Category Archives: Social Data
What Brands Can Learn From Pinterest’s Privacy Updates
In the midst of all the complexity and fear about data usage and privacy, it’s nice to see an example of disclosure done well. A couple of weeks ago, Pinterest announced Buyable Pins, which will enable their users to buy products directly … Continue reading
What the end of the Twitter-DataSift partnership means for customers
Disclosures Let’s get this out of the way right up front. DataSift is a client of mine at Altimeter Group. I am closely connected to Twitter via my role as a board member of the Big Boulder Initiative, of which … Continue reading
SXSW15 Redux: What happens at SX spreads everywhere
First, let’s get this out of the way: every year, SXSW regulars say the festival has jumped the shark. It’s too big, there are too many panels, and they’re poorly curated. It’s impossible to get anywhere. Too many lines, too … Continue reading
Data Diary: Five things we can learn from the Super Bowl
(Note: this is a longish one, but you’ll be able to read it in 20 percent of the time it would take you to heat up more Totino’s Pizza Rolls.*) Personally, I don’t care much for football; my significant other … Continue reading
Big Boulder Initiative: What’s on the Social Data Ethics Agenda for 2015?
Today, #snowpocalypse2015 permitting, the board of directors of the Big Boulder Initiative is meeting up in San Francisco to plan 2015 in more granular detail. As a member, I’m really proud of what we accomplished during the past year, but recognize that … Continue reading
New Research: What Do We Do with All This Big Data?
In September, I had the opportunity to speak at TED@IBM in San Francisco about the implications of a data-rich world, and what we can do, as businesspeople, citizens, and consumers, to use it to our best advantage. Since then, I’ve … Continue reading
2015: The Year of Data Strategy
I’m not generally a fan of annual predictions; they always remind me of a carnival in which you’re encouraged to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”; you almost never win the giant teddy bear. So I apologize … Continue reading
Data Everywhere: Lessons from Big Data in the TV Industry
During the past several years, the television industry has changed dramatically, spurred by device proliferation, changing distribution methods, and the increasing popularity of social media. Today, TV is everywhere. It’s on your phone, your tablet, your gaming console and someday will be … Continue reading
Facebook’s “Emotional Contagion” Experiment: Was it Ethical?
Update, June 29: Co-author Adam D. I. Kramer posts a response here. By now, you’ve probably heard that data scientists at Facebook recently published a study in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science revealing that, in their words, “emotional states can … Continue reading
Thought Experiments 