Data vs Information - The distinction that makes all the difference

When it comes to data and information, it's important to understand the difference between the two. We should be in the business of acquiring information rather than just collecting data. Data, by itself, doesn't have much meaning or value (fun fact: "data" is actually the plural form of "datum.")

Things like device IDs, cookie IDs, and email IDs are examples of data that, on their own, don't mean much. They only become meaningful when we associate them with information. To make these data points valuable, we need to build relevant information around them.

Information is what gives data meaning and context. It's the result of organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data to gain insights and knowledge. By generating relational tables between different data points and creating a meaningful image of a user, we can turn raw data into valuable information.

Think of this as optimizing more for no. of columns on your database than no. of rows. Think horizontally and we just might be going in the right direction.

Technologies that help in enabling this when the relational tables start to branch out of the general digital identifiers and more into PII identifiers are Consumer Data Platforms.

Thats a whole different topic for another day.