Beyondmeasure email format

beyondMEASURE advises on how the profusion of personal data can lead to the improvement of our selves and societies New tools make us aware of our place in the world: Tiny sensors gather data, cheap and ubiquitous computing makes that data visible and usable, and social networks allow huge populations to contribute and collaborate. Many of these new trends in technology point outward. They give us a view of previously invisible patterns. They are windows. But the new tools of data-gathering and analysis also create a new type of mirror. When we turn these technologies towards ourselves, we are able to see patterns in the way we think, feel, and act. Data is being generated by nearly every dimension of our personal lives. Sometimes we produce this data intentionally, by stepping on a scale that tracks our weight, noting the details of a run or workout, or tagging a photo in a social media site. Other kinds of personal data are recorded passively, sometimes in ways we don’t even notice or even know about. What we buy, where we go, who we know, what we search for: records of our habits and behavior are used to fine-tune systems of marketing, management and infrastructure. The tools of personal data collection and analysis both help us design better systems and lead to new insights about the self. On one hand, the goal of using personal data as a mirror is to better understand our own nature, so that we can act more effectively in the world. On the other hand, if we want to act more effectively in the world, we need to use personal data to improve the systems that define, limit, influence, and enable us. This reciprocity is the key to making things work better. The new self that is emerging will ultimately be influenced not just by reporting, analysis, and design, but also by commercial competition, legal disputes, invention, and criticism. beyondMEASURE studies and reflects this ongoing social process.