paid it on time last month.
The biggest predictor of whether someone will default on their credit card is whether or not they defaulted last month.
The biggest predictor of whether someone will be involved in a car accident is how many miles they drive and how fast they drive. By knowing this information we can predict how often you need new tires and when you should change your oil. It’s boring. What’s interesting here is that we can now automate this prediction process to the point where we can take different factors into account like weather, population density, traffic volume and road conditions to improve our predictions even further.
This is the true power of big data. Not being able to predict things that previously seemed unpredictable but being able to predict things that were previously thought to be predictable more accurately than ever before using novel methods like machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).
Understanding the psychology of people and how they behave is key to understanding consumerism. So when looking at big data, it’s important to also understand what big data can tell us about how people will behave in the future.
Expecting a lot of people in your restaurant on Friday night? Big Data allows you to not only know who, but by understanding consumer behavior, allows you to predict who might be coming in next week, next month or even next year. Why? Because Big Data literally allows you to see into the future.
The same goes for all types of businesses. Big Data is providing a wealth of information on consumer behavior. From that information companies can learn everything they need to know about their audience, including what they want and when they want it.
Understanding what your target audience wants and when they want it helps you to better engage with them by providing them with exactly what they are looking for and when.