Creepy and fascinating

Check out this post from Wired on new military tracking technology that integrates data feeds from myriad sources: "ground moving target indicators, infrared video, multispectral imagery, human tipsters, audio intercepts, even text chats and social media, among others." For a database nerd, it's as thought-provoking as it is freaky.

I'm not sure I'm ready for this brave new world (facial recognition ads are already here!). However, I am fascinated by how to best combine and prioritize among multiple data streams. My team at work has been working diligently to make more and more information available to our colleagues. We're not nearly done yet, but information overload is already setting in. ("Why do you send me so many reports each month? I don't have time to read them all.")

Though I don't anticipate implementing a DARPA-style system, I am certainly thinking about how to make sure key pieces of information are appropriately connected and made prominent.