Your Drunk Tweets = Their Science Deets

Well, it's St. Patrick's Day, and we're here to confirm your invasive thoughts that maybe you should totally do a whole bunch of drunk social media posts to tell all of your friends and family and exes and pizza deliverymen how much you love them.  What?  Why?  Because at one point in New York City, it was totally helping science.

We're not talking about the science of mixology, though that counts too.  *Burp.*
(Image courtesy scientificamerican.com.)

The Witness Of Fitness: Health Apps Want Your Hot Body (Of Data)

Do you have a smartphone, smartwatch, or otherwise e-enabled device that you use to keep track of your health and fitness habits?  That's good, in the sense that you care enough about yourself to hopefully not totally devolve into a donut-demolishing dumpster.  It's bad, however, that all of your fitness data might not just be kept solely between you and your get-buff gadgetry.

"Sweet, I just beat my best 5K time!
But what's with all these ads to join the army?"
(Image courtesy lifefitness.com.)

The Big Daddy Of Big Data: U.S. Appoints First-Ever "Chief Data Scientist"

Due to the vast influx of intelligence from many forms of modern media, treasuring our data technology is now a job that requires a major position in the United States government.  Meet America's chief cyber crusader, D.J. Patil...

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide from the Big Data Snoops

An expecting mother and sociologist reports on her attempt to hide her pregnancy from the data mining corporations that increasingly have greater and greater access to more and more of the details of all our lives.  From TIME:

This week, the President is expected to release a report on big data, the result of a 90-day study that brought together experts and the public to weigh in on the opportunities and pitfalls of the collection and use of personal information in government, academia, and industry. Many people say that the solution to this discomforting level of personal data collection is simple: if you don’t like it, just opt out. But as my experience shows, it’s not as simple as that. And it may leave you feeling like a criminal. . . . .

No one should have to act like a criminal just to have some privacy from marketers and tech giants. But the data-driven path we are currently on, paved with heartwarming rhetoric of openness, sharing and connectivity, actually undermines civic values, and circumvents checks and balances. The President’s report can’t come soon enough. When it comes to our personal data, we need better choices than either “leave if you don’t like it” or no choice at all. It’s time for a frank public discussion about how to make personal information privacy not just a series of check boxes but a basic human right, both online and off.

An infographic from ZDNET: