Big Data Opportunities – Are We There Yet? (Part 2)

Decision making based on the data from the social media can be biased, because the data do not capture what the decision makers need to minimize their own biases. The Big Data is biased and noisy. This is a source of big mistakes, risks and uncertainties.

By Olena Denysyuk

(for part 1, see here)

There is a new and big buzz-word is bubbling in many diversities of blogosphere, academics, forums and journalism, social influencers. The big word is BIG DATA (not just data, but BIG data). And the thinking is that the big data can give us BIG OPPORTUNITIES, and even visions to revolutionize the way we “stare” into the future. To me, there is a slight risk that we are moving towards wishful thinking, once again. Why wishful thinking? Well, the risks and uncertainties around big data are being underestimated, once again. We always had and will have a need in socially- sharing -thinking about something positive:  a belief that there is something that will bring us new opportunities; a new era towards a better future. And now all stare at big data bright future.

I have already mentioned, that the big data makes us even blinder to something potential, different, and not recorded (forecasting and technical uncertainties), so no matter which angle I would like to focus on when writing about big data, something else data had/has/will always have on its challenging side: the uncertainty generated by the human factor and by….big data itself.

But first allow me to mention what are these big opportunities I would like to focus on.

Strategic Improvements

The Uncertainties of Big Data (Part 1)

We might be on the beginning on the big data “epoch”. There are certainly great opportunities not only for business decision makers, but also for those, who like to work with big analytics. But the forecasting uncertainties are NOT eliminated by big data. In fact, the big data makes us even blinder to something potential, different, and not recorded.  This is a source if big boundaries, limits and diminished opportunities.

By Olena Denysyuk

Isn’t fun to be able to predict the future and change the direction of a business? Not the way the clairvoyants do, but like economists/ data analysts do. There are no big differences in these 2 groups, some would say. Maybe, it’s right. Nobody can see the next 10 years.  A 10-year business forecast is a good structuring tool, but as seeing- into-the- future tool, there is not so much value in it. Sadly.

But there should be some underlying reasoning, which these two groups share, since they share the idea of prophecy.

The later one predict the future (form the opinions, make the decisions) basing any judgment on data, technical/statistical/accounting/graphical. The former one predicts the future…well… I guess they have their own access to data they need: social media, Google among others.  No matter what analytics you go after in the realm of predicting the future, data is the central component.

So the word” data” is not new…     

Not only democratic values should be promoted, they should be helped to get implemented!

The successful resolution of the severe political crisis requires simple and clear goals and rules that everyone understands. Unfortunately, Ukraine doesn’t have them - authoritarianism has taken over. And we are the Ukrainians and cannot keep quite. This letter is a call to Europe for help, because Ukraine is in tragedy. It should no longer be a collective television watching only!

By Olena Denysyuk and Anastasia Erichsen

Photo by Olga Starostina

The uprising of Ukrainians during the last three weeks has been a moment of celebration. It’s the celebration of individual rights and democracy, the celebration of hope and values, which Europe stands for. Hundreds of thousands of people have peacefully protested against the remnants of the totalitarian regime of the last century. The people’s dream and hope of being a truly European and democratic country for the upcoming 10th year anniversary of the Orange Revolution was about to become true.