A Very Very Brief Introduction to the Differences between Big Data and Small Data #BigData #technology #Thread

Before I proceed, I tweeted this in 2018:

https://twitter.com/peero007/status/1078050046988423168

And I have tried to keep my own part of the bargain.

As part of keeping my own end of the bargain, you may go through my Moments:

https://twitter.com/i/moments/1026862432730460161?s=13

Different interesting tech threads on there, including AI, Blockchain, AR, IoT, etc.

So the differences between "Big Data and Small Data"- Before we begin to talk about the differences, it is imperative that we know what Big Data and Small Data is.

You do not have to be afraid, I'll be leaving out the technicalities, and make it as simple as possible.

What is Big Data?

From the name, you can deduce that it has to do with something grand! Yes you are correct! Big Data defines voluminous data sets in their raw form that can be sorted, go through an extraction phase, and then get analyzed with the aid of computations.

At the end of the computational process, we are left with what we can call patterns, trends, and associations, most especially as they relate to our behaviors and interactions. Basically big data is usually too complex or in most cases, too large to be handled by just the

traditional methods of processing data. Hence, Big Data is a combination of both unstructured and structured data.

What is Small Data?
When we talk about Small Data, it basically refers to data whose volume is small enough for the human brain to comprehend. Furthermore,

we can define it as data that is in a format and value that is actionable, informative, and accessible.

One basic difference between Big Data and Small Data is the fact that Big Data needs a lot of computational activity to make sense, while Small Data can be easily processed by

humans.

Differences in Application
The applications of Big Data and Small Data vary, because there are different processes involved, however, they complement each other, and actually need each other to function. Small Data does not just appear from nowhere, it’s the by-product

of Big Data, and Big Data cannot go through all those processes without some input from Small Data.
One major aim for Big Data applications is to assist companies take steps at making business decisions that are informative, via analysis of data in large volumes. There are

several applications of Big Data in different industries, while complementing other technologies, including:

•Internet of Things (IoT)
Sensory data from IoT devices can be used to enhance device interconnectivity, relative the mapping of the systems.

•Government
Cyber intelligence and security, crime prediction and prevention, tax compliance, optimization of traffic, scientific research, etc.
•Manufacturing
Quality control, output forecast, supply planning, energy efficiency, etc.

•Healthcare
For better healthcare via the provision of analytics that are prescriptive, among other features.
•Blockchain
The decentralized distributed ledger technology can be used along with artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data for use in different industries,

including the finance industry

In the case of small data, the applications include:
•Documents (qualitative data)
•Reports
•Schedules
•Data Sets
•Databases
•Applications
•Files
It is interesting to note that new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) works

with big data, and then with the help of machine learning, breaks big data into smaller volumes or small data that we can comprehend, and it is not just AI alone, but other technologies that are data dependent, like blockchain, Augmented Reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT),

Quantum Computing, Virtual Reality (VR), etc. These technologies are causing disruptions in different industries, and they all function with the aid of both Big Data and Small Data, hence, they both complement each other, to proffer data solutions.

There's a whole lot more, as we have barely touched the surface of Big Data and Small Data. However, you now have an idea what it is... Go do some reading on your own, there are several resources online to help you.

I hope this is useful to some extent.

Thanks for retweeting, the experts in the field are free to take over from here, I'll gladly learn and retweet.

Questions are welcome, and I'm pretty sure the experts on here will be more than willing to answer them.

Byeeeeeeeee!!!