Assignment 6_ Big data_Li Zhou
The second argument “Claims to Objectivity and Accuracy are Misleading” intrigues me and reminds me of the previous article “data as capta”. The subjectivity of data collection has an impact on the final information and visual presentation. As stated in this paper, once the researcher begins to interpret the data, the data are infused with the researcher’s subjective ideas, and the data are no longer objective and accurate. In contrast to small-scale research data, it is simple for researchers to reach the conclusions they desire by subjectively emphasizing or ignoring particular aspects of such a large database. The consequences of these conclusions can be as large or as small as an advertisement not meeting your needs, as large as an entire anthropological study being misdirected, etc.
How to find a balance between the disadvantages and advantages of using big data is the key to the online world. I believe the recent emergence of blockchain offers a solution through a decentralized approach, where the problem of private information disappears when there is no central server collecting data. As a local example, whenever we click “accept cookies” on a website, we share our data information once. The digital marketing course has taught me how search engines like Google use cookies to obtain information from advertisers in order to deliver accurate advertisements to users. Big data is the foundation of all digital marketing, and it is a highly profitable industry. Consequently, if big data ceases to exist, our lives will also be filled with a great deal of inconveniencing, so my stance is to support the development of big data, but the monitoring must be strengthened.