As internet usage has grown, so too have the various online networks which connect family, friends, colleagues and people with shared interests.
Whilst it is often easy to gain a numerical overview of connections, friends or followers, this tends to add context, rather than insight – the fact remains, it can be difficult to dig that bit deeper and see how people within networks are linked.
This poses a challenge for digital communicators as we want to tap into big, social data and visualise networks; so we can see how ideas may spread, understand who knows whom and identity people that are influential within a particular context. After all, if you can understand a network, you gain insight into who people may trust, find influential and credible.
John Pearce on 03 May 14"Here's what she found: hiding from big data is so inconvenient and expensive that even Vertesi doesn't recommend it as a lifestyle choice. (She presented her findings at the Theorizing the Web conference in New York last week.) So what does that mean for companies who say users can just "opt out" if they aren't happy with (so-called) privacy policies? Can you be a person on the internet without sacrificing all your data to the Google Powers That Be? I talked to Vertesi about her experiment, its implications, and why hiding from big data can make you look like a criminal"
