The Story of Data

via

Everywhere you look, the quantity of information in the world is soaring. Mankind created approximately 150 exabytes (billion gigabytes) of data in 2005. In 2010 it created 1,200 exabytes. Merely keeping up with this flood, and storing the bits tåhat might be useful, is difficult enough. Analysing it, to spot patterns and extract useful information, is harder still. Even so, the data deluge is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life. It has great potential for good—as long as consumers, companies and governments make the right choices about when to restrict the flow of data, and when to encourage it. _Big Data

Modern societies are desperately dependent upon their data processing infrastructure. Should something happen to bring down that infrastructure -- such as a massive EMP that knocked out power grids for a year or so -- people might find it difficult to adapt quickly to the change.