Big Data: hope or hype?

The Pew Internet and American Life project released a report on the future of big data and the big summary is: “Experts say new forms of information analysis will help people be more nimble and adaptive, but worry over humans’ capacity to understand and use these new tools well.” The study was based on a survey (non-random, opt-in, online sample) of 1,021 Internet experts and other Internet users, solicited by email or social media. Fifty-three percent of the respondents were optimistic about what our data picture will look like in 2020 while 39 percent had a more pessimistic view. MediaShift’s Kathy Gill wrote, “Many respondents who came down on the ‘good’ side of the divide acknowledged that their answers might be more ‘hope’ than ‘prediction.’ In other words, the experts and those interested in the topic are split pretty much down the middle.” But, professor Janna Anderson, an author of the report, told Fast Company’s Sarah Kessler that the variation on outlooks isn’t that important. Kessler wrote: “Though respondents were forced to pick sides, many of them said that they thought the future of big data would likely have both positive and negative elements. Plus, she says, a ruling on the future of big data isn’t the point of the survey.”

• Will Big Data Doom or Save Us? (Slate)

• Big Data In 2020: More Info, More Problems (Fast Company)

• Experts Parse Big Data in New Report. The Big Question: Hype or Hope? (MediaShift)

• 10 Big Predictions About Big Data (Information Week)

• The Future of Big Data (Pew Internet report)