Have you ever tried to hit Ctrl+F to search some kind of document, only to realize its an JPEG or a collective image? Have you ever tried to look up a place or a city on to get search results for a completely different state or country?Data is very important, but not as important as information. There is a key difference. Information is simply data presented in such a way that it is informative and key to decision-making (think about it, really). What enables data to become information?
This is where data falls into two categories:
Structured Data
This is data that can be searched, queried, and manipulated to show key patterns. It is sorted in a clear and consistent manner so that there is no question to the validity of the information, such as Melbourne, FL vs. Melbourne, Australia. This data includes databases, tables, longitudes and latitudes, etc. Think Access.
Unstructured Data
This is the "everything else" category. Word documents, e-mails, pictures, etc. This data is very free-form, and does not have to be detailed. Think blogs. I can write anything I want on here, there is no such think as criteria, or validations. I can go like this ysagdfkjaytfdsajdsfgukaystfdaesfgukasytfd.
Graphic Source: Sarah Reyes
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