The 7 Weirdest, Coolest & Creepiest Uses of Big Data Published Last Week

Monday, November 2, 2015

Picture of Andrew Griffin
Andrew Griffin
BigBrother_Roundup

More often than not, I find myself completely blown away by the scope of influence innovative technologies have on pretty much every aspect of modern life. Big Data and its ever-reaching possibilities can, at times, feel both awe-inspiring and terrifying, and I’ve spent the weekend browsing and collecting the most interesting articles related to the influence of data analytics published recently. Some are creepy, some are fun, and all of them are worth a read:

1. The Top Brewery Road Trip, Routed Algorithmically

Publication: FlowingData.com
Take-Away: Our Next Great American Road Trip (brought to you by RateBeer.com, Genetic Algorithms, Google Maps API, and one Brilliant Beer Aficionado)

2. When Lobbyists Write Legislation, This Data Mining Tool Traces The Paper Trail

Publication: Fast Company Magazine Online
Take-Away: Data Science Can Increase Government Transparency by Tracking and Analyzing Legislation (Sounds Like a Great Idea To Me!)

3. Big Brother Wants to Know Everything About Your Kids

Publication: ThePulse2016.com
Take-Away: Somewhat Politically Motivated But Nonetheless Disturbing Suggestion That The US Department of Education Has System In Place to Track Individual Student Ability and Progress

4. Colleges are Spying on Prospective Students by Quietly Tracking Them Across the Internet

Publication: Quartz.com
Take-Away: Not Quite As Alarming As The Last, But Still Creepy Explanation of Why and How Colleges Competing With One Another Stalk Prospective Students

5. 2015-16 NBA Preview: The Warriors Are Gonna Be Awesome

Publication: FiveThirtyEight.com
Take-Away: Welcome To The Future of Professional Sports: Season Predictions Based On A Mathematical, Sophisticated Projection System

6. How Big Data and The Sims are Helping Us to Build the Cities of the Future

Publication: TheNextWeb.com
Take-Away: A Super Cool Explanation of How The Future of Urban Planning Lies In Using Modeling That Utilizes Big Data and Looks A Lot Like SimCity

7. 17 “Internet Of Things” Facts Everyone Should Read

Publication: Forbes Magazine Online
Take-Away: Technically Not A Big Data Use-Case, but Some Fascinating and Mind-Blowing Facts Nonetheless!

For more on the influence of Big Data on modern life, check out the following posts: