I gave a talk at the Big Data Insight Group in London recently and they've just posted my talk online.


I talk about how we've helped EMI Music make use of data and about how we're doing so in zeebox.

One of the themes throughout my talk is the importance of people. Both in terms of how we use data to help people make decisions and about how we need to understand the people we're trying to help, in order to give them what we need. Technology enables this, but without the right people and without understanding people, technology is as good as useless.


I also talk about how important skills and judgement are. And that, although it's sometimes seen as the things that drives decisions, it's usually or perhaps always used alongside skills and judgement. 


I think that admitting to the role of skills and judgement isn't being 'anti-data'. I think that being honest about this enables and empowers us to better use data in the right ways. And it certainly helps people to feel comfortable with data, also!

With the right people in place and data playing the right role in an organisation, the opportunity for data to help an organisation is massive. The way that EMI Music has embraced data across the organisation alongside skills and judgement shows that this is the case.


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We sat down recently to talk data and insight. Here is what we talked about, plus a little video of me talking about insight at both zeebox and EMI.
So much data, so easily displayed in such a small but easy to understand format. I need say no more.
So much for trying hard to bring data to life and make it easier to use.
Waiting for a plane to take off on a cold, rainy heathrow runway just

now, a thought occurred to me about one reason I love data and helping

people use data.
It's amazing how difficult it is to make sense of large numbers. I think they really do need to be compared to something to make sense. I loved an approach that the New York Times took a couple of years back.

The following is another great example from an email forward that I just got.
... or so it might seem if you take polling results seriously.

In a recent poll, 9% of New Yorkers said they were planning to head to DC for the event. There are about 16 million adults in the New York area, suggesting 1.4 million people planned to make the trip.
There are some occasions where you need to keep your data gathering quiet!

From the excellent XKCD. 

I also love this one.
There was a nice little chart in the Wall Street Journal yesterday showing clearly how central banks are racing interest rates towards zero.
I just got around to reading Science News' article on how Forence Nightingale was a pioneer in using novel and innovative charts to present data. Apparently she went to great lengths to do so in order to convince Queen Victoria of the need for social change.
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