Who I am in Relation to Big Data
I decided to track my interaction with big data during a day at my internship. I work on an inbound marketing team for a small company in Raleigh. Friday (11/15) I worked on link building, which means that I research popular, local blogs. I then email the authors of the respective blogs and think about topics that would appeal to the different audiences. I also track the domain authority of their blogs using Moz software. I track the time I spend on various tasks using a software called Harvest.
During my work day I usually listen to Spotify. I use the Discover Weekly playlist, which assesses the songs that I listen too and finds similar songs.
I also check Facebook regularly during my work day because sometimes I get bored. I have noticed that since I started using Moz software to test domain authorities for my job I have started getting ads for Moz on my newsfeed.
After work I went to happy hour with my co-workers. I swiped my card at the bar we went too. My bank keeps an online record of all my purchases i.e. how much I spend where. Then as the conversation lead to Snap Chat, my co-workers and I added each other on Snap Chat. Finally, we also used Instagram to show each other pictures of our current significant others.
What I think was most surprising to me was not how much contact I have with big data, but how many of my conversations revolve around big data. My happy hour conversations lead to the use of Snap Chat and Instagram, and the discussions of our presence online. Similarly when I find a new song on my discover weekly playlist I am quick to tell my office mates about it.
I think at this point it is impossible to detach myself from big data. Not only because so many of my friendships and relationships revolve around conversations about big data, but also because I would not be able to use my debit card anymore. Even if I used cash everywhere I went, my bank would still track where I withdrew cash. Finally most importantly my job depends on my interaction with big data.
A tomorrow question is: Is it possible that in the future employers could have access to my bank records and make decisions on my salary based on my spending habits?
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I hadn’t considered banking as a way of contributing to big data, but you’re so right! Those with access to my bank account (i.e. bank administration, police, anyone with hacking skills) could easily track my everyday movements based on where I’m parking, eating, or buying things. Even ATM withdrawals, as you mention, are trackable. Big data is so much more than the things we voluntarily provide on social media, it’s also intrinsically a part of our everyday lives – even eating.
Thanks for the great post – I think it really helps highlight the ways data is collected beyond directly using websites. The money we spend is intimately connected to our data. I also like the way you point out that we actually talk about issues related to big data regularly.
Please make sure you add the image you used as a “featured image” as well.