Big Data Collecting

Crowds and clouds contribute to what many consider to be the next big thing, as they support the analysis of big data, and their combination is itself an answer to how big data challenges current computing infrastructures. Once understood from the perspective of crowds and clouds, big data or big content becomes one of the main drivers for the change we are describing. Digital ecosystems are, in many ways, set up to deal with big data and make it work as an economic force for change.This chapter first attempts to define big data from its use. Big data is much older than current debates might suggest. Science data has been big for a long time and has also driven the innovation of new ecosystems that could make this big data work. Today, many big data challenges are still driven by the demands of extreme science, but also by other big data organisations in business and government. The chapter investigates mainly social media applications and some of the current limitations of applying big data analytics here, before concluding with some critical remarks regarding the Big Brother potential behind big data.