Big Data & Digital Marketing

I was not aware of the existence of economic theories that disagree with the positive effect of the digital revolutions. Their main points are:

1. The impact of the current ICT revolution is not as radical as the previous one (steam engine, railways, telephone ...)

2. Too many traditional businesses are disappearing, and the average required level of skills to enter the market is going up

3. The peak of the revolution has passed, and the progress is slowing down.

Mark Cliffe, ING's chief economist, replies like this:

1. Part of the current growth slowdown is due to the financial crisis

2. One needs more time to evaluate the impact of new technologies (even electricity took decades to have its full effect)

3. A key aspect of the "Anytime Anywhere" technology is its network effects, i.e. benefits spread faster with adoption

4. Hundreds of millions of people in the emerging world are being lifted out of poverty

5. The digital revolution is actually increasing, becoming the Internet Of Things, or "Anytime, Anywhere, Anything" economy

In such a scenario machine learning and predictive anlytics will be essential to not drown in Big Data. But keep this in mind: "Machines are for answers, Humans are for questions".

This is one of the best article I have ever read on Big Data.

Big Data is not just about having more data, or at a higher rate, or in different shapes. It is a profound shift in the way we deal with data analysis. Actually 3 shifts:

1. from "sample" to "population"

2. from "clean" to "messy"

3. from "causation" to "correlation"

Digital analytics has changed from being a tool for understanding the past, to a tool for optimizing the present, to a tool for predicting future outcomes.

Three main ways in which the digital analytics industry has changed in the last 10 years:
1. Digital analytics has gained center stage
2. If data is generated, it gets collected and analyzed
3. Good visualisation is not an option

First article in a series of 3 about Digital Proximity Marketing.

Very good reading for those interested in building models to improving customer experience, within the context of Omnichannel and Digital Communication.

Machine-to-Machine data is growing fast: 71% of companies consider M2M as a way to develop new business opportunities.

In the coming decade 40% of all data will come from sensor data.

M2M is part of the Internet of Things, and here are its 3 main fields:

1. Smart Cars

2. Smart Homes

3. Robotics

Let me get this straight: this is mindblowing, seriously.

A (cool) wearable device that can read your brain activity.

A model that can bridge that activity with your actions or feelings.

Next step: control things with your mind, either consciously or unconsciously.

This makes me dream about a future where I can sit on my sofa and have my hi-fi play just the playlist I need to relax from a stressful day at work (or whatever I need to do) without I do anything at all!

People @Interaxon are really cool.

Digital transformation is the use of new digital technologies (social media, mobile, analytics or embedded devices) to enable major business improvements.

Once companies start to invest in digital technologies and learn how to manage it effectively, there are great benefits. The report cites gains in one or more of three areas: better customer experiences and engagement, streamlined operations, and new lines of business or business models.

The 3 biggest traps on the way to digital are:

1. No sense of urgency

2. Not enough funding

3. IT system limitations