Making Sense of Data Overload
No news here - the internet and social media are providing us with overwhelming amounts of potentially useful information. Beyond simplistic tools, like trending topics and tag clouds, how can we mine valuable business information from the morass?
A picture is worth a thousand words and carefully constructed graphical representations of data are even better. Unfortunately, old standbys like pie charts and bar graphs struggle under the weight of increasing complexity.
Using data collected from Twitter, the author of the first post provides four examples of more sophisticated emerging representations of what are becoming known as "business intelligence graphics".
Four Ways of Looking at Twitter
An Unstoppable Dynamic Duo
In a business context, software is developed to enhance results. The typical thinking is that while employees use software, software has its job and people have theirs.
Instead of a division of labor, developers need to consider another option: human /computer collaboration. The combination works extraordinarily well, and is shockingly underutilized. Yes, you can read this as: major opportunity for competitive advantage.
The following article provides a clear example of this approach. Consider how it can be applied to your business.
Did Garry Kasparov Stumble Into a New Business Process Model?
Too Much Control?
As companies encounter problems, they add controls to prevent recurrence. What could be wrong with that? The short list appears below.
Controls:
- may be ineffective and never serve the purpose for which they were intended
- may have unintended consequences
- become outdated over time
- may accumulate to the point where they hamper effectiveness
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