Free Reality Mining: Using Big Data To Engineer A Better World Constructed By Nathan Eagle Displayed In Digital
book is an interesting summary of ideas on how to use and where to find big data in our current world, I wanted a more in depth study of a few specific cases, rather than a shotgun approach with so many repeats and with such little backing data lacked an endtoend POINT.
I wanted discussions on the software necessary, the rise of the internet of things, and specific deep insights and examples about how volumes of data could lead to results you could not get through other mechanisms.
What I got instead was what seemed likestories about traffic, I found this a good summary of current trends in using data to make sense of our world, with a call at the end to technologists to improve neighborhoods, fight infectious disease, and use data in other beneficial ways.
The authors don't show much interest in commercial uses of personal data and disparage consumer tracking, focusing on how governments and communities can use it, If you're interested in how Twitter data can be used to identify flu trends in the UK, you'll find that here pp,. Even better, you'll get a brief but helpful, nontechnical description of how the data was used to produce those insights, But detailed technical explanations would be too long and hard to read for a book of this type, However, the book is short and is aimed at a general reader, so don't expect intensive discussions of statistical algorithms, The authors include some technical
information, but are careful to limit it to material that can be understood a person with a modest exposure to technology in the general press.
The authors have given a good review on the current status of big data efforts in data collection and application, It mainly deals with efforts lead by companies, So, the focus is given to works which can be deployed within few years not long term possibilities which is the focus of academic research, It is intended for researchers in the field, and can be a little tough on casual readers A look at how Big Data can be put to positive use, from helping users break bad habits to tracking the global spread of disease.
Big Data is made up of lots of little data: numbers entered into cell phones, addresses entered into GPS devices, visits to websites, online purchases, ATM transactions, and any other activity that leaves a digital trail.
Although the abuse of Big Datasurveillance, spying, hackinghas made headlines, it shouldn't overshadow the abundant positive applications of Big Data, In Reality Mining, Nathan Eagle and Kate Greene cut through the hype and the headlines to explore the positive potential of Big Data, showing the ways in which the analysis of Big Data "Reality Mining" can be used to improve human systems as varied as political polling and disease tracking, while considering user privacy.
Eagle, a recognized expert in the field, and Greene, an experienced technology journalist, describe Reality Mining at five different levels: the individual, the neighborhood and organization, the city, the nation, and the world.
For each level, they first offer a nontechnical explanation of data collection methods and then describe applications and systems that have been or could be built, These include a mobile app that helps smokers quit smoking a workplace "knowledge system" the use of GPS, WiFi, and mobile phone data to manage and predict traffic flows and the analysis of social media to track the spread of disease.
Eagle and Greene argue that Big Data, used respectfully and responsibly, can help people live better, healthier, and happier lives, .