KDnuggets™ News 13:n01, Jan 15

Features

• KDnuggets Exclusive: Interview with Rayid Ghani, Chief Scientist Obama 2012 Campaign - Jan 13, 2013.
  Rayid Ghani was a leading analytics professional before he joined Obama reelection campaign as a Chief Scientist. KDnuggets asks him about analytics role in the campaign, key to success, Big Data bubble, and advice for aspiring data scientists.
• New Poll: How long does it take to become a good data scientist? - Jan 14, 2013.
  The data scientist shortage is real, and many people want to join the profession. New KDnuggets poll is asking: How long does it take for a beginner to become a good data scientist? Please vote
• 7 Business Analytics Gurus to follow on Twitter - Jan 10, 2013.
  Here are seven analytic pros offering commentary on business analytics and related topics on Twitter.
• INSOFE: Master Big Data Analytics Online - Jan 2, 2013.
  Taught by experts who are Carnegie Mellon, JHU, and Stanford alumni, INSOFE programs helped many to become data scientists and get industry certifications and at lower cost than similar programs.
• Online MS in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern - Jan 8, 2013.
  The Northwestern Predictive Analytics program provides a thorough grounding in advanced analytics, practical applications, leadership, and communication skills, in a completely online format.
• Machine Learning and Data Mining Humor - Dec 28, 2012.
  Your search for Milk returned 52,256 results. Your top hit is "Milk of Magnesia", top 10 reasons to become a statistician, and more Data Mining, Machine Learning, and Statistics Humor from around the web - enjoy
• Top news for Jan 6-12: New Book: Outlier Analysis; 7 Business Analytics Gurus to follow - Jan 13, 2013.
  New Book: Outlier Analysis, by Charu Aggarwal; 7 Business Analytics Gurus to follow on Twitter; Analytics, BI, and Big Data Companies to Watch in 2013
  Top jobs: Stat. Modeler/Data Mining Consultant at Objectifi; Data Scientist at Stealth startup
• Top news for Dec 30 - Jan 5: Machine Learning and Data Mining Humor; Top KDnuggets tweets, Dec 27-30 - Jan 7, 2013.
  Machine Learning and Data Mining Humor; Top KDnuggets tweets, Dec 27-30: Free e-books on Data Science and Statistical reasoning; Getting started with Data Science;
  Top jobs: Senior Data Scientist - Algorithms/Analytics (Recent Grad) at Netflix; Data Scientist at SAS
• Top news, jobs in December - Jan 1, 2013.
  New Poll: Gun ownership vs Gun violence connection? Cartoon: Preparing for the Big Data Flood; Machine Learning and Data Mining humor
  Top jobs: Data Mining Scientist at Apple; Data Scientist at SAS
• Additions to KDnuggets in December - Jan 1, 2013.
  New companies, datasets, education, meetings, software, solutions, websites
• Top news for Dec 23-29: Most Influential Data Scientists; Gun analytics - Dec 30, 2012.
  Most Influential Data Scientists on Twitter and Quora; Poll and Analysis: Gun ownership vs Gun deaths connection;
  Top jobs: Data Scientist at SAS; Research Assistant at National U. Singapore

Software

• Big Data Predictive Analytics Solutions: SAS and IBM Lead - Jan 10, 2013.
  Forrester Wave evaluates Big Data Predictive Analytics solutions from Angoss Software, IBM, KXEN, Oracle, Revolution Analytics, Salford Systems, SAP, SAS, StatSoft, and Tibco Software and names SAS and IBM as leaders.
• Next Generation Analytics from SiSense - Jan 3, 2013.
  Prism is a self-contained solution, allowing users to go from raw data to finished dashboard on the same machine without technical expertise. Most users who download a trial can connect to data and begin building their first dashboard on the first day.

Courses, Events

• TMA Courses in Data Analytics [Feb: Orlando, Apr: Vegas] - Jan 14, 2013.
  Get up to speed in data mining faster and more effectively than with any other training program available. Next courses in Orlando and Las Vegas.
• PACE SuperComputer Data Mining Boot Camps, San Diego - Jan 11, 2013.
  The first bootcamp will cover key learning techniques: classification, regression, association rules, and clustering. The second will cover advanced learning techniques Neural Nets, SVM, Text Mining, and Collaborative Filtering.

Webcasts

• Webinar: Data Mining: Failure to Launch [Jan 17] - Jan 14, 2013.
  Learn how to get started with predictive modeling and overcome strategic and tactical limitations that cause data mining projects to fall short of their potential.
• Webinar (Jan 22): Improving Customer Experience Using Big Data - Jan 9, 2013.
  Join Forrester Research principal analyst Joe Stanhope and Causata Digital Media expert Matt Oden as they discuss the specific challenges that companies face when trying to increase subscription revenue and reduce churn through web and email offers, mobile and social apps and traditional CRM campaigns.
• Webinar: Real Time Predictive Analytics, Jan 30 - Jan 12, 2013.
  This webinar will focus on Engagement, Loyalty, Costs, and Growth - driving retail success with predictive analytics. Presented by by James Taylor, Decision Management Solutions, and Brad Turner, Inkiru.

Jobs

• Sr. Predictive Modeler at Allstate, Menlo Park, CA - Jan 14, 2013.
  The Allstate Research and Planning Center is seeking an experienced predictive modeler to join its Analytics Group. We offer the perfect combination of basic research projects and real business problems, as well as the time, tools and environment to effectively tackle both.
• Research Team - Research Engineer at Castlight Health, San Francisco, CA - Jan 11, 2013.
  Castlight research team needs a data savvy engineer who's passionate about fixing the US healthcare system, likes learning new technologies, or already knows Greenplum, Postgres, R, Scala, Ruby, and Java. Someone who wants to build algorithms, scale systems, mine and analyze data.
• Data Scientist at Stealth startup, Palo Alto, CA - Jan 10, 2013.
  An early stage start-up that plans to disrupt and shape the booming mobile advertising space for the years to come is looking for a Data Scientist to be a key contributor to the core product offering.
• Data Scientist at Knewton, New York, NY - Jan 10, 2013.
  Knewton is building the world's most powerful adaptive learning engine, with the goal of making personalized and engaging education available to all.
• Principal Data Scientist at EA, Redwood City, CA - Jan 9, 2013.
  Join EA Digital Platform Data Group, and help develop a new unified Big Data pipeline across Electronic Arts, built on a modern, cloud based tech stack with best-in-class tools, to power the future state of game development, marketing, sales, accounting and customer experience.
• Research Scientist at RSA Laboratories, Boston, MA - Jan 9, 2013.
  The position focus is on machine learning / data mining for security applications, and both well established scientists and new PhDs of exceptional caliber are encouraged to apply.
• Statistical Modeler/Data Mining Consultant at Objectifi, Toronto, ON, Canada - Jan 8, 2013.
  Objectifi is a leader in strategic marketing consulting for inbound and outbound optimization and personalization.
• Senior Scientist at ISO Innovative Analytics (iiA), San Francisco, CA preferred, Jersey City, NJ possible - Jan 4, 2013.
  We are looking for three bright, energetic analytic scientists join us and help develop our next generation solutions. One role is in Healthcare, another is in the Property and Casualty space, and the other is in Financial Services.
• Lead/Senior Actuarial Statistician at ISO Innovative Analytics (iiA), San Francisco, CA or Jersey City, NJ - Jan 4, 2013.
  The Applied Analytic Resources unit serves a critical function by connecting Analytical RnD efforts with key customer groups and enabling their success.
• Sr. Data Analyst at ISO Innovative Analytics (iiA), San Francisco, CA - Jan 4, 2013.
  ISO Innovative Analytics (iiA) is an insurance solutions company specializing in applying advanced analytic techniques and data management skills to the challenge of accurately assessing risk in the property and casualty insurance industry.
• Risk Analyst at CashEdge (part of Fiserv), Sunnyvale, CA - Jan 3, 2013.
  Providing analytical support on risk management initiatives for policies to control risks associated on-line money movement, and consulting assistance to client financial institutions in establishing and monitoring their own risk criteria.

Competitions

• Innocentive: Repurpose Data Gathered By Vehicles - Jan 11, 2013.
  Who could make value out of data gathered by commercial vehicles? The Seeker requires proposals describing the usage, the beneficiary and the type of data. This is an Ideation Challenge with a guaranteed award.
• ECML/PKDD 2013: Call for Discovery Challenges - Jan 7, 2013.
  Call for Proposals for 15th Discovery Challenge, organized in conjunction with ECMLPKDD 2013, the premier Machine Learning and Data Mining venue in Europe. Submissions due Jan 27.
• Increasing efficiency of generating statistically relevant control group data - Jan 2, 2013.
  How can the efficiency of randomized controlled clinical trials be increased by reducing the number of patients needed in control groups?

Publications

• Executive Analytics 2012 - Free Research Report from AberdeenGroup - Jan 14, 2013.
  This document explores how top performing executives foster analytical initiatives, improve operational performance, and leverage technology. Get your copy - free until Jan 31, 2013.
• Real villain behind violent crime - Lead in gasoline? - Jan 12, 2013.
  Mother Jones article says that new research finds Pb is the hidden villain behind violent crime, lower IQs, and even the ADHD epidemic. Many disagree.
• New Books: Foundations of Rule Learning and Bisociative Knowledge Discovery - Jan 9, 2013.
  Two new books address the foundations, techniques and selected applications of rule learning (selected chapters free) and novel methods for discovering new, domain bridging connections and patterns from heterogeneous data sources (entire book is free).
• New Book: Outlier Analysis, by Charu Aggarwal - Jan 7, 2013.
  A first comprehensive text book in this area from a data mining and computer science perspective. Each chapter contains carefully organized content on the topic, case studies, extensive bibliographic notes and the future direction of research in this field.
• ebook: Predicting movie ratings and recommender systems - Dec 29, 2012.
  Arek Paterek was among top competitors in Netflix Prize. This 195-page monograph includes a comprehensive summary of the Netflix Prize, detailed description of his top-50 Netflix Prize solution predicting movie ratings, and much more.
• Hilary Mason interview questions for Data Scientists - Jan 10, 2013.
  Great data scientists come from very diverse backgrounds - here are some questions Hilary Mason (Chief Scientist for Bitly) uses to assess them.
• Top KDnuggets tweets, Jan 10-13: Elements of Statistical Learning book - free download; Scoring With Soccer: Analytics Come to MLS - Jan 14, 2013.
  Elements of Statistical Learning - the book for data scientists - free download; Scoring With Soccer: Analytics Come to MLS - meet Nate Silver of Soccer; #BigData helps to fight pirates! Piracy drops 54%; 7 Business Analytics Gurus to follow on Twitter
• Top KDnuggets tweets, Jan 3-9: White House to mandate machine-readable open data; First comprehensive text book on Outlier Analysis - Jan 10, 2013.
  White House to mandate machine-readable open data - most impact on health care; First comprehensive text book on Outlier Analysis from data mining/CS perspective; SiSense: Next Generation Analytics; #Big Data is great, but without intuition Big Data models can fail hard
• Top KDnuggets tweets, Dec 31 - Jan 2: Machine Learning and Data Mining Humor; BigData: the rise of the machines - Jan 3, 2013.
  Machine Learning and Data Mining Humor; #BigData: the rise of the machines: machine-generated data will be 42% of all data by 2020; Top 5 Data Science Guys: DJ Patil, Jeff Hammerbacher, Drew Conway, Jake Porway, David Smith; Free e-books on Data Science and Statistical reasoning
• Top KDnuggets tweets, Dec 27-30: Free e-books on Data Science and Statistical reasoning; Getting started with Data Science - Dec 31, 2012.
  Free e-books on Data Science and Statistical reasoning; Getting started with Data Science, by Hilary Mason; ebook by a Netflix Prize competitor: Predicting movie ratings and recommender systems; Hilarious ads for Google Analytics

News Briefs

• Statistics 2013: The Year of Statistics update - Jan 14, 2013.
  The Statistics2013.org is filled with information to educate the public about how statistics improves their lives, the work of statisticians as well as careers in statistical science. Join KDnuggets and other International Year of Statistics participating organizations and make use of these resources.
• Anthony Goldbloom interview - Kaggle Building A New Data Science Marketplace - Jan 12, 2013.
  Techcrunch interviews Anthony Goldbloom, the founder and CEO of Kaggle, on data science competitions, on Big Data, building a marketplace for data science, drug discovery, dream datasets, and more insights from Kaggle.
• Bloor: 10 Analytics, BI, and Big Data Companies to Watch in 2013 - Jan 9, 2013.
  Robin Bloor from Inside Analysis identifies companies whose technology is distinctive, innovative and relevant to major trends in Analytics, BI, and Big Data.
• Analytics Predictions for 2013 - Jan 4, 2013.
  Trends in the business analytics that will affect all industries in the next 1-3 years.

CFP - Calls for Papers

• UCBCN-2013: Understanding Collective Behaviors in Complex Networks, due Jan 15
• GBML: Genetics-Based Machine Learning track, due Jan 23
• IADIS-DM: IADIS European Conference on Data Mining 2013, due Jan 28
• AIGSS: Graduate Student Symposium , due Jan 30
• KDD-2013: ACM SIGKDD Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Conference, due Feb 15
• SNOW 2013: Social News on the Web , due Feb 25
• DMC 2013: DATA MINING CUP 2013, due Mar 1
• WI'13: Web Intelligence 2013, due Mar 1
• SSTD-2013: Symposium on Spatial and Temporal Databases, due Mar 1
• EC-TEL 2013: European Conf. on Technology Enhanced Learning, due Mar 25
• ASONAM 2013: Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining, due Apr 15
• IDA-2013: Intelligent Data Analysis, due May 6

Quote

 
What made us successful was that we embedded analytics in processes across the campaign and in tools that people were using to get their jobs done.

Rayid Ghani, Obama 2012 Campaign Chief Scientist.