I have a somewhat unique background for Big Data, so it's very interesting that folks actually miss that it is really "Big Data Analysis". So, I don't agree at all that it's only a buzz word, and I certainly feel I know enough about it that it's not limited to that for me.
The world is tied together with data, and we've seen even folks at the highest points in the intelligence community get caught out by the CSI ("crime-scene-investigation") efforts of folks who can tie travel data, cell tower data, credit card data, IP data, time data, etc. to render a quick analysis of who sent what "anonymous" emails.
We'll get soon to the idea that you're buying a lot of parts at the parts store, you had a wreck six months ago, and you just got a promotion. And then you go shopping online. None of that is tied together until you give up your particulars of, say, name and cell number, but eventually a CSI effort renders you as a prospect for the dealer you've bought from, or tried to buy from, before.
And that is just one CSI trail in Big Data. It's coming--in fact, Doug's point about the Dataium analysis of what online advertising spends drive what results are an interesting piece of the pie. What drives the SALES is the real tell, however, hence the report from Dataium actually "hedges the bet" about SEM/PPC. What makes traffic statistically makes more sales, but the relationship between traffic sources vs. individual sales yields a "weight" on the data. Just like Internet leads, which for years were seen as equal between sources, we know now that leads are NOT the same between sources for yield SALES. Thanks!
