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Words and phrases

How smart is “smart cities”? :: “Smart cities” is a sales gimmick for a vision with real benefits

June 22, 2021 by Ted Cuzzillo

How do you explain the “smart cities” idea? How do you do it on a first date, as I had to do not long ago?

She asked, “So, what do you write about?” That I wrote about “smart cities” was already on the record. First, you sip your beer. Then you set out to jump over the gimmicky “smart” and into the noble “cities.”

I say “smart cities” because it’s widely recognized. But like many of us, I have to hold my nose when I say it. “Smart” sounds like another cheap dream, another little experiment by people eager to flaunt their tech while they conceal its frailties and hide your personal data’s murky destination.… Read the rest “How smart is “smart cities”? :: “Smart cities” is a sales gimmick for a vision with real benefits”

Filed Under: city tech, marketing, Words and phrases Tagged With: Cities, civic tech, connected cities, data technology, smart cities, sustainable cities, technology Leave a Comment

Opaque top-down systems vs do-it-yourself

August 5, 2019 by Ted Cuzzillo

I make the hour-long drive down to Silicon Valley with the help of Waze even though I know the way there. I use Waze because it rouses me from daydreams in time to take an exit. It’s always alert even if I’m not — and does even more than that. It watches, it records, and it remembers where I go.

That’s fine even though, for all I know, it sends all that data about me to China. I say that that’s the price of smart. I simply like the features. For me, like most of us, the bargain is acceptable.

But it’s another thing when we jump from a smartphone’s surveillance up a level to smart cities.… Read the rest “Opaque top-down systems vs do-it-yourself”

Filed Under: city tech, innovation, Words and phrases Tagged With: civic tech, smart cities, Waze Leave a Comment

The one place “citizen data scientist” makes sense

May 8, 2019 by Ted Cuzzillo

A new term has hit the wind, “citizen data scientists.” These data workers are the cheaper, good-enough version of the gold standard, the data scientists. Where does it work, if anyplace at all?

In the business world, this windy new term is just another bauble. Business people will drop it soon enough.

Why? For one thing, we already call these guys business analysts, data analysts, self-service analysts, and other terms. But do data workers need a term at all? Hasn’t data become so commonplace by now that people with pretty good data skills go by the most ordinary name of all, which is no name at all?… Read the rest “The one place “citizen data scientist” makes sense”

Filed Under: BI industry, Words and phrases Tagged With: words Leave a Comment

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smarter cities & data narrative

Two recent “storytelling” tools for public audiences Toucan spoonfeeds data’s insight while Juicebox cultivates data skills

The data-shy among us have two friends in the software business. One a few years old and one new this year. Nashville, Tennessee-based Juice Analytics … [Read More...] about Two recent “storytelling” tools for public audiences Toucan spoonfeeds data’s insight while Juicebox cultivates data skills

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