Global Project Shines Big Light on the Human Face of Big Data, Invites People All Over the Planet to Share, Connect and Engage for Seven Days

New York, NY – September 26, 2012 – Rick Smolan, co-creator of the groundbreaking “Day in the Life” series and other globally crowdsourced projects, today launched a free mobile app enabling people to share and compare their lives for seven days (September 26-October 2) using the sensors in their phones and by responding to thought-provoking questions with others around the globe about their dreams, interests and views on family, sleep, trust, sex and luck. The Android version is currently available and the iOS version will launch later this week.

The app represents the launch event of The Human Face of Big Data, a series of initiatives aimed at inspiring a global conversation about humanity’s new ability to collect, analyze, triangulate and visualize vast amounts of data in real time.

On October 2, Smolan and team are hosting a series of invitation-only media events in London, Singapore and New York, where leading Big Data experts will interpret and visualize seven days’ worth of information streaming in from participants using the mobile app all over the world. In addition, leading data entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators will share examples of their work in an interactive “Big Data Lab.” A live webcast will allow people around the world to watch the briefings as the day unfolds.

“Big Data is beginning to affect every aspect of our existence,” said Smolan. “Everyone carrying a smartphone has become a human sensor, and this new ability to sense and measure the world in real time is something our planet has never seen before. From curing diseases to conserving precious resources such as water and energy, Big Data may be the tool we need to address many of the most pressing issues of our time.”

Beginning today through October 2, The Human Face of Big Data mobile app invites people to share ideas and compare their responses with others around the world. People can map their daily path, share the objects and rituals that bring them luck, get a glimpse into the one special thing that others want to experience during their lifetime and discover hidden secrets about the world in which they live. The app is available in eight languages: English, Mandarin (simplified), Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Korean and Russian.

The Three Main Elements of The Human Face of Big Data App:

• Passive data: Information that your phone gathers in the course of a      day. For instance, how far you travel and your average speed, or what time      of day you are most active.
• Questions and real-time results: Topics include Me and      Myself; Family; Trust and Safety; Sleep and Dreams; and Sex and Dating.      People can see how their answers compare to others around the world and      sort answers by age, gender and general location.
• Activities:Submit photos, map your daily travel and find your      “Data Doppelganger.” App activities include:
  • Lucky Me: Asks people to share       their “lucky rituals”—the things they do before a sports event, test,       company pitch or other important event to turn the odds in their favor.       They can then use filters to compare their own lucky rituals with others       around the world.
  • Map My World: Maps people’s daily       travel patterns, which can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, including       total distance, average speed and most active time of day.
  • Data Doppelganger: Gives people the       opportunity to find their Data Doppelganger—a combination of their own       face (if they choose to upload a photo) and that of the user who is their       closest data match. People will also be able to see the age, location,       gender, percentage of questions answered, passive data stats and       completed activities of themselves and their doppelganger.
  • Before I Die: In an activity based on       Candy Chang’s thought-provoking interactive project and upcoming book,       Before I Die, people of all ages are invited to share the one thing they       dream of doing during their lifetime. Participants will be able to       compare their own hopes and dreams to those of others around the world.

At the end of the project, the anonymized data will be available to researchers, data scientists and educators to study as a data snapshot of a week in the life of humanity in 2012.

The Human Face of Big Data project is editorially independent and is made possible through the support of EMC Corporation, which serves as the primary sponsor. Supporting sponsorship comes from Cisco, FedEx, VMware, Tableau and Originate.

About The Human Face of Big Data

The Human Face of Big Data, produced by Against All Odds Productions, is a globally crowdsourced media project focusing on humanity’s new ability to collect, analyze, triangulate and visualize vast amounts of data in real time. Against All Odds, described by Fortune magazine as “one of the 25 coolest companies in America,” specializes in the design and execution of large-scale global projects that combine compelling storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. The company’s projects have been featured on the covers of numerous magazines including Fortune, Time, Newsweek and US News & World Report.

Privacy and The Human Face of Big Data App

The Human Face of Big Data app was developed with user privacy in mind. The information gathered through the app will be used for noncommercial, educational purposes and is intended to provide a fun look at how each user’s answers compare with those of other users around the world. The data fall into two categories: (1) information voluntarily supplied by users, including photographs, and (2) information gathered automatically from users as they use the app. We do not ask for users’ names, email addresses or other contact information, and users will not need to create a username or password. We do ask for age and gender and ask users to confirm the city or town that their mobile device reports when they first use the app. We analyze the information users provide on age, gender and location, and the answers they provide to our questions, and compare it to the information provided by others to help users learn more about the views and aspirations of users of the app throughout the world. If they choose to do so, users can use the app without providing any personally identifying information; they can choose not to upload photographs and not to include personally identifying information in their activity responses. The full App Privacy Policy is available here.

To learn more, visit HumanFaceOfBigData.com, watch a short video about the project and follow the project on Twitter and Facebook.