Why this Infographic on Data is Astounding, Terrifying, and Revolutionary (for those who can handle it)

This past week, Mashable ran a very illuminating article simply entitled; How Much Data is Created Every Minute. Actually, it was more a few sentences to set up this incredibly well done infographic, created  by domo.com, on data creation that you see below. This was a blunt force, effective way to simply say “Look at all of this data!!!” and 7.2K shares later on Mashable, clearly it worked. We thought picking up on the article and pushing this conversation deeper was a worthy endeavor. It is incredible to visualize the data in this minute by minute manner, but stopping there is tantamount to reading; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” and putting down the Dickens classic. Spend at least a little time delving into this exceptionally done graphic and then join us as we dive deeper and discuss why it all matters and why, it’s actually just the beginning.

This Data is Astounding and Only Half the Picture

First and foremost, this graphic makes you go “wow!”. And though we know that Big Data – and creating value from all of this data – isn’t just a volume discussion, sometimes you can’t help but be blown back by the volume of activity.

And let’s not forget, this infograhic ONLY covers actively generated data. What does that mean? Sensors that are making their way into mobile devices, clothing, our cars and even our bodies are beginning to track scores of passive data as well. This is data you or I didn’t have to do anything “extra” to generate. A great example of this might be your heart rate being monitored by an article of clothing via an embedded device. When you start to add the coming wave of passive data to the usual suspects of user-generated data  - a LIKE, a new YouTube post, an Instagram photo – these overall numbers are set to explode even further and even faster.

The question you must ask your team is:

Do we understand what data is important and what we want to measure?

This Big Data is Terrifying

Five years ago it was becoming evident that your enterprise ought to take social very seriously. Companies that traditionally concentrated little on marketing were wading their way through social, trying to find out what types of social messaging was actually effective for them. It was uncharted territory for enterprises across the globe. And though you cannot at all short-sell the importance of being an effective social enterprise, many companies were able to figure out and capitalize on social through select hiring, crafty marketing agencies, and scores of trial and error.

This time it’s different. This time it’s about the data. It’s about algorithms, machine learning, sensor technologies, data visualization and beyond and there is a sincere shortage of global talent who can create value in this era of Big Data.

The question you must ask your team is:

Do we have a plan to access this hyper-specialized talent to create value from it all?

This Data is Revolutionary

Two quick and almost exponentially opposite stories showcase just how powerful all of this neo-data creation is.

In 2024, IBM plans on launching a telescope that will gather more information per day than exists on the entire current Internet. The data generated and analyzed will most likely get humans closer to unlocking the secrets of the Universe.

A more down to Earth story, concentrating on a human’s “inner space” comes to us from the Atlantic, featuring Professor Larry Smarr and his quest to chart and track his every bodily function. Take the time and read this incredible piece as it hones in on what all this data tracking helps to accomplish. What it boils down to is illumination. Where there was darkness, guessing, and speculation, data will bring light and understanding. But getting to a point where the average individual experiences data as Larry Smarr experiences data, that will take tremendous experimentation and risk taking.

The honest question you must ask your team is:

Do we have a way to continuously experiment and innovate with data while keeping risk to a minimum?

These are the big questions in Big Data:

Do you know what you want to measure, solve, or understand?

Do you have the talent to create value from Big Data?

Are you able to experiment and innovate at greatly reduced risk?