With technology becoming ubiquitous and cheaper, data is increasingly turning into a commodity. The business sector is the furthest along in understanding how to build economies of scale, and sometimes entirely new markets, through the use of both big and small data– i.e. targeted/behavioral advertising, Mint.com, etc. In the citizen sector, we are also seeing an increasing amount of entrepreneurs harnessing the power of data for social impact. This is true as much in the field of education (Beyond12, Peer to Peer University, Knewton), as in urban planning & civic engagement (Code for America, Turbo Vote), scientific research & healthcare (MedicMobile, Patients Like Me), and asset-building (Mission Asset Fund, Puddle.io). While the benefits of aggregating data cheaply and effectively are now becoming obvious, we have a responsibility to ask tough questions about the potential shortcomings of – and remedies against – relying too heavily on data to inform our decisions.
