Privacy and Big Data [Paperback]

Terence Craig (Author), Mary E. Ludloff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2011

Much of what constitutes Big Data is information about us. Through our online activities, we leave an easy-to-follow trail of digital footprints that reveal who we are, what we buy, where we go, and much more. This eye-opening book explores the raging privacy debate over the use of personal data, with one undeniable conclusion: once data's been collected, we have absolutely no control over who uses it or how it is used.

Personal data is the hottest commodity on the market today—truly more valuable than gold. We are the asset that every company, industry, non-profit, and government wants. Privacy and Big Data introduces you to the players in the personal data game, and explains the stark differences in how the U.S., Europe, and the rest of the world approach the privacy issue.

You'll learn about:

• Collectors: social networking titans that collect, share, and sell user data
• Users: marketing organizations, government agencies, and many others
• Data markets: companies that aggregate and sell datasets to anyone
• Regulators: governments with one policy for commercial data use, and another for providing security

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Terence Craig is the CEO and CTO of PatternBuilders, a “big data” analytics services and solution provider that helps organizations across industries understand and improve their operations with advanced analytics. Terence has an extensive background in building, implementing, and selling analytically-driven enterprise and SaaS applications across such diverse domains as enterprise resource planning (ERP), professional services automation (PSA), and semi-conductor process control in both public and private companies. With over 20 years of experience in executive and technical management roles with leading-edge technology companies, Terence brings a unique and innovative view of what is needed—from both an operational and technology perspective—to build a world class hosted analytics platform designed to improve companies’ and organizations’ profitability and efficiencies. He is also a frequent speaker, blogger, and “commenter” on technology, startups, analytics, data security, and data privacy ethics and policy.

Mary Ludloff is Vice President of Marketing for PatternBuilders, a “big data” analytics services and solutions provider. Mary is an innovative marketing executive with more than 20 years of experience in enterprise software. She brings an in-depth understanding of how to develop and implement strategic program initiatives that span marketing disciplines—ranging from the traditional corporate and marketing fields to the latest developments in digital marketing. Through her work at PatternBuilders and other companies in the business intelligence and data warehousing space, she also brings a deep understanding of supply chain management issues, the use of business intelligence tools in data warehousing and analytic application efforts, and the impact of big data analytics on data privacy and security.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media (September 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1449305008
• ISBN-13: 978-1449305000
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Computers & Technology > Networking > Data in the Enterprise > Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Short but informed October 17, 2011

By Michael

Format:Paperback

A book that is slight in pages but strong on content.

Terence Craig and Mary Ludloff take the reader on a swift but informed journey across the landscape of modern privacy issues arising from our online life. Predictably the book is full of caution and warning - it is no surprise that our private information is doing the rounds in places that we don't know, and governments are encroaching our privacy under the banner of national security. Orwell's Big Brother isn't alive and well - he has been replaced by an even more worrisome industry of data aggregators who make their living by combining our on-line information from multiple sources.

The strong points of the book are many. A cogent discussion of the issues, a review of the various approaches to legislation in the US, Europe, China and even my home nation, Australia. And what I liked most - a balanced assessment of the risks and a nod towards the upside - all that 'free' stuff we get on the web courtesy of surrendering our personal information.

The downsides of the book? Not many, although I would have liked the authors to have shared some more of their insights into what the world might look like in ten years hence. Not crystal ball gazing, just what some of the implications might be depending on how current developments play out.

If you have a couple of hours to spare (the book is under 100 pages) and you want to get your head around the hard facts of the current privacy dilemmas arising from your online life, then you could do a lot worse than cast an eye over this publication. If you want something philosophical with big picture stuff and something to send shudders up your spine, then this is probably not what you are after.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Privacy, What Privacy? October 26, 2011

By Gregory Zentkovich

Format:Kindle Edition

I found this book a real eye-opener. It is more than likely a quick read if you purchased the paperback, but I had the digital version (94 pages), in which all references (and there are a lot of references) are clickable. Which makes it too easy to get lost in all additional information. I think most of us, in our haste to "get to the content", rationalize that it is only an email, birthday, or zipcode and that's no big deal. If we only knew what was really going on. That is where this book comes in, in a big way. I feel that Terrence and Mary did a great job in presenting the "facts", each covering their share of a wide spectrum of (global) opinions, in respect to their own views. They actually share their own point of view at the end of the book, which an attentive reader would catch a hints of throughout the book. As for me, I was too caught up in disbief in how our data is actually being used. I can see why it's an absolute gold mine for big businesses, governments and the like. The Internet truly is the modern version of the wild, wild west, and though there are those who would try to regulate it, there is just too much data already out there. In fact, both authors are pretty much in agreement on this point, "Once your information is out there, it is too hard to control who uses it, and what it's really used for..." (paraphrased). I would say this is a great read, I loved it, and it leaves me wanting more (information, that is). At the very least, the readers of this book will be MORE aware.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars The Writing Muddles the Content January 2, 2012

By C. S. Wolfe

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was purchased as a required text for a course on privacy. I was appalled at the poor writing and the heavy reliance on wikipedia links. The content would have been more informative if presented as an outline. I say this because the content would have been more clear and more easily understood if not interrupted by the poor quality prose. In addition to numerous grammatical errors, the writing is disrupted by overly frequent inline website citations which would have been better included as footnotes.

Readers should also be aware that the tone is far from objective. It deviates from the bulk of O'Reilly's outstanding library in that it is not a scholarly presentation but is instead infused with the authors' personal negative viewpoint. It's possible that they are intentionally attempting to create a demand for their business services by inspiring fear.

My concern about the rigor of their sources was highlight by the inclusion of a reference from http://www.dailymail.co.uk!

In general, there is not enough information and insight in this book to warrant spending money on it. Instead, if you are interested in a superficial listing of agencies and constraints, I suggest skimming through a library copy or better yet, do an online search on "digital privacy" to retrieve more informative online sources.