Conquer Your Data (Part II)
“Data Conquest” - The act or process of conquering data within an overall strategy or plan.The many reasons and advantages to conquering your data:
Data Organization Reduces Digital Disturbances
There are myriads of file management activities performed daily that alone are short seconds of inefficiency, but combined together over time cause stress, reduce performance, and hinder proper data management. Here are some examples:
- Storing and Retrieving a File - Where should I save this downloaded file? The Downloads folder? It's a document so maybe in My Documents? Or how about the Desktop, so I don't have to look for it later? Not only are you wasting time answering these questions for each file you encounter, an inconsistent strategy for organizing your files leads to longer lookup times when searching for one.
- Cluttered Desktop - Most people solve the problems of an inconsistent organizational strategy from above by picking the most straightforward solution, the desktop. The desktop is a natural choice, as all the files there are clearly visible, skipping a step in the lookup process. However, the strategy backfires when the desktop is not cleaned, icons start piling up, and soon enough, the background wallpaper becomes indiscernible. Locating a file from the desktop starts feeling like looking for a needle in a haystack, and you are no better off than before. Sure you can prolong the situation by buying more screens, but even 30 inch monitors have limits...
- Pointing Applications to Data - A lack of organization can make it difficult to setup programs that import data. Getting iTunes to sync to your music directory becomes a tough problem when it's unclear which directory is the “right” one. Your library ends up including multiple directories, leading to file redundancies and headaches when your iPod has five versions of the same song.
Think about how much time you spend on a computer and how often you run into these types of issues. Organizing your data will not only save time, but also reduce the stress associated with these tasks. Plus, seeing a clean desktop can be quite rejuvenating.
Does Data Organization Matter in a World of Search Indexes?
It is true that some of these problems (specifically file retrieval times) may become obsolete as search indexes ( Windows Desktop Search, Google Desktop, and Apple Spotlight) become more ingrained in operating systems. However, transferring data between devices will still be a challenge. Where do you begin when transferring your data to a new computer, if you have no idea where your data resides? Data disorganization is the largest obstacle to setting up a backup or synchronization system, and indexes alone cannot solve it.
Backing Up Makes it Easier to Move Forward
As our lives become more digital everyday, it becomes imperative to keep our digital footprints safe. With a reliable backup system the burden of losing your phone or having a hard drive bust is greatly diminished. More companies are realizing the value of data backups, as Apple has introduced Time Machine, and startups like Mozy are providing these services.
Synchronization
One of the great benefits of conquering data is the ability to synchronize your data with all of your devices. Many synchronization tools have started to hit the market, my favorite being Dropbox. These tools can really help reduce some of the aforementioned digital disturbances by making it easy to manage and work with files across multiple computers and devices. A lot of these services have storage limits, so a good organization strategy will help optimize their usefulness.
The Internet is Not a Security Blanket:
You may be thinking, well I don't have to worry about my data because it's all stored on the web. This is quite commonplace as the average person has their pictures on Flickr, friends on Facebook, email on Google, videos on YouTube...the list goes on. Although convenient and usually reliable there are still some problems with the perception of the Internet being a data friendly cloud.
- Data Distribution – Instead of residing somewhere in your 300GB hard drive, your information is now floating somewhere in the ocean of data that is the Internet. This may not be a problem if you are only doing a specific task, such as looking at picture albums, but if I ask you to show me copies of all the bills you received this month, how many web sites would you have to crawl? For more information of where your data may live checkout this great New York Times Magazine article.
- Data Control – When storing your data with a web service, you give up your right to the handling of your data and agree to the site's terms of service. For many things this could be quite troublesome. Imagine if Facebook changed its privacy policy to make all of your photos public. Far fetched or not, Facebook recently had to revert changes on its terms of service because of user uproar, and Twitter has felt similar pressure to roll out verified accounts due to celebrity outrage. So far these sites have averted unpopular policies, but services in the future may not be so user friendly.
- Data Restrictions – The other misnomer about storing stuff online is that most personal information is not online (i.e. your social security number or thesis), but the data you do store is strictly limited. For each service, only certain types of files, such as images or emails, are allowed and file size and usage limits exist. Switching service providers can be tough, as import/export functionality on these sites are usually too primitive to be considered useful.
- Data Access – Even though we are getting more connected every day, there are plentifully occurring instances of being offline. Whether it's an airport without free WiFi, or moving somewhere without installing Internet in advance, or simply forgetting a login password. The problem is widespread enough that even Google has started releasing software to work when you are offline, Gmail Gears is the most current example.
- Data Security – The most common reason to store your data online is so you don't have to worry about it; there's the assumption that your data will be safe and always there when you connect to the web site. Truth be told, today's cloud based services by Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are very reliable, guaranteeing 99.99...% up time, but there's a reason they are not at 100%. Lightning does strike, in fact, quite literally as an Amazon data center recently experienced the situation. It doesn't even have to be lightning, a service can go down for physical, economical, or many other reasons. If Facebook went out of business and shut down their servers, all of the people who put pictures on the world's largest photo sharing service would be out of luck. Sure they could sue for damages, but at the end of the day, data would be lost. Think this won't happen to you? Even the almighty Google has experienced failure that a few sorry folks will never forget. Worse than losing data, however, is having it fall into the wrong hands. Microsoft is well known for its past mistakes, and no one wants to suffer the same embarrassment as Sarah Palin. We have to acknowledge the inherent security risks when storing information online.
The next post will go into the details of how I conquered my data.
