Datafication

Datafication is a technological trend turning many aspects of our life into data which is subsequently transferred into information realised as a new form of value. Kenneth Cukier and Victor Mayer-Schöenberger introduced the term Datafication to the broader lexicon in 2013. Up until this time, datafication had been associated with the analysis of representations of our lives captured through data, but not on the present scale. This change was primarily due to the impact of big data and the computational opportunities afforded to predictive analytics. Datafication is a technological trend turning many aspects of our life into data which is subsequently transferred into information realised as a new form of value. Kenneth Cukier and Victor Mayer-Schöenberger introduced the term Datafication to the broader lexicon in 2013. Up until this time, datafication had been associated with the analysis of representations of our lives captured through data, but not on the present scale. This change was primarily due to the impact of big data and the computational opportunities afforded to predictive analytics. Examples of datafication as applied to social and communication media are how Twitter datafies stray thoughts or datafication of HR by LinkedIn and others. Alternative examples are diverse and include aspects of the built environment, and design via engineering and or other tools that tie data to formal, functional or other physical media outcomes. Data collection and -processing for optimal control (e.g. shape optimization) is an example.