Are you worried about the impact of Big Data?

This week has been all about data and analytics, looking at forecasting and campaign performance. As I was in the middle of constructing a report my husband sends me a rather interesting article link. This article inspired me to share my thoughts on ‘Big Data’ and stimulate a conversation to gain more awareness in the community, the opportunities and shortfalls that data is having on businesses that operate in today’s Digital Age.

Many of you are aware that I have been involved in online media and digital marketing for a long time. The thought in relation to online privacy and how my every ‘click’ and ‘like’ will be tracked is a daily assessment. From a business point of view for my clients defining the meaning of what a click, like, share, re-tweet means to them takes on a new meaning when looking for monetary results.  However, understanding how this Big Data is sourced and how it is used is rather fascinating and somewhat frightening.

I am not certain if you are familiar with psychometric modelling but this article mentioned earlier by Motherboard really puts things into perspective.

Here is a short excerpt….

Kosinski and his team tirelessly refined their models. In 2012, Kosinski proved that on the basis of an average of 68 Facebook “likes” by a user, it was possible to predict their skin color (with 95 percent accuracy), their sexual orientation (88 percent accuracy), and their affiliation to the Democratic or Republican party (85 percent). But it didn’t stop there. Intelligence, religious affiliation, as well as alcohol, cigarette and drug use, could all be determined. From the data it was even possible to deduce whether someone’s parents were divorced.

But it was not just about “likes” or even Facebook: Kosinski and his team could now ascribe Big Five values based purely on how many profile pictures a person has on Facebook, or how many contacts they have (a good indicator of extraversion). But we also reveal something about ourselves even when we’re not online. For example, the motion sensor on our phone reveals how quickly we move and how far we travel (this correlates with emotional instability). Our smartphone, Kosinski concluded, is a vast psychological questionnaire that we are constantly filling out, both consciously and unconsciously.

How will your online action impact business outcomes? Can you influence or even shift user behaviour by using Big Data and predictability modelling? Just look at how remarketing and Google micro moments changed the online advertising space.

Data driven messaging and personality profiling and targeting can be measured to micro levels vs traditional blanket advertising that many are saying is dead.

The question I ask you is how sacred is data personal vs business, will you be taking a closer look at your analytics and hesitating when you ‘like’, ‘click’ or ‘share’ knowing that someone will be likely to purchase your habits to then try and convert you as a lead or a paying customer?

In summary if analysed, planned and implemented effectively one online channel can deliver far better results for your business, gone are the days where you must utilise all social media channels.

Always keep in mind it’s not about you it’s about the user, their behaviour; the goal is to find your online brand advocate, persuade them and put them to good use. Many great moments started with just a click.

Full article by Motherboard  titled  ‘The Data That Turned the World Upside Down’ can be downloaded here.

Happy reading!

Yours in Digital

Melita