Review : Lean Analytics

Book Facts

Lean Analytics : Use  Data to Build a Better Startup Faster
By Benjamin Yoskovitz and Alistair Croll
O’Reilly Media

Review

I understand this is an early release, and is not yet the final version of the book.

Hence, I can’t really say that it lacks content, because I have no clear idea how much content the final version will have. That said, I did like what I read from the early release itself, and I’ve contacted the authors, so I suppose I know a bit more than most reviewers would in other circumstances.

The bottom line is, the information already has value in its present form. You can just think of it as a primer for the final version, or a handier guide just in case you don’t have much time.

The content of the final version is still to be seen, and I do await it with some excitement. For those wanting a bit more meat, as one would say, I’d advise you to just wait for the final version of the book.

It’s unfair to judge this early version with the same standards as a final book, and I for one am already thankful for the fact that I was able to read the early release. Of course, I’m also thankful for the more personal interaction I’ve had with one of the authors, Benjamin Yoskovitz, but that’s beside the point for this post.

Where to Buy

O’Reilly Media Catalog for Lean Analytics

Disclosure

In the interest of Federal Trade Commission guidelines and covering my legal bases, I got this book free of charge via my involvement in the O’Reilly Media Blogger Review Program. That said, this review is entirely my opinion, after my reading of the book. I would also like to assure everyone that I was not paid to give any particular rating to the work, and that my rating is my personal choice.

Review : Ethics of Big Data

Book Facts

Ethics of Big Data : Balancing Risk and Innovation
By Kord Davis
O’Reilly Media

Review

I have yet to find a person who actually reads the privacy policies across various sites. I don’t know if it’s because of the legal language, if people just don’t care about how data is handled, or if it’s because we don’t think we’ll be abused by the companies we sign up for.

Even so, the very existence of a privacy policy suggests how things have really changed around the world, especially considering the pervasiveness of the Internet.

Now, I could tell you all about these varied changes, but that would take too many posts. So for this review, I’d like to focus on big data, one of the more significant reasons for why privacy policies abound. 

Don’t Be A Control Freak

I’m pretty sure that like me, you have things you believe in. There are things you take as fact, and there are things you know to be true. You know that the sky is blue and that the sun is yellow, and that a bell makes a sound. And in the end, you operate with these beliefs and facts, and you live your life.

But the question is, are you living life fully?

If you operate only within your belief set, the answer is likely to be no.

And that my friends, is not alright, so I hope what you’ll do is the opposite. Instead of caging yourself in, broaden your horizons. Learn to take in new perspectives, and to appreciate the insights of those who are different.

After all, this interplay of difference is what animates the universe. Life simply cannot be reduced to the beliefs of one person, and that is as it should be. Because you know, trying to make the world conform is your loss. Should you attempt to typify life with your narrow lens of experience, it will be an unfortunate reduction.

Don’t do it. Don’t be a control freak.

Instead, give up control, and just flow. Happily and humbly, realize that you operate in a world filled with uncertainty and contrast. Revel in divergent rhythms and clear inconsistencies.

Because you know, you’re not meant to control the world anyway. To do so is a fool’s errand that will only get you stressed. Even more damaging, it will keep you living in a self-limited world.

Don’t aim for control – aim for convergence. Be one with the world in all its complex glory.

I guarantee, you’ll be better off.