Mining for Data
Society’s
expectations of mass media are largely influenced by the capability of those
creating mass media. For example, if the only medium for art in the world were
crayons no one would expect art created by paint. Expectations are linked
directly to history. Data mining is a technology that uses historical data to
create tomorrow’s results. The data mining firm SAS (2016) defines data mining
as being the following:
Data
mining is the process of finding anomalies, patterns and correlations within
large data sets to predict outcomes. Using a broad range of techniques, you can
use this information to increase revenues, cut costs, improve customer
relationships, reduce risks and more. (para. 1)
Data
mining is a technology that has drastically altered the field of mass
communication, and as a result altered society’s expectations of mass media. There
are various ways of demonstrating the role that data mining has played in
shaping society’s expectations of mass media. First, data mining generates a
great deal of profit that makes much of today’s mass media possible. For
example, Facebook is a mass media power house that is fundamentally supported
by principles associated with data mining. As Poh (2016) writes, “It’s also
funny how we all know that Facebook collects data about
us and possibly share that information to third parties organizations” (para.
4). So, without data mining in existence there would be no Facebook as we know
it today. In other words, data mining is a technology that has altered the
expectations of mass media by creating the social media that is beginning to
play a substantial role in defining our culture. Secondly, data mining makes it
possible for communication professionals to meet the expectations of society. As
Finlay (2014) writes, “Being able to trawl the internet, server logs, social network
sites, tweets, and so on to find out who is talking about what, or what people’s
friends and family are buying has immense value over and above the very small
amount you would otherwise know about people” (p. 48). The communication
professional’s ability to know what the target audience is doing, craving, and
expecting makes it possible for the communication professional to meet those
expectations. In other words, the creators of mass media must use data mining
to uncover the key information that the target audience revealed about themselves
in the recent past to deliver future products that are consumed. Mass media
would look very different if the creators did not know the specifics of what
the target audience was expecting. Granted, mass media can and does offer
content that society at large consumes. However, it is the media that meets
society’s expectations that go viral. Third, data mining makes it possible for
communication professionals to target individuals. Offering attention to the
individual is necessary because society is in actuality a collection of
individuals. This lens resembles the differences and similarities of the study
of macro versus micro economics. Both are different. Yet, both are very similar
because they use common economic principles to articulate the field of economics.
Data mining makes it possible for mass media to be tailored specifically to the
individual. As pointed out before, there is an enormous portion of mass media
that is geared towards the macro so as to effectively capture as large of a
swath of society as possible. However, as anyone who has spent a considerable
amount of time surfing the web will know, there are elements of mass media that
are designed to meet the needs and desires of the individual. One can reach an
understanding why such targeted communication tactics are used after realizing
that the results are arguably beneficial for all those involved in the delivery
and consumption of mass media. As Bloomberg (2014) points out, “the pace of
innovation in big data-driven targeting technology is advancing unabated. There
is so much noise in today’s omnichannel world that anything a marketer can do
to get your attention is welcome – and furthermore, the more information they
can collect about you, the better” (para. 9). Using data mining tactics to
reach the individual is clearly beneficial to those involved in the delivery
aspect of mass media. One can see this by examining why advertisers employ this
targeted marketing tactic. Ve Interactive (2015) writes, “stud[ies] showed that
targeted display advertisements were twice as effective as generic ones. In our
own display campaigns, we have seen an even bigger increase in conversion rate
for Ve’s targeted advertising campaigns – up to two-thirds better. This
practice will be even more effective in the future” (para 3). The technologies
associated with data mining have been in existence for a fair amount of time.
However, the sheer quantity of data makes it difficult for all of the data to
be effectively and efficiently utilized. As Ve Interactive points out, the fact
that targeted marketing is so useful makes it so technologies will be
re-engineered to make data mining as effective as possible. In other words,
mass media communication tactics that involve data mining will only become more
prolific as time continues. Data mining technologies are also useful for the
targeted individual. Due to data mining technologies individuals can receive
aspects of mass media that are tailored to their particular interests and
concerns. This means that an individual’s expectations can function as a filter
for mass media. For example, if a person has absolutely no interest in foreign
affairs, but is greatly concerned about the United States’ stock market, data
mining technologies can make it so the individual is primarily offered aspects
of mass media that delve into the domestic financial system. Again, society
involves the collection of individuals. When individuals continually receive
tailored mass media their expectations of mass media become radically different
than they were in the past when carpet communication tactics were utilized.
There
are two ways to examine how data mining technology has influenced social
culture. The first way is discussed above. This perspective reveals that much
of social culture has come to appreciate the use of data mining because of the
surface benefits. After all, time is the only real resource that anyone has.
Much of social culture appreciates the time saving qualities that data mining
tactics produce. However, the second way was not previously discussed. There is
a growing number of people within social culture that are both afraid and
disgusted by data mining technology. These people are influenced by the expression
“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product” which
helps to articulate how many mass media firms such as Facebook perceive the
average patron (DeWitt, 2015, para. 19). Doctorow clarifies this point when
stating:
Facebook’s
story is that we trade privacy for access to its service . . . But it’s clear
that none of us really know what we’re trading. People are really bad at pricing
out the future value of today’s privacy disclosure. … It’s nothing like any
other marketplace. … In a market, buyers and sellers bargain. In Facebook’s
‘market,’ it gets to treat your private data as an all-you-can-eat buffet and
help itself to whatever it wants. (as cited in Chideya, 2015, para. 8) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SNeQXWn3xk
Those
members of society that do not enjoy the use of data mining technologies are
aware of the link between the use of mass media vehicles and the intrusive surveillance
state. For example, there is a significant connection between Facebook and the National
Security Agency (NSA). Facebook’s business model is based primarily in the
gathering, storing, and retroactive utilization of user data. Facebook has
massive data retention centers that can store exabytes of data (Miller, 2015).
While this quantity of data storage is enormous it is dwarfed by the amount of
data that the NSA stores. For example, one of the NSA’s data storage centers is
in Bluffdale Utah. This facility is over one million square feet, requires
60,000 tons of electronic cooling equipment, and can store at least a yottabyte
of data (Anderson, 2015). Julian Assange has been thoroughly exposed to the
operations of many covert organizations. Assange makes the bold statement that:
Facebook
is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Here we have
the world’s most comprehensive database about people: their relationships,
their names, their addresses, their locations and their communications with
each other, their relatives – all sitting within the United States, all
accessible to US intelligence. (as cited in Lee, 2014, p. 12)
The NSA
takes advantage of Facebook’s data collection practices. Lyon (2015) explains
why this is the case when writing:
Social
media and state surveillance seemed destined to form an alliance from the
earliest days of Facebook. They used similar methods, and agencies such as the
NSA would take advantage of just the kinds of data already being collected and
analyzed by social media companies. (p 79)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuET0kpHoyM
Therefore,
while there is a side of social culture that appreciates the use of data mining
technologies there is another side of social culture where the influence of
data mining is producing a different reaction. This latter side of culture is
becoming increasingly fearful about what mass media is consumed as well as what
is personally communicated. Put another way, while the majority of social
culture is enjoying the data mining tactics those that are aware of the
implications of such widespread use of this transformative technology are
unsettled. In other words, it cannot be articulated how social culture is
influenced by data mining technology because the perceptions and understandings
of social culture is split on this particular issue. Still, it is obvious that
data mining technologies have a great deal of power in influencing society and
altering society’s expectations of mass media.
References
Anderson,
M. (2015, April 8). Utah data center critical to help the nsa ‘eliminate all
private communications’, says snowden journalist. The Stack. Retrieved from https://thestack.com/security/2015/04/08/utah-data-centre-critical-to-help-the-nsa-eliminate-all-private-communications-says-snowden-journalist/
Bloomberg,
J. (2014, December 3). The big data marketing creepiness factor. Innovation Insights. Retrieved from http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/the-big-data-marketing-creepiness-factor#axzz3zT1B9HGS
Brewbooks.
(2008, December 30). Data mining: Elliot bay book company [Image]. Flickr. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/3204175226
Chideya, F.
(2015, September 17). The facebook of the future has privacy implications
today. The Intercept. Retrieved from
https://theintercept.com/2015/09/17/facebook/
Data
mining: What it is and why it matters. (2016). SAS. Retrieved from http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/analytics/data-mining.html?
DeWitt, P.
(2015, July 8). Apple, ad blockers and the decline of the mobile web. Fortune. Retrieved from
http://fortune.com/2015/07/08/apple-ad-block-ios/
Finlay, S.
(2014). Predictive analytics, data mining
and big data: Myths, misconceptions and methods. New York, Palgrave
Macmillan.
Miller, R.
(2015, June 30). Inside facebook’s blu-ray cold storage data center. Data Center Frontier. Retrieved from
http://datacenterfrontier.com/inside-facebooks-blu-ray-cold-storage-data-center/
Lee, N.
(2014). Facebook nation: Total information
awareness. Tujunga: Springer.
Lyon, D.
(2015). Surveillance after snowden. Cambridge: John Wiley &
Sons.
Poh, M.
(2016). Facebook and your privacy: Why it matters. Hongkiat. Retrieved from http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/facebook-privacy-matters/
Ve
Interactive. (2015, March 12). Target smarter: Using customer data to create
targeted marketing campaigns. Ve.
Retrieved from http://www.veinteractive.com/us/blog/target-smarter-using-customer-data-to-create-targeted-marketing-campaigns/
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The Power of Computing Power
The technologies
that have facilitated the increase in processing power have drastically altered
society’s expectations of mass media, influenced social culture, and changed
the work of communicators. Prior to the prolific use of computers communication
professionals worked largely through print, audio, and relatively simplistic
forms of visual graphics. Society accepted this mode of communication because
no alternatives to mass media existed during that time. Eventually, the
computer came into wide spread use. The internet existed at that time, but it
was used almost exclusively by universities and military based organizations. However,
access to a computer’s processor allowed communication professionals to
generate works that more effectively reached the target audience. During this
time society was beginning to see far more sophisticated forms of
communication. For example, instead of billboards that were created by a
talented visual artist the new billboards demonstrated graphic designs that
could only be created with the aid of a computer’s processor. Put another way,
society’s expectations of mass media evolved closely alongside the capability
of the computer’s processor. Both communication professionals and society at
large came to recognize that with the constant increase of computer processing
power that Moore’s Law was indeed accurate. Crick (2016) explains Moore’s Law
when writing:
Moore’s
Law states that transistors per square inch have doubled about every two years
since microchips were invented, thus increasing processing speed, and this
trend will continue into the future. The user’s Internet experience is heavily
influenced by the power of the computer (i.e., how many transistors are present
on the computer chips). Simply put, the larger the number of transistors, the
more powerful the software can be and the faster that software functions. (p.
10)
Communication
professionals can have all of the creativity and ingenuity humanly possible.
However, such skills and talents are only useful in the real world if the tools
exist to create an actual product. For example, if we were to isolate the most
talented computer graphic design artist working in mass media today and flung
her back in time to work during the Renaissance era her immense skills would be
entirely wasted. Simply put, the capability of the communication professional
is linked directly to the computer’s processing power. Yes, ever increasing
sophistication in software plays a substantial role in a communication
professional’s ability to create and deliver the mass media that society
expects. However, software is only as useful as the processor that runs it. Furseth
and Cuthbertson (2016) elaborates on this point when writing:
The rapid
increase in recent years in computer processing power allied to the increased
speed and ubiquity of communication networks offers a myriad of possibilities
for service innovation, whether it is based on complex algorithms tailoring the
service to the individual customer, the timely delivery of relevant information
or the mobility and accessibility of that information. (p. 25)
When one
considers the connection between the steady increase of computing power, the
rise of internet use, and functionality it is easy to see how the computer’s
processor plays a vital role in affecting the communication professional’s work
and society’s expectations of mass media as a whole. For example, just 40 years
ago society would have no difficulty coping with mass media that did not offer
communication tactics that rely on a strong computer processor. However, if
today’s society was suddenly inserted into a world with very weak or no
processors there would be mass riots.
It is
obvious that the ever increasing sophistication of the computer processor
continues to influence social culture. The point can be made by analyzing any
social reinforcing device. Perhaps the best example is to compare the rotary
telephone to today’s phone. Prior to the proliferation of the processor
telephone based social culture was a tedious and expensive act. If the person
being called was not available to pick up the phone the caller would usually
have to try calling again. Today the processor has been integrated into the
mobile phone to increase socialization possibilities. A phone user can call,
leave a voice mail message, text, instant message, email, send videos and
images, and even communicate via social media sites that can be access via the
phone. All of these socialization possibilities are made possible by the
processor. The phone is only one example. Considering that nearly every form of
today’s technology is linked to one processor type or another it is easy to see
that it is the processor that is making today’s mainstream social culture
possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CMS9xnBRkc
References
Crick, M.
(2016). Power, surveillance, and culture
in youtube’s digital sphere. Hershey: IGI Global.
Finn Sims
Films [Username]. (2013, December 2). What
is moore’s law? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqKtVX5D-bw
Furseth,
I. & Cuthbertson, R. (2016, January 7). Innovation
in a consumer society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
PSD.
(2011, February 6). Modern computer chip [Image].
Retrieved from http://www.psdgraphics.com/psd-icons/computer-processor-cpu-icon-psd/
TheEllenShow
[Username]. (2014, September 19). Ellen
introduces kids to the technology of yesterday [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CMS9xnBRkc
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Consuming Mass Media with Binary
Code
A technology that has radically altered the work of communicators
and influenced the training they need as well as altered society’s expectations
of mass media are the technologies associated with electronic monetary systems.
During the majority of the communication based industries’ existence payments
were made in a tangible form of currency. Services and products were purchased
chiefly through forms of physical cash. In a time when the world population was
smaller, there were less products and services to sell, and store hours were
rigid this manner of payment was sufficient. However, society at large no
longer operates within this paradigm. Communication professionals strive to
effectively reach audiences across many time zones and geographical locations.
Simply put, paying for products and services through a tangible system is too
inefficient for the economic system at large to sustain itself. Fortunately,
technology has brought forth a solution that allows the form of Capitalism
within which our culture exists to smoothly operate. The ability to shop
online, pay in brick-and-mortar stores, and pay employees without ever lifting
a pen or opening a wallet have made it possible for the communication field to
grow. Bons (2015) writes, “Electronic
payment systems have accelerated the transfer of money considerably and
payments are – depending on the scheme – feasible in real time” (p. 167). Our
current economic system is based upon growth. In other words, there are no two
directions within our economic system. It is either growing or dying, there is
no third direction. This ‘acceleration’ has made it so that many more
communication professionals could be employed than could be under the previous
payment paradigm. Obviously, the more communication professionals are employed
the more genres of communication professions can exist. Therefore, society’s
expectations of mass media are continuously altered because there are more
communication professionals working to create the various genres within mass
media. For example, there are communication professions that explore only the
visual side of communication. Just as there are separate communication fields
in the visual and audio aspects of communication. Granted, such similar fields
of expertise existed during the time when the tangible payment system was the
norm. However, those communication professionals in the past did not get nearly
as involved in their particular aspect of communication as communication
professionals do today. As a result of the electronically based monetary system
society has come to expect a great deal from mass media. Today’s Hollywood
movies serve as a good example. When one watches the ten minutes of credits at
the end of major feature movies one sees a very long list of highly specialized
employees. If the electronic monetary system did not exist the number of
employees that worked on the movie would be about 15% and those individuals’
skills would be more generalized. However, due to the ability to access and
distribute huge quantities of funds both quickly and easily makes it possible
for communication professionals to be hired for highly niche duties. Therefore,
this form of fiat currency makes it so that society has access to enormously
complex and expensive movies. These expectations would not exist if such feats
were not made possible via the economic capability. An interesting reality is
that we currently exist in a fiat currency system. As Shoup (1998) writes:
There are
three properties common to fiat currency: (1) The currency is intrinsically
worthless. It is a piece of paper with a number on it [for example]. (2) It is
unbacked. It carries no promise of redemption for anything other than another
piece of paper. (3) It is virtually costless to produce, or at least whatever
it is exchanged for is worth more than the production cost of the currency.
Also, the cost to produce 10 unites of fiat currency is the same as the cost to
produce 100 units-the only difference is the number printed on it. (p. 48)
Therefore,
fiat currency is essentially a faith based payment system. Its intrinsic value
is less than that of air. This is especially true today because the vast
majority of America’s fiat currency exists in digital form. Meaning that
what is commonly misinterpreted as ‘money’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyV0OfU3-FU
is nothing more than the result of a banker punching the number keys on a
computer keyboard and then pushing enter. In other words, the economic paradigm
under which our economic system exists is based entirely on an illusion. Once
upon a time the American currency was backed by gold. During that time the
dollar was not a fiat currency. However, those days are long gone. Today,
services are rendered and mass media products are bought and sold through the
trading of a currency that is ultimately worth less than a piece of toilet
paper. Amazingly though, almost the entirety of those participating in the
economic system do not grasp this reality. If everyone understood this, as well
as the other economic realities, the system under which we exist would crumble.
As Henry Ford stated, “It is well enough that the people of the nation do not
understand our banking and monetary system, for it they did, I believe there
would be a revolution before tomorrow morning” (as cited by Shilingford, 2010,
p. 153). Interestingly, today’s banking and monetary system would appear to be
merciful, logical, and tolerable in comparison to the monetary and banking
system to which Henry Ford was referring. The point that needs to be reiterated
is that this economic system is founded solidly in illusion. In order for that
illusion to continue the masses need to be swayed to continue believing it. The
technologies that make the electronic monetary system possible are critical
components to keeping the illusion intact. Put another way, without the
illusion the distorted form of Capitalism within which we currently exist would
cease to be. Communication professionals would need to find a different way to
spend their time and energy if this system ceased to exist. Put directly, society’s
expectations of mass media would be drastically different without the
electronic monetary system in place because there would be far fewer
communication professionals generating the mass media and less ‘money’ to be
used to consume the mass media. Simply put, this financial system makes mass
media possible. With this monetary system in place society is permitted to have
continuous changes in its expectations of mass media. Without this monetary
system in place the very notion of what constitutes mass media would be
radically different. A major reason for this would be that the word ‘mass’ in
mass media would be altered because such a contemporary scale could not take
place with far fewer communication professionals working to create and share
the media. However, the illusion that is the monetary system continues to be
widely accepted. As a result the many facets of the communication industry
endure and grow. Communication professionals continue to train in their
respective fields so as to rake in as much of the fiat currency as they
possibly can. Such a feat is only possible with the existence of electronic
fiat currency. It might serve to clarify this matter by pointing out that when
one includes derivatives there is well over a quadrillion dollars currently in
existence in the world. According to Sue Chang (2016) “There is $1.2 quadrillion
invested in derivatives alone” (para. 1). This is such a large number that the
brain struggles to fully grasp it. Here is a graphic that will help. http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/derivatives/bank_exposure.html
While this
graphic is very helpful there is a problem with it. Due to the nature of
derivatives no one knows for certain how large it really is. However, this
graphic was made back in 2012 when the size of derivatives was both lower and
drastically under accessed. In other words, the final image represents far less
than 25% of the dollars that are actually in existence. Keep in mind that there
are a thousand trillions in one quadrillion. When trying to isolate technology
that impacts the communication profession, altered society’s expectations of
mass media, and influenced social culture it may seem at first to be unrelated
to discuss the technology that makes today’s monetary system possible.
Hopefully, the point has been made that a non-digitally based monetary paradigm
would not sustain the economic system within which mass media depends upon to
exist. The electronic monetary system is the mortar that holds the stack of
cards that we call our economic system together. Without it these systems
remaining in existence society would expect very little of mass media and social
culture would not be influenced on such a large scale.
References
Bons, R.
(2015). The international encyclopedia of
digital communication and society. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Chang, S.
(2016, January 29). Here’s all the money in the world, in one chart. Market Watch. Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-how-much-money-exists-in-the-entire-world-in-one-chart-2015-12-18
Demon-ocracy.
(2012). Derivatives: The unregulated global casino for banks. Demonocracy. Retrieved from http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/derivatives/bank_exposure.html
Mike
Maloney [Username]. (2013, February 26). Money vs currency: Hidden secrets of
money [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyV0OfU3-FU
Morgan, J.
[Photographer]. (2011, March 12). Monopoly
money [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/aidanmorgan/5589184944
Shoup, G.
(1998). Currency risk management: A
handbook for financial managers, brokers, and their consultants. Chicago:
Glenlake Publishing Company.
Shilingford,
R. (2010). The history of the world’s
greatest entrepreneurs: Biographies of success. London: History of the
Worlds Great.
