Big D for Data
By Oxana Martynova
The term “Big Data” has been used a lot in the last number
of years and let’s be honest, many of us don’t even know what it truly is…and
why would we? Data is the stuff of nerdy number crunching tech wizards. Does it
impact my internet browsing or device scrolling of swipe left, swipe right,
tap, double tap, pinchy zoomy maneouver to zoom in on a friend’s holiday photos
– yes, we all do it – and ultimately the answer is kind of. Read on to find
out why…
So, lets get into it – what is “Big Data”? It is a set of
data that is so vast and complex that it is almost impossible to decipher by
using traditional data processing applications. It can be recognised by three
main categories: volume, velocity and variety.
Volume - the amount of data which can be structured
(human made) and unstructured (machine made).
Velocity - how quickly the data is being received
which in today’s world of highspeed superfast 5G and broadband is mainly in
real time.
Variety – the types of data there is which can
be comments, videos, likes etc. (remember I said about the swipe left, swipe
right tap etc? That’s right, you leave data crumbs with every one of them.)
And, over the last few years, tech-giant Oracle claims two
more V’s have emerged:
Value - how useful the information being collected is
and
Veracity - quality of the information collected.
The importance of Big Data to the fitness industry is that
when the information is used correctly, it could help fitness focused companies
make business decisions that results in financial gains. Your data, and the
data of millions of others, is essentially a digital currency.
The data here is mainly driven by wearable technology,
fitness applications or data being collected by gyms. This data is not just
between you and the device you used, the information gets stored on a cloud and
not only does it benefit the fitness industry, but it also benefits many other
industries such as healthcare, food, clothing, and other companies which might
have an interest in the fitness world.
The data is filtered and tailored to make our experience
hyper personalised. An example of this could be learning from the data
collected that users want drinks after or during a work-out, so a gym starts
supplying energy drinks and turns the data they collected into capital. Everything
we do is tracked and is used to build a user profile which is then used to
target certain products directly to us.
As my previous blog mentions, data is power, we should never
underestimate its value and always remember that every like, comment or
interaction we make online helps big data build our digital profile.
Capero, R(2019) 5 Biggest Big Data Challenges. Bluewire.com
When you see the amount of people with FitBits, Apple Watches, Garmin’s etc. every element of what people do on a daily basis is being tracked. In 2018 a story was published by the BBC where it appeared that the security of military bases in Syria and Afghanistan was exposed because of a heatmap from Strava, an online fitness tracker. Strava was being used individually by people there to track workouts but the aggregated data showed the location of the bases and layout. This information is handy when you are looking for running routes but it demonstrates there are always unintended consequences to large data being collected.
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Helen Mc
Hey Oxana, thanks for writing this blog, hopefully the comment I am making will be useful as a part of Big Data. Firstly, I like the way you have broken it down in simple terms so even a non tech person like me can understand it. There are many out comes but few with a win-win scenario, from a business point of view it is win for a business if it could really reach out to its ideal clients and big data enables that and from an audience point of view it is win because they will see what they are interested in. As with anything there is a concern for misuse, but I am sure technology will have an answer to limit that.
ReplyDelete'Your data, and the data of millions of others, is essentially a digital currency.' Great way of interpreting it, Oxana. Also, something I never thought about was the fact that other industries that want to tap into the fitness buzz can readily do so, thanks to 'Big Data'. In relation to our activity online being used to build a user profile it reminds me of the quote: "If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold." Google tells me it was Andrew Lewis! I guess when you take this point alongside Sultan's, about customers seeing what they're interested in, it's some kind of trade off we are accepting.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post, Oxana! There's no doubt that gathering and analysing big data can definitely help small businesses make big financial gains. I do think that many small businesses underestimate the importance of big data, especially those were employees wear many hats and are a jack of all trades but master of none. "Data is the stuff of nerdy number crunching tech wizards" - this is definitely the thinking of those who have yet to see the value in data. If the gathering of big data means that experiences can be hyper-personalised its a win-win for everyone, businesses and consumers alike.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed your blog post Oxana! It's hard to believe the digital footprint we leave behind with every comment/like/share and swipe and how all this data is collected to build a user profile. It is a very valuable asset for businesses and like you said its makes users experience hyper personalised.
ReplyDeleteI have a fitbit and I also use My Fitness Pal to keep a food diary and its amazing how both the device and the app interact to calculate my calorie input and output and I can track my activity and exercise. I am benefiting from leaning this information about myself and my healthy habits but I never really thought about the bigger picture - where this data goes! very insightful, I look forward to your next post!
Great insight into how Big Data benefits the fitness industry, like you mentioned the use of wearable technology is used to collect information during workouts and throughout the day. It’s amazing how wearable technology has transformed how gyms and personal trainers communicate with their clients since they’ve been introduced. It allows personal trainers to track your fitness progress and create bespoke plans and goals to fit your daily routine based on the data collected. It is also hard to believe all our information is then stored in the big digital cloud where it’s used for building user profiles and better business performance. Thanks for the informative blog on Big Data.
ReplyDeleteAmazing article! Had no idea social media had gotten so big
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