Measurement and the “Illusion of Control” « « Media Bullseye - A New Media and Communications Magazine Media Bullseye – A New Media and Communications Magazine

Originally, I sat down to write a post detailing on how important it is for the social media/PR/Marketing industry to find a middle path. That it’s critical to measure, but measurement shouldn’t be the only objective. I read a New York Times piece someone on Twitter linked to, titled “In a Data-Heavy Society, Being Defined by the Numbers.”  It shows how we can measure too much, and pretty soon we’re paying attention to numbers for numbers’ sake, and we make decisions based on numbers that really don’t matter. A key quote from the piece: “‘Numbers make intangibles tangible,’ said Jonah Lehrer, a journalist and author of ‘How We Decide,’ (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009). ‘They give the illusion of control.’”

via www.mediabullseye.com

Great perspective on measurement

Comments

[Kpipi]

Tu trouves pas que tu sucres les fraises?

[Jen Zingsheim]

Thanks for linking to the piece and commenting on it Katie--much appreciated--it means a lot coming from someone so associated with measurement!

Best,
Jen