The Human Face of Big Data

"The Human Face of Big Data" is a fascinating book. Lots of photos [way too many in my opinion] and comic book like "blobs" with fascinating factoids. The book is way too large and heavy. This is a coffee table book which should be republished without the photos in a readable and in an ebook version I can buy for my Kindle.Years ago [in 1960s] I read a book title "No Down Payment". On one page of the book there is a conversation in a bar where a electrical engineer [sic?] says that someday all our devices will share vast amounts of data and effectively become a new organism supplanting man. This in the 1960s when a apple was something you ate! Anyway, read this book and you will realize we are almost there. Watson, Facebook, and untold numbers of merchandising programs eat up your personal data, not to mention the government snoops, with an even more voracious appetite abound. If you believe the latest newspaper stories, Facebook can tell if a person is gay even if they don't quite know that yet. Personally, I am looking forward to the "singularity" when robots and computers with true intelligence overtake us as a species. This will probably in the next 50 years but with me having 75 years already racked up, I won't live to see it. I'm sick of despicable greedy Wall Street vermin, and stupid shortsighted and equally greedy ordinary fellow humans gobbling up the environment. So I am inclined to believe the end of humans is a much needed step in evolution. Meanwhile "The Human Face of Big Data" just might have you feeling amazed at how fast this is all happening. Buy it, but don't drop it on your foot!

I bought this book on sort of a whim, thinking it sounded like a "Big Data for Dummies" kind of book and seeing the positive reviews. Unfortunately,this book has a miniscule fraction of the solid information found in the typical "Dummies" book. I would say it doesn't even really make it to the level of a USA Today article/info-graphic.Another thing I missed in my "purchase-on-a-whim" is that this is a very large book physically. It measures approx. 14"x11"x1" and is heavy. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to take on a flight.The book is filled with large photos, the majority of which look like they came from a cheap stock photography web site - you know - the ones with random people in offices doing random things?The text is large font with lots of padding and generalities along the lines of "Big data is big and will be even bigger in the future" - not a quote but similar to the type of in-depth writing you will find in this book. :)About the only thing this kind of book is good for is maybe for a waiting room where people can pass the time looking at pictures and a couple of info-graphics or maybe for an elementary school library to spark some interest in young kids (but with the generic photos I'm not sure it would even hold their attention).I usually trust the Amazon customer reviews pretty well but this is a case where I think the reviews have been heavily skewed by the publisher/PR/advertising firm. If I had not been in such a hurry at the time, I think a more careful reading of the reviews would have alerted me to that. Many of them read like they came straight out of a press release.Lesson learned.

Okay, I was really excited the first time I saw this book being advertised. Not sure where, but I decided it was one I will add to my book collection.The main purpose I purchased it was to get a technical look at how companies utilize big data in making decisions and make predictions around society. What I got instead was a very big book, with very pretty pictures and some very interesting stories of what companies are doing with the multitude of data that passes through their networks.Though not a technical write up, it still makes for an interesting read. It definitely gives you something to talk about in social events or explain to individuals who are clueless about what you do when you say to them you work as a "Business Intelligence Analyst".I will recommend this for anyone looking for an introduction to just how pervasive the data we generate as a society is being used by big brother.

I really like the information in here. I heard about this book on a Public Radio segment and couldn't wait to order it. I was so surprised when it arrived. I did not expect it to be a big coffee table type book with little excerpts of info. I just did not expect this. From the segment I heard on the radio I expected a comprehensive book on the new roll of big data in our world. Soooooo, all that being said,I do like the information but do not like the way it is presented. I would not have ordered it if I had seen it first. Also coloring on pages makes some of the pages very hard to read.

Scientists and scholars who study big data all say the same thing: this revolution will have a bigger impact on the world than the Internet has. And while some may see big data as a jumble of numbers, this book reveals the personal side to the subject. I love how each story brings to life a different aspect of big data. And the colorful info-graphics are rich and detailed. I keep the book on my coffee table and it has sparked dozens of interesting conversations. Even our kids have poured through the book. Great photos and essays. Highly recommended.

I first saw this book when I visited one of my client. This is amazing work of art, science and design. It is less technical on the Big Data mumbo-jumbo so it is friendly for all ages and/or non-technical people. It is also less about the aspects of Big Data as we know today, but is more of a grand vision of new life form on earth.This book is quite immersive with great visuals, info-graphics, stories and stats. It is quite big well bounded and will look great in your bookshelf as well.

Best book on humanising data available. Well published and produced and a good reference source for all users and tech people

A great coffee table book to show your friends and family when they ask 'what's the big deal about big data' :-)

I saw Rick do the keynote at a conference and was completely intrigues by the concept of this book. I could have listened to him talk about it all day. I got the book for my husband immediately following. We were both held captive by it for days. So many incredible pictures and stories to go with them.

In dem Buch steckt eine Menge Handwerk und Ambition. Es ist jeden Cent wert. Ein Vergnügen, es durchzublättern, ein haitisches und visuelles Erlebnis. Sein Inhalt allerdings kommt daher, wie die Krönung eines alten, tief menschlichen Irrtums der sich auf den Seiten dieses Buches jedem erschließt, der weiß, was Rom 1,22 bedeutet.

Had to purchase for a course, not really worth the money