Educational Media Reviews Online

This short documentary on data mining is only 25 minutes, but packs in a substantial amount of information, much of it gleaned from data mining practitioners who work for Deloitte and other international professional services firms. Though the underlying material – what does data mining entail, who uses data mining, how, and why – can be somewhat dry at times, the filmmakers do an admirable job of incorporating special effects shots and real-world examples to make the information more captivating, and easier to understand. The newer concept of “big data” is also addressed in a useful, straightforward way. Without getting too wonky, the documentary’s commentators explain not only why data mining makes sense for businesses, but also for other, less profit-driven fields such as environmental research and traffic control.

Still, the focus here is on how companies use data from consumers to better understand and market products to its clientele, which is without question the major way data mining is used today. A section near the end addresses ethical considerations and concerns; this section could have been expanded and deepened a little more, but the clear point of the documentary is to provide an unbiased overview of how data mining works and its uses. In this context, it makes sense to give airing to things like privacy concerns but not spend a great deal of time on this. Overall the film accomplishes its goals quite well. Although the language and concepts may or may not be engaging enough for a high-school audience, certainly undergraduates and any adults interested in the hows and whys of data mining would benefit from checking out this film.