Join our #DataTalk on Thursdays at 5 p.m. ET. This week, we tweeted with Dr. Michael Wu, the Chief Scientist at Lithium, where he applies data-driven methodologies to investigate the complex dynamics of the social web. Michael works with big data and has developed many predictive and prescriptive social analytics with actionable insights. His R&D won him the recognition as a 2010 Influential Leader by CRM Magazine. You can see all tweets and resources here: http://www.experian.com/blogs/news/about/data-scientists/

1. #DataTalkWhat is a Data Scientist?
LIVE TWEETCHAT
FEATURING:
Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu

2. Join our #DataTalk on Thursdays at 5 p.m. ET
This week, we tweeted with Dr. Michael Wu, the Chief Scientist at
Lithium, where he applies data-driven methodologies to investigate
the complex dynamics of the social web.
Check out all tweets from this Twitter chat:
ex.pn/scientist

3. What type of work does
a data scientist do?

4. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
“A data scientist’s work includes everything
from data infrastructure (capture, store,
process) to data service (retrieval).
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

5. Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong
“A data scientist converts data
into business intelligence.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

6. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
“A data scientist’s work includes: decision
science, business intelligence, customer
analytics, marketing analytics, fraud,
security, etc.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

7. What are attributes of a
good data scientist?

8. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
To be a data scientist, you need the
technical expertise in computer science,
statistics, and knowledge/experience
with large data sets.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

9. Data scientists should have good
intuition, strong coding capability, solid
training in statistics & machine learning.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

10. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Educational background for data
scientists can be computational genomics,
astrophysicists, fluid dynamics, chemistry,
biophysics (like me) ...
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

11. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
To be a good data scientist, you need
more than tech expertise. You must be
a good communicator to explain
complex data/analysis.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

12. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Good data scientists also need to be
passionate about data. I’d highly value
curiosity, creativity and perseverance
when hiring one.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

13. What kinds of companies have
(or need) data scientists?

14. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Any company that already is invested
in modern big data infrastructure
will need data scientists to crunch the data.
“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk

15. All companies need to have
data scientists to stay competitive.“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

16. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
All businesses use data, and data will
grow so big that our brain and databases
eventually can’t handle … they all need
data scientists eventually.
“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk

17. What types of teams do data
scientists work with?

18. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
It all depends how the data organization
is structured within the enterprise:
independent team, hub & spoke,
or silo in dept.
ex.pn/datatalk
“
#DataTalk

19. Data scientists can work in R&D,
product development and support
business operations.
ex.pn/datatalk
“
#DataTalk
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

20. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
SMBs use hub and spoke data teams
where they report to different departments,
but collaborate and work together,
so data expertise is shared.
ex.pn/datatalk
“
#DataTalk

21. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Large companies typically have
entire teams of data scientists
within each department and they
usually don’t collaborate.
ex.pn/datatalk
“
#DataTalk

22. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Personally, I work internally with
engineering, product, marketing,
best practice, service, consulting,
strategy, even sales and human resources.
ex.pn/datatalk
“
#DataTalk

23. I process data, build models, engage
with clients, and facilitate collaboration
among Experian Data Labs.
ex.pn/datatalk
“
#DataTalk
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

24. What are some big challenges
that data scientists face?

25. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
One of the biggest challenges for
data scientists is communication.
Many data scientists speak tech & stats,
but they don’t speak business.
“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk

26. Challenges for data scientists:
data governance and what
data can be used for
“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

27. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Other challenges for data scientists:
Data access, data integration, and motivation.“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk

28. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
If a company is starting a data science
initiative, their data scientist may not
have access to all data due to security
and compliance.
“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk

29. Is there an art and science to
working with big data?

30. Absolutely! Good intuition and
domain knowledge are the keys for
successful big data projects.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

31. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
There’s definitely science to working
with big data… there are rigorous
stats and implementation details you
learn from statistics and computer science.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

32. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
There’s also art in working with big data,
and this only comes with years
of experience on working with big data.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

33. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Picking a good problem is sort of an art,
choosing right features from an infinite
number of features, too (feature engineering).
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

34. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Exploratory data analysis (EDA):
getting a feel or a hunch for how the
data behaves is definitely an art.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

35. How can data scientists make
a big impact in their business?

36. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
First, data scientists need to learn
about the business, so they have the
context to interpret the data and
result of models/analyses.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

37. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Second, they need to pick a good
problem: the most impactful
problem that can be addressed with
data they have access to.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

38. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Third, they must communicate
effectively and make businesses
understand the analysis and business
implication of the insight they found.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

39. To be impactful, data scientists need
to keep an open mind and concentrate
efforts on most impactful problems.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

40. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
A good data scientist must be
a good communicator, storyteller,
teacher, etc. who can simplify
complex data science for business.
“
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk

41. What are some big data trends?

42. Big data will be embraced by more
and more businesses. More decisions
will be driven by data and analytics.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

43. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
In past 5 years, most of the big data
tech operate at the infrastructure layer.
Now more people are focused on the
algorithm layer.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

44. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
If there’s a big data trend, it’s the
shift from infrastructure to analytics/
algorithms on people’s big data asset.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

45. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
It used to be that data scientists can do
everything about any data, now there is data
engineering, algorithm, decision science.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

46. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Now there’s experts in natural language
processing, image analysis, video/audio
processing, streaming data, etc.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

47. Why should companies invest
more in data science?

48. Businesses invested in big data wisely
will have a huge competitive advantage
over their peers.
“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

49. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Companies should invest more in data
science. They will need to eventually anyway.“
ex.pn/datatalk
#DataTalk

50. Any final tips for those who
want to work in data science?

51. Tips for new data scientists:
Keep an open mind, think outside the
box, and work hard. The future is bright.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“
Shanji Xiong
Global Chief Scientist, Experian
@ShanjiXiong

52. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Final Tips: Learn the tech and stats,
learn the business context, learn to
communicate the tech/stats to business
to bridge the gap
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

53. Dr. Michael Wu
Chief Scientist, Lithium
@mich8elwu
Be patient, follow your passion
(which should be data), and pick a good
problem to solve.
#DataTalk
ex.pn/datatalk
“

54. Join our #DataTalk on Twitter
on Thursdays at 5 p.m. ET.
experian.com/datatalk