Matthew W. Wilson, PhDHarvard UniversityUniversity of Kentuckymatthew_wilson@harvard.edu@wilsonism

7 November 2013McKinsey & Company

Morgan Freeman is dead and other big data stories

Morgan Freeman is dead?

Morgan Freeman is dead?

Morgan Freeman is dead?

not fact-checked

Morgan Freeman is dead?

not fact-checkednot peer-reviewed

Morgan Freeman is dead?

not fact-checkednot peer-reviewed

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The potential of these activities lies in their capacities to focus and extend attention.

@wilsonism 9

The potential of these activities lies in their capacities to focus and extend attention.

@wilsonism 10

The potential of these activities lies in their capacities to focus and extend attention.

@wilsonism 11

The potential of these activities lies in their capacities to focus and extend attention.

@wilsonism 12

The potential of these activities lies in their capacities to focus and extend attention.

@wilsonism 13

The potential of these activities lies in their capacities to focus and extend attention.

@wilsonism 14

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The potential of these activities lies in their capacities to focus and extend attention.

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“It is not enough to simply ask, as Anderson has suggested ‘what can science learn from Google?’, but to ask how the harvesters of Big Data might change the meaning of learning, and what new possibilities and new limitations may come with these systems of knowing.”

boyd, d., & Crawford, K. (2012). Critical questions for big data: Provocations for a cultural, technological, and scholarly phenomenon. Information, Communication & Society, 15(5), 662-679. doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2012.678878

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It is not enough to simply ask, as Anderson has suggested ‘what can science learn from Google?’, but to ask how the harvesters of Big Data might change the meaning of learning, and what new possibilities and new limitations may come with these systems of knowing.

Big data rewires both how we know and the significance of that learning process.

@wilsonism 18

It is not enough to simply ask, as Anderson has suggested ‘what can science learn from Google?’, but to ask how the harvesters of Big Data might change the meaning of learning, and what new possibilities and new limitations may come with these systems of knowing.

Big data rewires both how we know and the significance of that learning process.

Big data marks the establishment of who stands to benefit from this process.

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Big data

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Big data

volunteered and not

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Big data

volunteered and not

ambient and not

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Big data

volunteered and not

ambient and not

firehose and not

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Big data

volunteered and not

ambient and not

firehose and not

social media

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Big data

volunteered and not

ambient and not

firehose and not

< - - - - - - - - - - - - - - social media

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I argue that we should lean more on the notion

that social media are phenomena

@wilsonism 26

I argue that we should lean more on the notion

that social media are phenomena

and less on the notionthat social media are evidence of phenomena.

@wilsonism 27

I argue that we should lean more on the notion

that social media are phenomena

and less on the notionthat social media are evidence of phenomena.

to situate the shifting conditions of knowledge, amid the rush toward big data as

@wilsonism 28

I argue that we should lean more on the notion

that social media are phenomena

and less on the notionthat social media are evidence of phenomena.

to situate the shifting conditions of knowledge, amid the rush toward big data as

THE

@wilsonism 29

I argue that we should lean more on the notion

that social media are phenomena

and less on the notionthat social media are evidence of phenomena.

to situate the shifting conditions of knowledge, amid the rush toward big data as

THENEXT

@wilsonism 30

I argue that we should lean more on the notion

that social media are phenomena

and less on the notionthat social media are evidence of phenomena.

to situate the shifting conditions of knowledge, amid the rush toward big data as

THENEXT

BIG

@wilsonism 31

I argue that we should lean more on the notion

that social media are phenomena

and less on the notionthat social media are evidence of phenomena.

to situate the shifting conditions of knowledge, amid the rush toward big data as

THENEXT

BIGTHING

@wilsonism 32

I argue that we should lean more on the notion

that social media are phenomena

and less on the notionthat social media are evidence of phenomena.

to situate the shifting conditions of knowledge, amid the rush toward big data as

THENEXT

BIGTHING

totes omg

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[ NOTE ]

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[ NOTE ]

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[ NOTE ]

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[ NOTE ]

1 advertising

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[ NOTE ]

1 advertising2 rare geotags

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[ NOTE ]

1 advertising2 rare geotags3 terms/conditions

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[ NOTE ]

1 advertising2 rare geotags3 terms/conditions4 analytics for hire

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1 advertising2 rare geotags3 terms/conditions4 analytics for hire

Sponsored Post

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Sponsored Post

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to create opportunities for consumption

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to create opportunities for consumption

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to add legitimacy to their corporate values

to create opportunities for consumption

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to add legitimacy to their corporate valuesto showcase the hegemony of Twitter as a primary technique for the distribution of thoughts and observations

directing attention

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directing attention

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directing attentional

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investigating

controls

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partiality and commercialization

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partiality and commercialization

not mere observers or utilizers

but promoters

We Are The 1%

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We Are The 1%

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We Are The 1%

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only around one percent

of tweets are geotagged

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only around one percent

of tweets are geotagged

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representational?

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represensational

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Can we recover a representational approach that invites more questioning, more investment in the subject?

I Agree

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@wilsonism 62

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“We call these recommendations shared endorsements…”

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“We call these recommendations shared endorsements…”

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“We call these recommendations shared endorsements…”

I Agree

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“We call these recommendations shared endorsements…”

I Agree

strategic publicity

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“We call these recommendations shared endorsements…”

I Agree

strategic publicity

holding hostage

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“We call these recommendations shared endorsements…”

I Agree

strategic publicity

holding hostage

signals a new political economy.

Analytics™

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Something one does has become a thing one buys.

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Something one does has become a thing one buys.

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data analysts

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data analysts

smart cities

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data analysts

smart citiesubiquitous health monitoring systems

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data analysts

smart citiesubiquitous health monitoring systems

real-time global brand nurturing

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data analysts

smart citiesubiquitous health monitoring systems

real-time global brand nurturinggeointelligence and security

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data analysts

smart citiesubiquitous health monitoring systems

real-time global brand nurturinggeointelligence and security

Analytics™ enacts a narrowing of what is meant by analysis, just as it places limitations on the types of data that are permissible.

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Analytics™

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surging commodification of method

Analytics™

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surging commodification of methodto what we pay attention

Analytics™

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surging commodification of methodto what we pay attentionconditions the mechanics of those attentional systems

Analytics™

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* * *

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reinforces < > rework

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contingencies ofknowledge-in-formation

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‘Nice map, but…’

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destabilize our neutral vantage pointon the utilization of social media as big data

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thank you