Mode, a startup marketing itself as the “Github for data analysis”, has opened a beta version of its service to the public, as well as securing $2 million in venture capital. Formation8 led the funding round, with participation from Panorama Pointand Goldcrest as well as individual investors, including Reddit founder

This article was first posted by Carla Gentry here. Carla is currently owner and data scientist at Analytical Solution.She has worked in the field of data science for over 15 years, and has worked for Fortune 100 and 500 companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Hershey, Kraft, Kellogg’s and Firestone. She

The growth of Airbnb has received a lot of attention over the past few years, especially since it’s $10 billion valuation. In a recent interview, the company’s head of data science, Riley Newman, explained how data was at the core of its tremendous success. As Riley explained, “data is the

Data Science for Social Good, a data science fellowship personally bankrollled Google chief Eric Schmidt, has commenced for its second summer. The fellowship sees 48 fellows (selected from a pool of 300 candidates) come together “to tackle problems that really matter.” Partners this year include World Bank Group, City of

Intel is spearheading projects to improve food and water security in California. California is a particularly apt place to start; agriculture in the region is a $46.3 billion industry, and they’re world leaders in avocado and almond production. But they’re also facing a devastating drought; nearly one third of their

The hype around the term “big data” can be pernicious. The ubiquity of the term, coupled with a lack of understanding about what it actually means, often leads to overly-ambitious expectations of what big data projects can actually achieve. This week, guest contributor Jamal Khawaja aimed to clear the fog

We recently reported on how Netflix is using big data algorithms to power its recommendation system; now, a Netflix blog post highlights other ways in which the company is using big data behind the scenes to enrich its service. They’re putting the data to work largely to improve Quality of

Tailored retail experiences are one of the most well-known applications of big data. We have premium streaming sites that know what you want to watch next better than you do; book vendors which can accurately map your literary tastes; and now, an e-commerce lingerie startup which knows if you suffer

Representatives from the Punjab Information Technology Board have spoken about their unlikely secret weapon in the fight against dengue fever; mobile phones. Dengue fever is an international blight. Over 100 million people catch the mosquito-borne disease each year. It’s been nicknamed “breakbone fever”, due to the horrific pain it inflicts

The on-going Big Data media hype stirs up a lot of passionate voices. There are naysayers (“it is nothing new“), doomsayers (“it will disrupt everything”), and soothsayers (e.g., Predictive Analytics experts). The naysayers are most bothersome, in my humble opinion. (Note: I amnot talking about skeptics, whom we definitely and desperately need during any period of maximized