This linked post has been doing the rounds recently and there seems to be near-unanimous acceptance of its central message. Clever use of Big Data got Trump into the White House.
While the article is a bit scary and it does make you want to unplug yourself from the Internet grid, I think a bit of healthy scepticism is called for. In whose interest is it to claim that Big Data can be utilised to control any outcome at all? It’s a growing industry and the phrase Big Data currently makes ears prick up at Board Rooms across the world. There’s money to be made – and the way to do it is terrifyingly simple.
If you are in any data mining organisation at all – no matter what level you operate – you can truthfully bask in the glow of acclaimed Big Data success stories. In other industries you have to prove what *you* personally do or have done is tremendous enough to get business. However, Big Data is an industry which people barely understand and if you get the ear of a corporate decision maker, you can make claims that sound amazing – even if you had nothing » Continue Reading.