Big Data - Data Integration #Fail

I know we're still in the early days of the whole Big Data/Data Integration/Data Intelligence experience, but there are some days where you see something and it's just not right and you have to analyze it.

As we're on our way upwards towards the 'Peak of Inflated Expectations', something like this appears in my LinkedIn timeline a couple hours ago.  This announcement was a surprise to me!

So, first of all, I check my brain and wonder if I really AM traveling soon.  I'm not.

Secondly, I know that I personally know of two other Brian LoCicero's (one even has the middle initial P, like myself) living in the United States (one in CA and the other in FL) and wonder if maybe our timelines got goofed up.  They haven't.

Thirdly, I realize that at one point, I integrated my "TripIt" account with my LinkedIn account because our corporate travel agency owns that site and well, it was fun to see when I was traveling, if any of my professional contacts were also going to be in those cities and hopefully, if they are competitors, NOT at my client ;-p. (You know who you are!!!)

Yes, that was it.  However, I added no trip to my TripIt account whereby _I_ was going to Memphis this week.  But I know someone who IS going there.

Ahhh, that's it!!  Separately, I also let the TripIt website connect with my personal email account where I forward all of my work travel plans so that it could periodically scan my email, pick up travel emails that have specific details and then integrate them into the TripIt site so my lazy butt wouldn't have to type all of them in.  TripIt also has a nice mobile app for when you're traveling which is a convenient place to find your itinerary.

But here's where the intelligence broke down.  My WIFE actually forwarded me her travel itinerary so that I'd know where she's going to be and when.  TripIt wasn't smart enough to pick up it wasn't travel for ME and integrated it and then LinkedIn picked up the feed off of there.

One could see how this sort of mix-up could make spouses get a little nervous that communication has broken down.  What if my boss forwarded me his travel schedule which coincided with a conference I was going to.  It could make people freak.

I'm sure this will all get sorted as we move along the hype cycle but it shows how wrong one could be without thoroughly checking the data.

Have fun in Memphis honey!