I have been getting a little depressed at the way technology has been used to disseminate disinformation over the past few years. However, out of all bad things good things sometimes arise. So I am now very excited about the fact that technology is being addressed to remove disinformation and to return the power that information can provide to the user.
There are several examples of this that I have come across recently. The first is the offer from sky to customise adverts so that you only receive what you want instead of the general rubbish that comes through. Of course if they didn't put it there in the first place it would be even better but alas sometimes we learn by making mistakes.
Much more powerful filtering is however possible by using Business Intelligence techniques on data that we have floating around the organisation in an unwieldy way. If you are going to the SQL Bits conference, http://www.sqlbits.com/, then look out for two excellent sessions by a genius called Mark Whitehorn who works as a Solid Quality Mentor in his spare time (LOL). He is looking at two aspects of data mining that can lead to extracting meaningful information from noisy data. The first deals with Research data:-
Darwin’s Database
Business Intelligence (BI) is about turning data into information. Usually we apply BI to Business data (the clue is, after all, in the name) but it can extract information from any kind of data. Recently a team based Cambridge University has been applying BI to data that was available to Darwin. The results have rewritten our understanding of how Darwin developed the theory of evolution.
and the second with Social data:-
We normally collect and analyse transactional data (who bought what, from whom and when). Recently however, companies like eBay have also been collecting and analysing data about how their customers behave and interact. This social data is valuable – an eBay spokesperson recently said that the social data was more valuable than the transactional. This talk takes a look at social data, what it is, why it is valuable and asks the question “Who’s data is it anyway?”. The final question is “If eBay finds this data so valuable, should your company be taking an interest in it as well?”
Of course there are other geniuses there as well and lots of information in sessions covering various aspects of Database Administration, Development and Business Intelligence.
What is more, if you go to the conference site you will see that the Saturday sessions are absolutely free.
If you want more information about Solid Quality Mentors and what they can do for you, just go to http://www.solidq.com/ and take your pick from the fine offerings!
