Conversation about where technology and innovation come from

Innovating is about more than just having the idea yourself; you also have to bring everyone else to where your idea is. And that becomes really difficult if you’re too many steps ahead….

I’ve actually gone a bit further and come to see technology as an alternative great story, as a different source for understanding where we are in the cosmos. I think technology is something that can give meaning to our lives, particularly in a secular world.

A great conversation about innovation and technology between Kevin Kelly and Steven Johnson (and a fantastic illustration too.)  Kelly’s new book has just come out in the US, and I’ll be getting it when it becomes available in the UK.

• Wired (US): Kevin Kelly and Steven Johnson on Where Ideas Come From

Also:

• The Guardian: Kevin Kelly: Technology is as great a force as nature

The planet as a system of systems

Even now, sensors generate petabytes of data a day…

…within the next five years, sensor data will hit the crossover point with unstructured data generated by social media. From there, the sensor data will dominate by factors 10-to-20 times that of social media. However, using this data will be difficult for the time being, as there are no standards to ensure the data’s readability beyond those possessing the right software or algorithm. There’s also a question of who owns the data.

…the amount of data is only going to continue to rise, so figuring out how to manage it, what to keep and how to mine it for useful information will become increasingly important. Effectively utilizing this data — from energy to fuel consumption to weather data — could also provide valuable tools or environmental sustainability. Big Data is a big opportunity, but it’s also leading to big questions.

 

• GigaOM: Sensor Networks Top Social Networks for Big Data

Using Hadoop to fight spam

Dealing with spam introduces a number of Big Data challenges. The sheer size and scale of the data is enormous. In addition, spam in social media involves the need to understand very complex patterns of behavior as well as to identify new types of spam.

• Yahoo Developer: Hadoop 2010: Winning the Big Data SPAM Challenge

Tim O’Reilly talks Gov 2.0 and education

Good interview with Tim O’Reilly, who is always interesting.  In particular he talks about education and the change that needs to happen so that learning moves on from “accumulating knowledge” to “solving problems”.

VMWare:   Tim O’Reilly Sits Down with Steve Herrod

Making sense of Big Data

An interesting document that I’m still getting through – lots on Hadoop and a number of interviews.  At 50 pages it’s a hefty read, but should be worth it.

• PWC: Technology Forecast – Making sense of Big Data

Also: Hadoop: From Open Source Project to Big Data Ecosystem