‘Data’ is becoming a popular trend. Everyone is talking about it. Big Data. Data science. Data-driven marketing. Data based decision making.
Over the years, both the amount of data and the access to it, have gone up significantly.
That doesn’t necessarily mean we are more informed.
Plain data, especially when there is lots of it, is all noise and hard to comprehend. It needs to be converted into meaningful insights, which requires one to have domain expertise and an understanding of the context in which data is collected and used.
The insights then need to be brought together in form of a narrative. A narrative that’s easy to understand and syncs with your audience. Only at this point, your data becomes information. Something one can act on.
It’s important to understand that data is just one part of the information ecosystem. In order to fully leverage the power of data, you need the right combination of context, domain expertise, and storytelling skills.