One of the reasons Hadoop big data analysis is particularly valuable is that much of it is fundamentally about people – what they do, what they buy, what they think about or what they want, etc. Analysis gleaned from big data offers a clearer picture of human conditions and enables organizations to anticipate needs and respond to wants. Many big data projects offer a more objective view of the way humanity functions and can trigger insight into how to make improvements.

The newest trend in big data insight is analysis directly targeted at people, reported Bloomberg Businessweek. In particular, 'People Analytics' is an approach through which organizations turn the focus inward and use big data comprised of external research and intercompany observations to make operational improvements and interact better with employees.

"Because most communication and collaboration happens face to face, the data are critical for people analytics to take that next leap forward and become a transformative organizational tool," wrote Businessweek contributor Ben Waber. "By combining precise data from both real and virtual worlds, we can understand behavior at a previously unimaginable scale."

According to Businessweek, examples of company solutions that resulted from such a combination of data and observation include changing workday structure to improve morale and reduce attrition, as well as reducing the number of coffee stations to facilitate impromptu interactions among personnel.

Hyperpersonal analytics focus Hadoop big data inward
As Hadoop data becomes increasingly critical for facilitating measured objectivity to personal pursuits , more will start to apply it to their own activities. Harvard Business Review correspondent H. James Wilson wrote about 'auto-analytics,' a semantic category for the process of applying big data insights and visualization to daily actions.For example, according to a study by the Pew Researcher Center, 69 percent of people use a self-tracking mechanism when they exercise. Twenty-one percent of these people use smartphone apps or other data-based functions to make self-tracking more objective and precise.

Wilson wrote that people are seizing upon data-based technological resources to make their own lives and practices more efficient and informative. Technology consultants ABI Research projected that by 2018, more than 485 million wearable devices, from smart watches to various articles of smart clothing, will have been shipped worldwide. The trend toward data-based self-analysis parallels one of the important advances in Apache Hadoop, which offers its users a highly customizable, personalized approach to big data filtration and analysis.

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