hilary_mason_data hilary_mason_data-2012 knowledge-graph by maker-knowledge-mining
1 hilary mason data-2012-12-28-Getting Started with Data Science
Introduction: Getting Started with Data Science Posted: December 28, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | Tags: advice , datascience , hacking , learning | 18 Comments » I get quite a few e-mail messages from very smart people who are looking to get started in data science. Here’s what I usually tell them: The best way to get started in data science is to DO data science! First, data scientists do three fundamentally different things: math , code (and engineer systems), and communicate . Figure out which one of these you’re weakest at, and do a project that enhances your capabilities. Then figure out which one of these you’re best at, and pick a project which shows off your abilities. Second, get to know other data scientists! If you’re in New York, try the DataGotham events list to find some meetups, and make sure to stay for the beers. Look for groups, like DataKind , that need data skills put to work for good. No matter how much of a beginner
Introduction: Where’s the API that can tell me that this photo contains a puppy and a can of Coke? Posted: November 5, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | Tags: api | 18 Comments » Photo by Ahmad van der Breggen on Flickr. We’ve gotten very good at extracting and disambiguation entities from text data. You can license a commodity system , and there are API and even open source tools that work fairly well. However, a large percentage of content that people share is not primarily text (a back-of-the-envelope guess says around 18%), and we currently have very little automated insight into that content. I know this is a very hard problem, but I’m continuously surprised by how few people seem to be working on it. Any ideas?
3 hilary mason data-2012-09-21-Help, I’m the first data scientist at my company!
Introduction: Help, I’m the first data scientist at my company! Posted: September 21, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | Tags: datagotham , datascience , panel , presentations | 2 Comments » I moderated a panel at DataGotham with Adam Laiacano from Tumblr , Fred Benenson from Kickstarter , and Roberto Medri from Etsy about being the first data scientist at a company. We covered everything from what people’s job responsibilities are, the tools they use, successes, failures, how they are integrated into an organization, and how they have hired other data scientists to join them. The panelists were concise, articulate, and intelligent. Watch it below!
4 hilary mason data-2012-09-18-Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing
Introduction: Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing Posted: September 18, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | Tags: data , design , product , yahoo | 26 Comments » I was visiting my grandparents yesterday, and my grandfather asked for help e-mailing an article to some of his friends. I asked him to show me how he normally writes an e-mail, and taught him the magic of copy and paste (it is amazing if you haven’t seen it before) but I noticed that in the course of sending an e-mail and checking on his inbox, he clicked on this ad three times. When I asked about it, he didn’t realize he had clicked the ad — he just thought these screens popped up randomly — because he didn’t realize that his hands were shaking on the trackpad. I’m sure the data says that that’s the optimal place on the screen for the ad. I’m sure tons of people ‘click’ on it. I’m also sure it’s wrong, and it results in a terrible experience. It’s common sense, but experiences
5 hilary mason data-2012-08-28-How do you prioritize research?
Introduction: How do you prioritize research? Posted: August 28, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | Tags: datascience , startups | 14 Comments » One of the most fun and challenging parts of my job is setting bitly’s research agenda. We’re a startup, so this means prioritizing the set of questions we look into in the context of what will be most beneficial for the rest of the business, for the short and long-term, by creating opportunity and opening up potential futures. We work on a wide variety of projects, from pure research to press collaborations to infrastructure and experimental products . We always have a list of research questions way longer than we have time and resources to pursue, so we developed a process for evaluating whether a given question is worth pursuing at a particular time. This is the kind of process that I’ve only discussed with several people over whisky (thanks!), but not seen written up. I initially had a much longer list o
6 hilary mason data-2012-08-22-DataGotham: The Empire State of Data
Introduction: DataGotham: The Empire State of Data Posted: August 22, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog , projects | 2 Comments » I’m extremely excited about DataGotham , a conference that I’m co-hosting with friends and fellow New York data nerds Drew , John , and Mike . DataGotham is a celebration of the NYC data community, and will bring together professionals from all industries in New York that are built around data, from finance to fashion and from startups to the Fortune 500 and government. The event is September 13th – 14th at NYU, with tutorials and The Great Data Extravaganza Show (with cocktails!) at the Tribeca Rooftop Thursday evening, and a single track conference Friday. Our speakers and sponsors are all amazing. You can register now . While DataGotham is definitely a labor of love, there are numerous reasons to do it. I believe that New York has a distinct data philosophy — the study of human behavior — that is unique and should be cel
7 hilary mason data-2012-08-19-Why I love New York City
Introduction: Why I love New York City Posted: August 19, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | 16 Comments » New York is infinite. A human can only explore a place at a particular speed. The rate of change in New York exceeds the rate at which a person can possibly experience the city, and so it is impossible to run out of city to experience. New York is a neighborhood. At the same time, New York is a mosaic of wonderful little neighborhoods. What many visitors miss and all residents know is that you rarely have to walk more than a few blocks from home for any of life’s essentials, and enough people do the same that you find yourself saying hello. New York is chaotic. You are never the weirdest thing you see. The city will give you things to think about, and more. It is never boring, and you cannot take it for granted. New York is opportunity. Everyone comes through New York, eventually. Whatever food, material goods, or unexpcted experiences y
Introduction: Devs Love Bacon: Everything you need to know about Machine Learning in 30 minutes or less Posted: July 4, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: Presentations | 30 Comments » I spoke at devs love bacon back in April on Everything You Need to know about Machine Learning in 30 Minutes or Less . The talk is geared toward engineers with no prior knowledge of machine learning, and it’s designed to lay out the basic vocabulary and way that we think about the world to provide an amusing foundation so that attendees will have a head start in investigating which techniques they might want to learn more about or implement. This talk is not an in-depth tutorial. Hilary Mason – Machine Learning for Hackers from BACON: things developers love on Vimeo .
9 hilary mason data-2012-03-17-Short URLs, Big Fun: I spoke at dropbox!
Introduction: Short URLs, Big Fun: I spoke at dropbox! Posted: March 17, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: Presentations | 3 Comments Âť The awesome team over at dropbox invited me to come by and give a talk. They have a great post up at their blog, but you can also grab the slides here and see the full video on youtube .
Introduction: Identity Slippage, and what’s the weirdest thing you’ve been e-mailed by accident? Posted: January 26, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | 31 Comments » I have an old, short, and concise gmail address (my first initial and last name at gmail.com). There are many other hmasons in the world who have since signed up for gmail, with variations on the “hmason” theme. Every so often, they mistype the address, or someone mishears it. I now receive between four and ten pieces of e-mail per week meant for other hmasons . This was pretty amusing until someone opened an amazon account on that address (which I had to shut down). Poor Holly has never seen a single Citibank credit card statement (and Citibank won’t remove the e-mail address from the account when I call, since I’m not the account holder). Heidi hasn’t linked her Paypal account to her bank account, but I’m waiting for someone to send her money. This sort of unwitting misattribution results in an
11 hilary mason data-2012-01-12-Going to Strata in Feb?
Introduction: Going to Strata in Feb? Posted: January 12, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | Tags: conferences , quick | 1 Comment Âť Are you planning to attend Strata in Santa Clara at the end of February? Reach out for a discount registration code.
12 hilary mason data-2012-01-02-Why do I miss google calendar invites?
Introduction: Why do I miss google calendar invites? Posted: January 2, 2012 | Author: Hilary Mason | Filed under: blog | Tags: calendar , configuration , google | 2 Comments » I keep missing Google calendar invites on both my personal and work accounts. I’ve had my google account for years (since 2004?) and assumed it was some quirk of how I had configured something along the way. Today I was following Google’s instructions for syncing calendars with an iOS device and discovered that if you click calendar settings (which means click the gear icon then ‘calendar settings’), then ‘calendar’, then ‘notifications’ next to the calendar that you care about, you can turn on e-mail and SMS notifications for any given calendar. (I’ll save my ranting about the number of clicks to find and configuration anything on google’s properties right now for another time.) I’m sharing this on the theory that I’m not the only one with this particular frustration. I hope it saves someon