Dynamic Filtering
Today’s class and the video from Pixar made me think about the idea of filtering. I looked up the definition of filter or filtering and nearly all the definitions describe a filter as a physical component such as charcoal or a fine mesh screen used to separate a substance into know components with an expected result. The discussion lead made me think that the idea of filtering needs to be a more dynamic process where there are not expected results and where the filtering process increases the value of the information rather than just reduces the amount of it.
A few examples from today’s class may help illuminate my point better. We started the day discussing the mountains of commentary left on almost every blog and how much we should really be paying attention to the commentators. We discussed the process for selecting the initial candidates for the NASA moon landing initiative and how traditional application processes would have failed in finding the best individuals for the job, and lastly how Amazon is collecting warehouses of data from the Kindle app and website to research consumer trends and patterns.
What I see as a trend in all the examples is that in analyzing situations, companies, and/or ideas, students/managers need to be able to filter information and data in various ways using multiple thought processes and points of view focusing on what is needed to add value. This dynamic filtering should enhance the value of the data and allow for the true diamonds in the rough to be located. The process will become more important over time as increasing amounts of data become available to everyone. Anyone will be able to grab the information and regurgitate it nearly instantaneously, but the student/manager who possesses advanced filtering techniques will be able to take the same information and create a new path toward adding value.
In closing I want pose a question on one of my main concerns with how people interpret (filter) information: how we take our own bias into account when trying to filter all this data because as we learned from the example of wedding dresses at Sears, perception and reality don’t regularly coincide?
-Wes
Great Post Wes!! Your such an insightful student!
ReplyDeleteI like the comparison to what filtering means from a physical view point. It seems that, for data and information filtering, we are really trying to implement a process of prioritizing and categorization.
ReplyDeleteThis is in part what makes Google Instant Search so interesting-- the goal of this new service is to predict what the user is looking for. By having the user view "instant" results, Google is trying to allow for more refined and detailed filtering on the fly, shaving off seconds from the typical search. By taking data filtering to this next level, the company is hoping to offer additional value to search engine users, further distinguishing themselves from competitors.
I actually had a very similar thought to your question of bias when filtering while I was reading the "Web is Dead" article. As much as I use and enjoy applications, the article made me wonder what we might miss if we're relying upon the applications to deliver things to us. Is the ease that an application provides--by what one could argue is filtering information--worth the trade-off of missing something that might be useful or of interest?
ReplyDelete