Big Data: The Sexy And Creepy Side Of A Global Mega Trend

Let's look at the sexy AND creepy side of your digital tattoo, and yes, YOU have one!

Your digital tattoo is the eternal imprint of data you are leaving behind when you do most things today. It's like a tattoo because it will stay with you for the rest of your life (and beyond). The global mega trend I am referring to is the increasing desire by companies, governments and ourselves to capture and exploit this digital tattoo – the buzz words are big data and analytics.

So, when I talk about digital tattoos I mean that we are leaving a data trail behind when we do ordinary things like walking down the street, reading a book, listening to music, shopping, talking to our friends or taking a photograph. Most of our activities are now leaving a digital footprint and with it we are generating more data than ever before. We listen to digital music, we shop using credit cards, we carry smart phones that track where we are, we read books on eReaders and take digital photos. All of this records what we do, when and where. Some say the world is slowly creating a complete digital image of itself – I call it datafication.

This gives us new opportunities and ‘sexy’ ways to use this ever-expanding data universe. We increasingly measure and ‘quantify ourselves’ using wearable devices such as Smart Bands and Smart Watches. For example, I use a smart phone app (RunKeeper) to track my runs. I also wear an Up Band which collects data on my daily calorie consumption, my sleep quality, etc. In fact, both apps are synced so my runs are added to my Up analysis. The other gadget I use are smart scales that recognize me when I step on them and will send my weight, heart rate, body mass index, etc. via Bluetooth to my Up application. We are just seeing the beginnings of all of this. Technology in this area is developing so fast. You might have seen the smart diapers that tweet you when your baby has filled them or the prototype diapers that have inbuilt technology to automatically analyze the urine and alert you to any infections or health problems. This ‘sexy’ side of data analytics means that individuals can track their health, their exercise routines, their food consumption, their sleep patterns, and soon so much more. Having such data on a massive scale gives us even greater opportunities. Just think how biotech companies and governments could use this information to e.g. correlate this data with disease patterns to create predictive models that will alert us to risks and allow us to take preventative actions.

The creepy side of all of this is the fact that suddenly a lot of potentially sensitive personal information is recorded and stored in apps and cloud servers. Do we really know who can access and use this data? Also, imagine your health insurance provider demands to see this kind of data before giving you a policy? This could lead to some serious discrimination against some people who just happen to have the wrong DNA code.

Let’s make it even creepier. Imagine you are sitting on your sofa watching American Idol on TV when you and your partner have a little spat about who should be voted off. For whatever reason the little disagreement escalates into a full-blown argument. What’s different this time is that your TV, using its in-built microphone, picks up your feud and sells this information in real-time to a marriage-counseling provider who is then able to stream an ad for their services right to your living room. Crazy futuristic vision? No, this exact scenario was outlined in a recent patent application by one of the major broadband and telecom companies in the U.S.

Today, we have the technology to analyze spoken words and images to not only detect what someone is saying but the exact sentiment with which something is said. Every post or status update you make and every photograph you upload to Facebook or Twitter, every email you sent via Gmail, or every phone call you make adds to your digital tattoo. If we search on anything using Google it will be stored and linked to our profile. If we purchase anything using a credit card then the card company will have a record of it, which they can analyze. If we make a phone call or send a text message then our telecom provider will have a record of whom we called, when and for how long (as well as a recording of what was actually said!). All of this helps to make you a completely transparent customer. Using big data analytics of publicly available data such as Facebook likes allows companies and governments now to safely predict your age, level of intelligence, sexual preferences, political and religious views, as well as emotional stability or satisfaction with life. If you have read my recent article on this then you know that a ‘like’ for curly fries might be a good idea.

So where does this leave us? I am a gadget man and big data expert and I am super-excited about all of the endless ‘sexy’ opportunities. However, I am also worried about the ease of accessing and analyzing very private data. If companies and governments can know everything about you and know exactly where you are at any given point in time then this makes me nervous. Not now. But imagine what would happen if Governments or powerful companies like Google or Facebook turned ugly and used the data against you? We know from the NSA revelations that the U.S. government already analyses email, phone recordings etc. for anti-terrorism activities. I guess this is okay in a well-functioning democracy but what if the data gets into the hands of the wrong people? Just imagine what would have happened if Hitler had access to all the big data out there today. In his novel ‘Nineteen-Eighty-Four’ George Orwell painted a futuristic picture of an evil world where an omnipresent government surveillance headed by Big Brother is watching and controlling everyone. Do you believe George Orwell might be turning in his grave right now?

How does the idea of a digital tattoo make you feel? As always, let me know your thoughts and ideas. Or let us know what your digital tattoo might look like or reveal about you?

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About : Bernard Marr is a globally recognized expert in strategy, performance management, analytics, KPIs and big data. He helps companies and executive teams manage, measure, analyze and improve performance. His new book is: Big Data: Using Smart Big Data, Analytics and Metrics To Make Better Decisions and Improve Performance

Other recent posts by Bernard Marr:

• Big Data: The Mega-Trend That Will Impact All Our Lives
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• How Facebook Exploits Your Personal Information
• What The Heck is... Analytics?
• Google: Forget Privacy When Using Gmail
• The 2 Words That Will Change Your Life Forever...
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• Stop Using These 30 Phrases At Work!
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