10+ Best Articles on Big Data
The most useful articles on big data from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Big Data Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved on big data by Refind users in 2023 so far.
- The magic that makes Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlists so damn good
- The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked
- 'Utterly horrifying': ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine
- In China, a Three-Digit Score Could Dictate Your Place in Society
- A model citizen in China's all-seeing digital dictatorship
What is ...?
New to #big data? These articles make an excellent introduction.
What is Hierarchical Clustering?
By Nagesh Singh Chauhan, Big data developer at CirrusLabs What is Clustering?? Clustering is a technique that groups similar objects such that the objects in the same group are more similar to each…
How to ...?
How to Call B.S. on Big Data: A Practical Guide
At the University of Washington, students are learning to navigate the hazards of our information-addled age—fact, falsehood, and the half-truths in between.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles on big data—all under 10 minutes.
We Can't Even Comprehend the Massive Data Haul We'll Soon Get From Sensors
Comprising the first part of tomorrow’s smart environment information-processing pipeline, sensors provide our computers with information they need to act.
'Utterly horrifying': ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine
Sandy Parakilas says numerous companies deployed these techniques – likely affecting hundreds of millions of users – and that Facebook looked the other way
New Evidence Emerges of Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica’s Role in Brexit
The Trump strategist and controversial Big Data company communicated about raising U.S. funds for Brexit in 2015.
McDonald's Bites on Big Data With $300 Million Acquisition
The fast-food giant's largest acquisition in 20 years is bringing machine learning to the drive-thru.
The magic that makes Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlists so damn good
Thirty songs that feel like a gift from a music-loving friend, but were cooked up by an algorithm.
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles on big data.
A model citizen in China's all-seeing digital dictatorship
Dandan Fan's every move will soon be watched and judged by her government, and she's happy about that. Social credit will unite Big Brother and big data to coerce more than a billion people..
The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked
A shadowy operation involving big data, billionaire friends of Trump and the disparate forces of the Leave campaign heavily influenced the result of the EU referendum. Is our electoral process still…
In China, a Three-Digit Score Could Dictate Your Place in Society
China is taking the idea of a credit score to the extreme, using big data to track and rank what you do—your purchases, your pastimes, your mistakes.
Why Do We Care So Much About Privacy?
Big Tech wants to exploit our personal data, and the government wants to keep tabs on us. But “privacy” isn’t what’s really at stake.
The Bill Gates Line
Understanding the differences between aggregators and platforms matters for companies interacting with them and also regulators considering antitrust.
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