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“Dean of Big Data” Bill Schmarzo: “smart” takes a community

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“I love civic tech,” says the data industry’s “Dean of Big Data” Bill Schmarzo, longtime VP at Dell and now CTO IoT and analytics at Hitachi Vantara. He loves it, but he also has ideas about how to make it work. It takes more than love to bear fruit.

Civic tech is the stuff I’ve written about before — and is possibly the most exciting aspect of “smart cities” today. Think of it: Cities want the technology to make them work better, but they have no money. What’s slightly more plentiful are talented young and not so young coders willing to help.… Read the rest ““Dean of Big Data” Bill Schmarzo: “smart” takes a community”

Three non-technical attributes for “smart”

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Back in 2010, a French company offered the Easter Island government a massive pyro-gassification machine that generated electricity from garbage. It was to be a gift.

Was it really the kind of gift you’d give a friend? Or was did it come with a hidden agenda?

The would-be gift from the French soon began to look like a trick, a trojan horse. Before long, this trash-burning wonder had little to do with what the local folks needed, recalls Greg Delaune, CEO of UIX Global and the island’s consultant.

The machine would have plenty of fuel during tourist season, when the locals were outnumbered several times over.… Read the rest “Three non-technical attributes for “smart””

Power to the transit user in San Francisco

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The bus is late again. You’re going to be late, and you’re infuriated. You’ve called to complain now and then, but nothing changed. You wrote letters and you signed petitions. You marched on the transit district’s offices. You muttered curses within your personal cabal. Even after all that, the system known affectionately around San Francisco as “the Muni” still drives you crazy.

Ask those who know how the system works, though, and you’ll hear some good advice: Don’t just complain, complain with data to back you up. Best of all, present data from many riders — though that’s hard to do.… Read the rest “Power to the transit user in San Francisco”