Everyday Data

The term “Big Data” – referring to the vast amounts of information being generated, collected, and dissected via the internet – gets thrown around a lot these days in connection with increased business efficiency, more targeted marketing, and generally better business. But what does Big Data mean for everyday people? How will they benefit from the data technology revolution? Let’s find out…

1. Health…Guaranteed

There are at least two dozen wearable, internet-enabled fitness devices on the market today and the most advanced of these track the duration and quality of sleep, nutrition and calorie intake, as well as activity levels. That adds up to a greater understanding of – and more control over- an individual’s general fitness level. For conventional healthcare, this could be groundbreaking. Imagine the data collected from thousands of individuals, their health and wellness recorded as if they were part of a clinical study, tracking correlations between different lifestyles and diseases; thanks to data technology, we may be on the cusp of radical new insights into how to live longer, healthier lives.

2. Big Data = Big Love

What if a computer could find and pair soulmates? According to sites like eHarmony, Match.com, OkCupid, and a growing list of others, it can. These sites use lengthy surveys (up to 147 questions) and information about users’ online habits to construct data-rich profiles which then run through algorithmic searches to find “perfect” matches. Of course, the first rendezvous set up via a dating site is often far from perfect; even the most sophisticated algorithms can’t detect obnoxiousness. Though online dating is still a very young technology, sites are exploiting a growing wealth of data to become more accurate when suggesting potential soul-mates. As the pool of information grows and more people turn to data for finding romance, it’s possible to imagine that we may – finally – reach a technology-driven, rational understanding of love.

3. The Wealth of Data

If you have a retirement account or own a stock, a bond, or a savings account, you’ve likely been unknowingly benefiting from data for the past few years. High Frequency Trading is the rapid buying and selling of securities using sophisticated computer algorithms that take advantage of price differentials in order to generate profits. In theory, this makes the stock market—and, by extension, the economy as a whole— more stable, thus ensuring a more predictable return. These algorithms rely on reams of market data but are now adding seemingly unrelated information– newspaper headline keywords, weather reports, Twitter activity – to create even more profitable models. In today’s stock market, data is big money.

With the mountains of data that are being collected, collated and turned into actionable information every day, one inevitably asks, “What else will it change?” But in today’s world, where mobile technology and the internet touch nearly every aspect of our lives, it’s easier to ask, “What won’t it change?”

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