Big data is becoming a more hype term in this digital age. The definition of big data often refers to the availability of very large amounts of data, more than any previous era. The data in question is digital data, so it is arguably difficult to separate digital technology from the emergence of big data.
The digital natives were born with abundant information availability. Their life problems are certainly different from previous generations. Sorting data becomes a problem, not looking for data.
Big data is a term that describes the abundance of information stored in storage. The abundant digital footprint is a form of the presence of a dynamic and growing big data. Okay, we already understand this, we also seem familiar with the term big data. Then, what problem can we make of this phenomenon?
Digital hype
Netizens deposit data to various digital platforms all the time. We use social media to communicate, share, talk, or whatever we can do with it. The content that we upload, post, upload on the platform becomes a digital trace that is easily tracked. Digital companies like Facebook and Twitter provide storage for every content we post. Furthermore, countless and ever-increasing amounts of digital content becomes data.
For those who live from the use of digital data, with the activity of crowling, processing and analyzing, has turned the data into a new currency. Data is often said to be gold in the information age. Data scientist has a high bargaining value, so startup CEOs inevitably have to pay them a share of some of their shares.
The availability of abundant digital data and the emergence of specialists who are experts in processing big data are becoming a new trend that continues to inspire our curiosity about it. What is big data processing like? Who benefits from big data? What are the implications for our lives? What changes has it made in the social, political, economic and so on? How can we take part as players in the big data era?
Such questions often arise. Millennials seem to be the most curious social groups. The presence of big data has become digital hype that is celebrated everywhere.
However, the fact is that only a few people benefit. Computer science, technology and statistics are on the rise as more and more promising trends in the data analyst profession. Is building big data analysis skills a guarantee of enjoying a bright future?
For pragmatists, the answer ‘Yes’ is the only satisfying answer. Digital data that is already available is very unfortunate if not utilized. What do you mean used? Not just downloading, processing and analyzing, but also must reach the stage of monetizing.
Big data as digital hype is celebrated in many arenas. Scientific research that has an academic orientation has also begun to look at big data as objects as well as subjects of analysis. For many analysts in the academic world, big data is considered to have the potential to give birth to a new paradigm of how scientific research is carried out. For example, the research method that originally relied on the representation of the sample, is now all taken. Big data research does not take samples, but utilizes the totality of available data.
Aside from celebrating the potential of big data, sharp criticism has also been directed at him. Like the opinion that says that femomena big data as the birthplace of big brothers society or panopticon.
Digital dystopia?
Who benefits the most from big data? Of course one of them is those who are able to process. But on top of that, the biggest advantage goes to those who have it. Companies like Google and Facebook are very profitable because they control the storage. Netizens like us are regular contributors to digital data that they are ready to process and sell.
Tim Cook will be happy when we produce Apple that we buy. We got Apple Roasted, and Tim Cook got money. But when we buy Android where Google apps and Facebook apps are already installed. Sundar Pichai and Zukerberg are not happy unless we search, login, surf every day. By facebokan and googling every day, we contribute content that is very useful for them. Content becomes a kind of oxygen for their life.
Google and Facebook are not search engine and media companies. What do we call them? Maybe we should start calling them advertiser companies. The fact is that most of Alphabet’s income, Google’s father, was obtained through advertising. Facebook sells the number of users to advertisers by providing ad space based on potential impressions, viewers, and engagement from users.
These two giant companies are role models of thousands or millions of startups who dream like them. Advertisers are interested in placing ads on Google and Facebook because of the large market. Both digital companies have users all over the world. They also have data on who the users are, what they are looking for, what is posted and so on. Think about Gmail and the Facebook account profile that we created. Who we are and how our digital behavior is systematically monitored on their platform.
In the era of digital capitalism, things have been taken over by content. Content becomes a potential new gold mining. Digital content that is mined is what we now call big data. How scary is it that big data can be called a symptom of digital dystopia?
It’s simple, when trillions of data produced by billions of people are only controlled by a handful of actors such as Google and Facebook, we don’t see democracy and business transparency there. The digital age shows a new form of oligarchic exploitation system. What is exploited? Digital data. How about exploitation? Selling space to advertisers. What can be expected from the power of a handful of people who control large amounts of human data?
Google is a pioneer in using big data. I write on this blog can be read as an effort to contribute content to Google. At the same time, Google provides advertisers with space through this content. When advertisements on this content are seen, I can profit and Google takes some of the profits that I can. When ads on this content are not seen by people, I cannot profit, but Google still gains because it can free content whose space has become money.