Big MetaData

Apr 12, 2012 by Phil Simon in Big Data

Two years ago, I never even heard of Big Data. These days, it seems like I hear the term every day (although, admittedly, my antennae are now pretty attuned to that very phrase. It’s very much like platforms, but I digress.)

My, how times have changed.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some metadata on Big Data (aka, Big MetaData), courtesy of the über-addicting Google Trends:

OK, so we have a new trend – one that is rising precipitously over the last year. But let’s put this into some context. After all, data is arguably best understood against some type of backdrop, right? To that end, let’s look at the rise of Google searches for Big Data compared to those of Business Intelligence:

Interesting. The trends are pretty unmistakable: Big Data is coming, and it’s coming on strong. At this rate, it will eclipse BI as a search term some time late this year.

Understanding Big MetaData

Now, a word of caution here: the number of searches performed by Google (or, more accurately, Google users) every day is nothing less than astonishing. It exceeds one billion, give or take. In other words, if more people are searching for Big Data, it may well be because more people are searching, period. And they’re using Google to do it.

Also, a rise in the number of searches should not be equated to adoption of any one technology. After al, people may just be curious, right? Fair point, but look at the rise in the number of searches for Hadoop.

Simon Says

What does all of this metadata mean? I’m honestly not entirely sure, but I will go this far: Big Data is becoming increasingly popular and viable. While I didn’t need Google to tell me as much, it certainly helps to know that my suspicions are not totally unwarranted.

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Tags: big data, business intelligence, Google, Hadoop, Metadata