Survey of Software Systems

1. Describe the difference between transactional and analytical information, and determine which of these types Spotlight used to identify its 10 tribes.

The difference between transactional and analytical information is that transactional is a current transaction, whereas analytical looks at long term trends. In order to identify people as one of ten, Spotlight uses analytical information. Analytical information is so important because with it, companies are able to organize and analyze their data. Transactional data is important also, and is necessary to help businesses make short term and immediate decisions to alter current transactions that might be going on in that moment or immediate future.

Works Cited:

“The Real Threat That Samsung Poses to Apple.” Asymco. N.p., 07 Dec. 2012. Web. 26 July 2015.

2. Explain the importance of high-quality information for political micro-targeting.

Arguably, micro-targeting might be most valuable of all new technologies when it comes to political campaigning. That is no small feat, as there are a large number of new technologies that have emerged, and are emerging, and changing the way campaigns are run. A number of these new technologies can be observed in Internet fundraising, blogs, machine calls, satellite television; all are examples of new technologies that are changing the way people communicate. Despite this long list of technologies and ways of politicians reaching their potential voters, these resources are limited.

Micro-targeting makes all of these techs, and even the tried and tested door-knocking and paper mail, even more efficient. The importance of high-quality information is that it essentially attributes to a campaigns success. High-quality information allows for a sort of targeted campaigning to take place, crafting the messages or signs to send a message that is more relevant to the area that it is shown. Knowing your audience, and catering to that audience, ultimately leads to a successful campaign.

Works Cited:

“Winning Campaigns : Learn From The Experts Articles : Micro-Targeting: New Wave Political Campaigning.” Winning Campaigns : Learn From The Experts Articles : Micro-Targeting: New Wave Political Campaigning. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2015.

3. Review the five common characteristics of high-quality information, and rank them in order of importance for political micro-targeting.

The five common characteristics of high-quality information, in order, are accuracy, completeness, consistency, uniqueness, and timeliness. In order for information to even be considered as close to high-quality, it certainly needs to be accurate. The information that companies put into their databases is presumed to be not only perfect, but perhaps most importantly, accurate. Completeness is also important in order to consider information to be of any sort of high-quality. Partial information only refers to a small part of the picture, and thus is incomplete. In order to put anything into any sort of database, information should always be complete. Consistency is important and you may have noticed it in use by websites.

When you’re asked to input a phone number and it won’t let you continue unless the amount of characters are met, and you are also unable to input any number higher than the normal amount of digits a phone number should have. This is an example of consistency in use out in the “wild”. Data should be unique and distinctive, otherwise it won’t really add any value to your organization. The last characteristic is timeliness, which real-time information is also an element of. Out-of-date information works about as well as out-of-date virus protection does, and that is that it simply doesn’t. Out-of-date simply doesn’t do anyone any good, unless you are studying history.

Works Cited:

“Five Characteristics of High Quality Information – Computer Business Research.” Five Characteristics of High Quality Information – Computer Business Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2015.

4. In terms of political micro-targeting, explain the following sentence: It is never possible to have all of the information required to make 100 percent accurate predictions.

Simply put, you cannot one hundred percent predict the future. It is impossible to collect the amount of necessary data to without chance of error make a prediction. This is even more true when considering politics and voters, humans are impossible to predict. The decision is left completely up to voters and they decide who to give their vote to. Political micro-targeting only allows for a campaign to have some idea of where the swing voters might be so that way they can better prepare their campaign to target them.

5. Do you agree that political micro-targeting signals the dehumanization of politics?

In my opinion, I do not think there is humanity remaining in politics and even more so when it comes to campaigning. Through the utilization of new technologies, politics has shown the importance of these technologies on influencing their voters. The good ‘ol door to door campaigning, or signs in the yard, seem to be getting replaced by TV segments in certain areas that have a different message due to the targeting of a different crown of people within the local population.