Data Science, pt 1

I'm calling this "Data Science, pt 1" because it's the beginning, and to be honest, I'm not sure where it end.

To be honest, if you're not interested in Twitter or data, you probably won't be interested in this post. One of my coworkers and I often have discussions about Twitter, partly because I'm a regular poster there and partly because he does not post there. Our inside joke about Twitter, though, is about my posting.

If you follow my twitter posts (hochspeyer@CJoelHarrison), you'll see an account that is focused primarily on Big Data, IoT and programming. We have some good-natured interplay about this-

"You're a fraud," he says.

"I tell the truth," I reply.

This can, and sometimes does- go on all night. I'm not mentioning his name because of my personal blogging rules: if I don't have permission, then I don't have permission.

In the end, we agree to disagree. So, why the Big Preface?

Well, mostly because this blog is about data. And, although data seems to be the furthest thing from a theme, I try to keep data as the unifying theme.

Believe it or not, Twitter is a two-way street. As with all other social media, marketing is important. In the world of social media, I have this blog. I have a Facebook account with many friends. I have a LinkedIn account with many connections. I have Google+ and a Pinterest account. I used to be active on a few forums. I even had a mySpace account. Of all of these, I regard Twitter as my primary and most premium e-presence.

Why? Chicago's own Ides of March really expressed it well: it's my vehicle. More precisely, it's my e-vehicle: it puts my name where I want it to be on the internet. I don't remember exactly how the old truism about publicity went, but it was something like this: "Any publicity is better than no publicity." This is largely (but not entirely) true for someone who is trying to find a job or build a reputation on the internet: almost 100% of the time, any internet presence is better than none. If you're looking for  job, you should have an established social media presence, and probably on at least LinkedIn and Twitter- and it had better damn well be squeaky clean. Please make no mistake: I very seldom (that is, exceedingly rarely) use a word such as "damn" online- and this is HIGHLY intentional. Any reputable firm will probably be have at least a concern about online vulgarity or profanity.

But I digress... back to me and Twitter. I have more than one Twitter account- I don't think this is unusual: one is fairly general, and the other is pretty tightly subject focused. I really don't do too much on my "general" account, and I have no special reason for the lack of activity there. My primary account, though, currently has a few hundred followers, and I follow a few more. What's interesting about this account, though, is my relative level of education to that of my followers. Here's where the ride gets interesting, so buckle up, kiddos!

The subject matter that I generally tweet about is Big Data, Internet of Things, Programming and, to a lesser extent, Technology (Computer, Electronic and Otherwise). I researched this a bit- probably at least thirty minutes on Google (this is the equivalent of 1.21 eternities in Internet time) and could not come up with a definitive answer. However, I know that I have no fewer than five PhD's and one PhD candidate in a population of ~225 followers, which means that ~2% of my FOLLOWERS have doctoral degrees. As best as I could tell through my "extensive" research, approximately 1% of ALL college students in the United States of America complete a doctorate. So as far as my followers are concerned, I think I'm pretty top-heavy in the academic department, even though I'm a card-carrying member of the unwashed masses that check the "some college completed" box.

In fact, in some circles I may even be classified as a "savant".

In any event, I'm going to leave "this" alone for now. When (and/or if) I gain further insights, I will continue this train of thought.

Until then, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.