Big data.

• Author: Arthur, Ed
• Position: TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY

What is "big data"? How is it used? What does it mean to business, to you? Confused by the possible definitions? You are not alone. Here's a nutshell overview.

Chris Herbert, a former IBM executive and special projects director, says there is some logical confusion about a definition for the term "big data" because of the practical lack of separation between collecting, storing, and analysis and use of information. In an e-mail response to questions, Herbert states, "The term Big Data really refers to the vast volume of data (information) in existence. Big data is, therefore, simply, collected information. When used for good, along with algorithms (instructions) that give computers the ability to listen, interpret and act when tasked by humans. Use of big data can save money, time and even lives. The same data, however, can allow your every purchase and recordable action to be followed and used to put together a profile of you for advertisers, potential employers, or governments.

Big data users can know their customers and their shopping habits better than many of those customers may know themselves. Not only are your purchases and other interactions with retailers, utilities, banks and service providers tracked, but with newly emergent algorithms, your habits, purchases, use of sales coupons and how you pay are analyzed to get a bigger and better picture of who you the consumer are and what products you might jump at the chance to buy.

Portland Oregon Savory Spice Shop owners Anne and Jim Brown have carefully chosen their social media advertising to the get the best of big data's offerings for the launch of their new boutique business. "With our Facebook ads we're routed to target those groups of buyers and potential customers most likely to want our high-end specialty products," says Jim. "We just had to invest in the ad and then Facebook algorithms and analysis sort through mountains of consumer data to find those that most closely match our buyer profile. Those potential customers then get targeted ads and special announcements from the store."

The Browns estimate the service saves hundreds of hours of work that would otherwise be done by hand and possibly having to add, or contract for, highly specialized staff to work through all the available information collected on consumers. "The time and cost saving has been real and with every sale the data mined from our big data pile becomes more and more accurate," says Anne, Jim's wife and...