Everything we do has the potential to produce data. Every breath, heartbeat, blink, step, click and on and on.
Only a fraction of that is captured.
You live in countless data sets. Social Security, Internal Revenue Services, every place you went to school, each company you ever spent money with, your bank, credit card, every employer you ever worked for, every website you’ve ever visited, every internet carrier you’ve every used, every medical provider you’ve ever seen, everyone who had ever provided you with a service, and on and on.
An even smaller fraction of that data is analyzed.
It is used to provide you with information, offers, ads and the occasional insight. It is often used by others to guide their businesses or services and sold to others to do the same.
Sometimes this information is used for unethical if not illegal purposes. For example, the increased use of surveillance pricing where companies charge different prices on things like flights based on your purchase and browsing history. Charging more if they think you can afford more.
I have spent the last week with a group of people who use this data to improve people’s lives; to evaluate programs aimed to help people; to find gaps in services, to uncover insights that can lead to real change.
In one instance, they combined two data sets. One looking at people who were accessing homeless shelters and the other capturing those who were accessing educational and social services. They found that 40% of children in shelters were not getting services that would be beneficial to their health and growth. A social worker was placed in the homeless shelter and now those children are getting the health they need.
Then there is the question of how we use our own data to improve our own situation. What is our optimal amount of sleep? Resting blood pressure? Balance of time spent on various activities that provide our life with meaning? How much waste do we produce? How does our money compound? How often do we call friends or family who don’t live near us? Do we feel better when we listen to certain kinds of music? What makes for a happy day? Or a content one? What activities help us when we feel down?
Data provides insights and self awareness. Now I’m not suggesting that we begin tracking every action we take or spending our days combing through spreadsheets of our own making. But I am pointing out that it’s quite possible that strangers spend more time looking at our data in an effort to impact our behavior than we do ourselves.
What good could spending a little more time thinking about your data do for you, for others, for the world? My guess is quite a lot.
This Week’s Recommendation: Sentimental Value recently won the Oscar for best picture. It is an incredible film. Even if you don’t watch it, take two minutes to watch this clip. It is such a beautiful depiction of sibling love. I get teary no matter how many times I watch it.
Share with a friend – and perhaps count how many times you share content meant to inspire vs. content with the potential to trigger.