Did you know that all of us, not just IT experts, make use of crowdsourcing and big data – almost without ever noticing? We have compiled ten strange facts for you on this topic.
Did you know, for example, ...
- that we generate 2,500,000,000,000,000,000 (2.5 quintillion) bytes of data every day? That would be enough to fill 10 million Blu-ray discs, which would be four times higher than the Eiffel Tower if stacked one on top of the other. (https://www.vouchercloud.de/ressourcen/big-data-infografik)
- that, when you use Google, you are helping teach self-driving vehicles to recognize road signs? That’s a helpful side effect of when you use reCAPTCHA software to select images of signs from among ten different pictures in order to prove that you are a human and not a machine. (http://www.sueddeutsche.de/digital/serie-kuenstliche-intelligenz-wir-unfreiwilligen-helfer-1.2847212)
- that crowdsourcing can help speed up medical research? For instance with the Sea Hero Quest games app, which is a playful way for anyone to advance dementia research.
- that we leave plenty of traces of ourselves when we surf the web? For instance, Facebook can see what other websites logged-in users are currently surfing. The only prerequisite is that the websites have an integrated Facebook plug-in such as the Like button. (http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/ueberwachung/facebook-trackt-seine-nutzer-online-und-offline-13562350.html)
- that it really is just an urban legend that, through search terms like “head cold” and “pharmacy,” Google knows better than the public health authorities whether a flu epidemic is in the offing. (https://www.brandeins.de/archiv/2016/digitalisierung/, article “Wie groß ist Big Data?”)
- that, way back in the 1980s, Michael Douglas (aka Gordon Gecko) said in the film Wall Street: “The most valuable commodity I know of is information.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5iwjFSpUw8)
- that smartphones can warn us of earthquakes? For example with the free My Shake app, which is currently being developed in cooperation with researchers from the University of California, Berkeley.
- that the German road toll collection system has a better overview of the traffic situation on the country’s freeways than any other system?
- that your activities on Facebook, Xing, LinkedIn, etc. are already being used to help determine your credit rating? (http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2015/10/23/your-social-media-posts-may-soon-affect-your-credit-score-2/#41b5fa8c3207
- that a U.S. supermarket uncovered a teen pregnancy by evaluating its customers’ shopping habits? (http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/#35f8ac0c34c6, http://www.zeit.de/digital/datenschutz/2014-04/big-data-schwangerschaft-verheimlichen)
