Tag Archives: data

Benefits of Data Storytelling

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What is Data Storytelling?

Data storytelling is the most effective method for leveraging data to produce new knowledge, new choices, or new actions. It is an interdisciplinary profession that incorporates knowledge and experience from several domains such as communication, analysis, and design. It is used to solve a variety of issues and is employed in a variety of areas.

The majority of marketers have some narrative experience. When we talk about data storytelling, we’re talking about stories in which data is the main focus. The narrative’s purpose is to explain the information and its importance. There are many different types of stories, and most of them can be conveyed with the help of photographs, but only a handful do.

The most important elements of data storytelling:

Data: The cornerstone of any data story is a thorough study of correct, full data. Data analysis employing descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analysis may help you comprehend the whole picture.

Narrative: A tale, also known as a verbal or written narrative, is used to express insights drawn from data, the context around it, and actions you advocate and hope to inspire in your audience.

Visualizations: Visual representations of your data and narrative may help you tell your message in a clear and memorable way. These might take the form of charts, graphs, diagrams.

The benefits of data storytelling

Data storytelling is comparable to human storytelling, but it includes deeper insights and supporting facts in the form of graphs and charts. Data storytelling simplifies complex information so that your audience can connect with your content and make key decisions more quickly and confidently.

Creating a data story that inspires others to act may be a really effective technique. People and your business may benefit from effective data storytelling. Some of the advantages of effective data storytelling include:

  • Increasing the value of your data and insights;
  • Interpreting difficult information and emphasising vital elements for the audience;
  • Giving your data a personal touch;
  • Adding value to your target audience and industry;
  • Developing your reputation as an industry and issue thought leader.

What makes a great data story?

It must be meaningful
This means that the information (including copy and images) must be appropriate for the audience’s present level of understanding and must assist them in achieving some sort of goal.


Perhaps your audience is internal, such as a presentation to leadership about the need of investing in a certain strategy or method. Or they might be external, such as a campaign to get them to test your solution.

In any case, consider what is important to them. The finest stories are those that appeal directly to people, and the more particular the person, the better.

It must have accurate data
This means that the data should come from a reliable source and/or be gathered in a method that accurately depicts what is required to convey a true tale.


Data made public by government institutions, intergovernmental organizations, university researchers, and established analysts are not only more accessible, but also transparent and verified.


The facts you utilize should assist you in telling the truth. It should be relevant to the audience’s needs and assist them in understanding just what they need to know to make an important decision.

A clear narrative is crucial
When it comes to narrative, we are all accustomed to the standard three-act structure with a beginning, middle, and finish.

For data storytelling, this typically implies that you need to learn about the issue first before diving into the data. You must also finish with a particular call to action—another distinction between a data story and a basic report.


Also, if your audience is not an expert, use clear language to avoid losing them in tricky jargon or complicated acronyms.

It should incorporate deliberate graphics

It implies that your graphics, whether images, graphs, or charts, should help your audience grasp what the data means.

What are your thoughts on data storytelling?

References:

https://www.analyticssteps.com/blogs/introduction-data-storytelling

https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/data-storytelling

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/data-storytelling/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentdykes/2016/03/31/data-storytelling-the-essential-data-science-skill-everyone-needs/?sh=7874148052ad

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Is serverless computing going mainstream?

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A new report from Datadog company – the company focuses on service observability for clod-scale applications, while providing monitoring of servers, databases, tools, and services through SaaS-based data analytics platform, shows serverless compting might be going into the mainstream with over half of the organizations using serverless solutions from three major clods – Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

“Serverless represents the ideal state of cloud computing, where you only use exactly what resources you need and no more. That’s because the cloud provider delivers only those resources when a specific event happens and shuts it down when the event is over. It’s not a lack of servers, so much as not having to deploy the servers because the provider handles that for you in an automated fashion.”

Why does it matter? Taking it into practical perspective it can and most probably will, change the way how we do our daily things via common electronics. With 5G or even future 6G internet, every desktop or mobile phone would transfer all the computing power to the cloud, which would imply that all the processing power inside, is not so much needed anymore. It only leaves a creative mind to wonder, what are the possibilities and upcoming innovations, where devices are not so reliant on what is inside, but rather on what they are surrounded with. Of course, it also implies the native talk about metaverses tough what fascinates me, even more, is how serverless computing can be used for devices to implement AR/VR into our daily life with progressing internet speed technology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datadog

Datadog finds serverless computing is going mainstream

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Data is a new oil?

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Until recently, companies managed just traditional assets such as machines, money and intellectual property. The digital era brought a new type of asset – data. This is the raw material from which forecasts, insights and very big money currently are made.

Big data is becoming the main driver of growth for companies and a new resource for the economy. Companies collect data on customer behavior and equipment operation along the way creating new services based on received information.

The only problem is that people usually are not aware of what data is collected from them which creates many legal disputes on whether companies allowed or not to “spy on their clients”. With adoption of data protection rules in many countries all around the world, tech giants such as Facebook, Google or Amazon are facing a real threat for their businesses.

The common phrase “data is new oil” has become dangerous for companies whose business depends on third-party data. In my opinion, comparison is not completely wrong because who controls the data controls the entire market. But for tech giants, comparison with oil barons can result in image deterioration, luck of trust and loss of customers.

Because of that Google’s chief financial officer, Ruth Porat, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, tried to popularize a more upbeat way of describing data: “data is more like sunlight than oil,” adding, “It is like sunshine — we keep using it, and it keeps regenerating.”

It is clear that if Google is considered to be an environmentally friendly solar power station, and not a vertically integrated oil company, then so many questions are immediately removed. I do not think everything will work out right away, but the attempt is worthy: the desire to compare technology companies with oil bars is also exaggerated and very incomplete analogy. Maybe it will end up finding an adequate middle.

Sources:

https://www.businessinsider.com/google-data-is-more-like-sunlight-than-oil-france-gdpr-fine-57-million-2019-1?IR=T

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Facebook sells its users’ data!

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The fact that web portals manage the data of their users without their awareness is known not from today, but the way in which Facebook does, it’s just beyond comprehension.

The New York Times is showing the truth.

In connection with recent reports from The New York Times, we read that Facebook sold access to various types of “sensitive data” about its users to such companies as: Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Netflix, Spotify. Netflix and Spotify had even access to private correspondence. In most cases, the data obtained by the companies were to help in the selection and positioning of advertisements for users of the said portals. It does not change the fact that through the sale of these data Facebook broke an agreement from 2011 with the American Federal Trade Commission, which clearly states that Facebook can share user data only if it is given accurate and explicit consent.

Companies answer the allegations!

All companies mentioned in the report of The New York Times issued a special statement. One of them is the statement of the Netflix press office regarding access to private correspondence of Facebook users. We read in it about:

“Over the years, we’ve tested various solutions to help Netflix understand the wider community, one of which was a feature introduced in 2014 that allowed site users to recommend their favourite series and movies to their Facebook friends via Messenger or a Netflix account. It has not been that popular as we assumed, which is why we decided to remove it in 2015. At no time did we have access to private messages of Facebook users, or we asked for the possibility of receiving them. “ – Netflix press office says.

The New York Times was really well prepared for this investigation.

It doesn’t change the fact, that The New York Times interviewed more than 60 people, including former employees of Facebook and its partners, former government officials and privacy advocates. Thanks to that we can be sure that Facebook did something illegal and now tries to bury the truth.

“The Times also reviewed more than 270 pages of Facebook’s internal documents and performed technical tests and analysis to monitor what information was being passed between Facebook and partner devices and websites.” – as The New York Times said.

What is my view about this situation?

In my opinion, companies that have access to sensitive data of their users should make every effort to ensure that this data does not leak. In this way, eg. Apple, which extremely highly appreciates the safety of data users of their products and whenever they commit some “mistakes at work”, they plead the guilty and try to repair the whole situation (eg. icloud leaks affair).

Facebook approaches similar situations in a different way, which tries to whitewash the truth and pass the buck on others. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is a perfect example of frauds and deceptions, thanks to which we learned how Facebook can influence election results in one of the most powerful countries in the world, such as the USA is. That sort of stuff is not conducive to peace but exacerbates the conflict on the Facebook and Users relations.

Counter-argument to this whole situation is the fact that the majority of Facebook users do not care about privacy policy. They accept all consents without prior reading. They do not follow the basic security rules on the Internet. They share their private lives via Twitter, Instagram, YouTube etc. For this reason, it can be assumed that such users agree to full surveillance, which is not said to be bad. If we have nothing to hide, why should we be disturbed by the fact that someone can earn from it. I believe that if there is already such a situation, it would be great if the company / person who earns money on their users, would inform them about everything and admit theirs guilt when they fails.

Sources:

https://cnn.it/2LJ9ZYd
https://cnn.it/2EUlpGY

Photos:

https://bit.ly/2SuobXh
https://bit.ly/2EZFLiM
https://bit.ly/2CH3Zfx

author: Michał Żelazo

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No More Privacy. Thank you.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 

Healthcare, like so many other sectors of the economy, is being transformed by technology. 

TechCrunch

 

All eyes on the transformation of healthcare to one of the most personalized products we are able to purchase. No questions asked, eHealth, along other similar term creations are among the top buzzwords this year and in the near future. Finally, Startups and VC firms seem to realize the huge potentially big data, mobile and other technologies can have on our health. Consumers realize that, there are vast possibilities to track your own health and life a healthier lifestyle. While customers, producers and investors seem to feel the changes in technology based healthcare solutions knocking on our door, it is often an outdated and inflexible legal system that prevents the revolution in healthcare to finally gain momentum. In many cases, governments do not seem to be ready for this change to happen. Furthermore, often the basic data infrastructure required for these technologies are not developed enough.

Data privacy is a big issue in healthcare, as data about our health is probably one of the most private and sensitive pieces of data each and every one of us has to offer. Nevertheless, applications like SkinAnalytics, which helps in early Melanoma detection, points out how valuable large amount of data can be in order to early detect and prevent diseases from spreading. Clinical research would be one of the first to benefit from a lift in healthcare data protection and thus everyone could be benefiting from better-adjusted healthcare solutions.

From a business point of view, companies that are early able to position themselves on the market, despite the strict regulatory framework, will have a good competitive advantage toward the new entrants, that join the industry as a result of lifts in the law. Cracking the legal code is key to success here, as the technology is already available and well used in all kinds of different sectors.

An eCommerce example of an organization struggling with a tight regulatory framework and constant pressure from organizations that rather hold on to what exist now, instead of aiming for a better development, is 1001Pharmacies.com. The French startup set out to revolutionize the French Online-pharmacy landscape had his fair share of battling with the legal environment and parties that would rather keep everything as it is, instead of working towards better and more efficient solutions.

What is the point of all of this? A call to the liberation of data privacy and legal aspects of pharmaceutical and medical laws. The creation of an environment that triggers creative solutions in this sector. Solutions that we all would be benefiting of one day.

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