A #BigBangData Storm

Even as a relative newcomer to Adland, I have been caught up in the furious whirlwind BIG data has started (capitals very much warranted). It’s a whirlwind fuelled by the industry’s current self conscious ignorance of what on earth to do with it. I wanted to start my own conversation to get a little closer to the eye of the storm.

The context?

Last weekend I was lucky enough to catch the last day of the #BigBangData (BBD) exhibition at Somerset House. The name aptly captures the current ‘data state’. In short: lots more devices + lots more Internet = a metaphorical data explosion.

In fact having run this post past Dad, he queried the necessity of the term 'metaphorical'. In many ways this sudden, spectacular growth in data generation - we're talking 2.5 quintillion bytes produced per day in 2012 - can be justifiably described as a literal explosion. The fact it is simply too much to imagine sort of justifies this, however for now I'll leave it as is because it rolls nicely off the tongue.

Either way, in an attempt to structure the void that this incomprehensibly large amount of data conjures, I will go through my take-outs sequentially. Partially because I don’t (yet) know the answers, partially because I like organising things.

1. What is data?

Information. Without context it is meaningless. Useless.

However when organised, suddenly it can expose a lot.

BBD revealed that an incredible 90% of the world’s data was generated in the last two years alone (aka the Big Bang). It claimed this is an “unprecedented opportunity". The question is, what for?

As the exhibition went on to demonstrate, it is nigh on impossible to visualise the scale of what’s now available, let alone make sense of it without organising and reducing it. Attempts have been made, but the general consensus is that we are currently only scraping the surface of this vast opportunity. And let’s face it, BIG data might be exciting but it’s no use to anyone if we’re all just swimming in it.

2. In Adland data is interesting because a lot of this new information is personal.

Our faces, likes, dislikes, spending, friendships. The list is endless.

BBD reminded us that when the term data explosion was first used in the 60s, the majority of information available was commercial (sales figures, B2B) - but now a growing proportion tells the story of individuals. Ultimately, advertising seeks to change thinking and / or behaviour. Better understanding the people targeted is fundamental, so this newly available ‘personal’ data is of particularly high value to the industry.

From here I find myself asking how this will come to impact existing measures of audience categorisation - Mosaic profiling, socio-economic classes, Experian data. All are measures based on research, regularly updated and rooted in data of some scale. But how much use do they make of big data, and in the absence of that, does that mean they are (or will rapidly become) outdated? Can static databases ever be an efficient way of keeping up with the ongoing torrent of data we generate?

If / when we work this out, advertising will no longer be able to hide behind the excuse of not knowing who it is talking to. Facebook already allows advertisers to target based on likes, likes of friends and many other more specific measures. What are the possibilities beyond this? Will GPS allow location specific radio adverts? Will my Instagram likes be able to predict my vote in the next election? If it can, am I really ok with that?! Which brings us nicely to my next point…

3. Morals morals morals

The other big hairy issue underlying all of this is how far big data can be taken. Technically, what we share online is public - we all signed on to Facebook without giving that so much as a second thought. But now that data is close to becoming unlocked - where should the line be drawn?

Matilda Battersby described BBD as being “all about selfie-expression”, the underlying black comedy being that “if you look hard enough you might find something of yourself (perhaps even your face) in it”. To be honest I was half expecting my Facebook profile picture to pop-up round the corner of the exhibition. Thankfully on this occasion my social media presence remained under wraps; but the very fact I was relieved signals my concern. Yes, I share a considerable amount online - but I want to have a degree of control over what it is used for. Certainly not for brands to capitalise on my political beliefs.

In her TED talk, Jennifer Golbeck talks passionately about her belief that the use of personal data should be restricted - and I agree with her. However I also think that everyone has a responsibility to regulate what they share. I’m not saying the awareness is there, or that the ability to do this exists yet, but with the scale of available data growing exponentially I’m not convinced there will be a way to manage this without at least some degree of personal monitoring.

However there is one final question here - is the moral consideration of data use slightly too early? Despite revealing the possibilities of what data can reveal, BBD also presented an awareness of its limitations - what data cannot tell. Data centrism, aka an over-reliance on numbers and models leaves little room for human subjectivity and debate. Perhaps as Golbeck discusses, accurate predictions can be made from surprising data sets - but how far can this stretch? Based on her presentation it could be concluded there is a future danger of companies having 'Big Brother style' control over customers. Even as someone with a background in academic psychology - I'm just not sure how accurately we will ever be able to map spontaneous human thinking and behaviour, regardless of the data available.

4. Data visualisation

Morals aside for a moment, (given the distance we have between acknowledging big data and actually being able to use it!), let’s revisit the crux of the exhibition once more. If the way to generate meaning from data is to organise it, the question then becomes how?

BBD explored the visualisation of data “skillfully meshing the apparent opposite disciplines of science and art”. From the “cool literalism” of the opening exhibit - an immersive video of a data storage warehouse (aka the Internet), to the astonishingly detailed ‘Dear Data’ postcards exchanged by two artists, each detailing one, outwardly mundane detail of their lives in simple but beautiful drawings. All voyeuristically fascinating, and each all the more beautiful because of what it represented.

However as the exhibition went on, BBD began to demonstrate how visualising data in particular ways can dramatically change our interpretation of it. A simple example was a particular representation of the number of casualties of the Iraq war. Kamel Makhloufi created two pieces - the right box shows deaths chronologically reported whereas the left groups deaths by characteristics: Civilians, Host Nations, Enemies, Friends. Side by side they clearly demonstrate the power of meaningful data visualisation: here simply by applying a set of categories.

5. So what next?

From an advertising perspective I love how the meaningful application of art to data is almost directly transferable. Simply put, the most poignant apply creativity to a factual insight; whether it is that your love for Guinness means you value the time it takes to pour or because at Christmas John Lewis unites people through their desire to love, and to give.

As Matilda Battersby so accurately summarised, all the works shown at BBD, however beautiful or linear-seeming, are “entrenched in human behaviours.” And therein lies the challenge - so far we’ve struggled to make sense of the full extent of big data in a practical way, so instead art has been used to express it, and to try, like Makhloufi, to find meaning in unexpected places.

From here it's clear the way forward is to work out how to use big data - to organise it in ways other than art, and to work out how far this can be taken, both practically and morally. I'm fully aware this process has probably advanced beyond what I have covered here, but as I said at the start, this is me beginning my own conversation. To open the door to a topic I will certainly be revisiting.

After all, if there was ever a perfect canvas for invention - BIG data is it.

#data #bigbang #somersethouse #exhibition #advertising #adland #bigdata #psychology