What is “Big Data,” Why it Stinks, and Living in My Own Private Idaho
IBM says “Big data is more than simply a matter of size; it is an opportunity to find insights in new and emerging types of data and content, to make your business more agile, and to answer questions that were previously considered beyond your reach.” Processing mass quantities of data. My response: So what. I ...
IBM says “Big data is more than simply a matter of size; it is an opportunity to find insights in new and emerging types of data and content, to make your business more agile, and to answer questions that were previously considered beyond your reach.” Processing mass quantities of data.
My response: So what. I don’t care. Here’s why.
It’s ALL about Local. My Local clients. My Local Data. My Local MLS. My Local Plat. My Local Barber. My Local Personal Inspection. My Local Knowledge. My Local History.
Real estate is locally homogeneous. Sure, there are national common characteristics. By example, location, location, location holds true no matter where you are, especially for residential real estate. But I could care less about what’s happening in Wisconsin, Maine, Canada, China, or Idaho. So “Big Data” does not help me. Or help me help you. Small Data helps me.
When you hear Corelogic, Case-Schiller or NAR reports they are measuring large city data. Because the data sample is so large the results are deemed reliable. And they are to a certain extent. But in our beach resort market, our data doesn’t mirror Houston, Los Angeles, or New York City. Case in point: price per sq. ft. It’s all over the map. Big Data results may alter the truth and that sucks.
Sidebar: Do you ever just drive around Santa Rosa Beach or Destin and say to yourself, “How in the world can THAT property be worth THAT!?
My personal deductive reasoning suggests that companies sample folks from big cities, get results, report them, and hope you and I believe and buy into what they interpret the data to mean. I call it statistical buying manipulation. Besides, extracting data from large cities is easy, faster, and cost effective.
What does help me is Big Powerful Software and technology that allows me to process Small Local Data and make sense out of it so I can help people with their real estate needs.
Small business is defined as businesses that earn or gross less than $500,000. This accounts for roughly 80% of all businesses in America. Seriously, how is big data gonna help the local small business owner? I think Big Data is a cool buzz word that fly by night companies will use to try and persuade us to buy their stuff.
On the other hand, if I were a multi-million dollar company using regression and matrix to measure buying tendencies from a huge buyer pool, I would want a competitive advantage and be all over processing Big Data more efficiently and effectively.
Remember folks, software can detect things based on algorithms but a human brain can really sort things out like inconsistencies that a computer program cannot sort out.
Do you want a real estate agent spouting off or blast emailing you with national reports that claim to be “local” that they didn’t personally spend hours weeks and years refining or confirming, or do you want custom data?
Think of the great film, “A Few Good Men” starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.
You WANT me during volatile market conditions! You NEED me on this real estate wall to protect you! You WANT that local scrubbed data! You NEED a real estate professional! You WANT a real estate professional!
So for now, I’ll live in my own Small Data Private Idaho.
BBQ:
Bob’s Blog Quote
“In the real estate business you learn more about people, and you learn more about community issues, you learn more about life, you learn more about the impact of government, probably than any other profession that I know of.”
Johnny Isakson
BLT:
Bob’s Linkable Tune
“Private Idaho” by the B-52’s