Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are

Authors

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Category
Research

Synopsis

We can all agree that, sometimes, we aren’t completely honest. People lie. And they do so to their partners, family, friends, and colleagues.

But they don’t lie to their Google search bar.

Think about it… We let that innocent looking search bar in on our true online behaviours, interests, hopes and fears. Most likely on a daily basis.

Scary, ey?

Everybody Lies analyses data from the likes of Google, social media, dating, and even pornography sites to reveal the truth about what people really think, want and do.

What I took from reading it

We’ve long been skeptical of big data. And we’ve been particularly critical of its flawed reliance upon post-rationalised and claimed participant responses. Or its rooting in Kahneman’s system 2, if you will.

However, this book sticks it to us and our critiques.

And we thoroughly enjoyed it doing so.

It provides truthful (and often amusing) insights based on data. But data that’s collected from actual behaviour, rather than claimed.

We liked the book so much that we even sent copies out to some of our clients.

However, a caveat and some words of wisdom from Anthony ‘Tas’ Tasgal “The numbers numb us, but the stories stir us.” If you’re trying sway an audience, you need more than just numbers and data. You need humans. And you need their stories.

Who should read this book

Those of you whose interest is piqued by connecting the dots between what us humans say we do Vs. what our online behaviour says we actually do. Case in point from page 157:

Where to Buy

And just so you know, we have no affiliations. We don’t answer for nothing to no one for nothing. Apart the market research guidelines, of course. Oh, and our clients. And our mums… But certainly no book publishers, authors or stockists 🙂

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