Nothing but a number

Here's a new buzzword to add to our lexicon...Numerati. In his new book, Business Week writer Stephen Baker explores the data miners who are going through the endless amount of data on human behavior to discover insights on everything from health care, to politics, and of course, marketing.

Big Brotheresque freakiness aside, The Numerati seems like a fascinating read for PR people. While groundbreaking insights can be culled from our credit card use or soda habit, there are some insights that seem like a stretch. For example, Democrats are likely to be cat owners, while Republicans are of the canine persusion. (really?) How much should we rely on this data as we're crafting pitches or building entire PR plans? And how do we weed through the mess?

For reviews of the book and Baker's blog posts relating to the material, check out:
http://thenumerati.net/

And if you're interested, Baker will be at Elliott Bay Books on September 30th. I think I might attend...anyone care to join me?