Data Science: classic concept, evolving consumption

Hack.Chat with Akamai

Hack.Diversity
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read

“Women and minorities often hold themselves back from asking questions because we’re afraid to be ‘found out’ as ‘not smart enough.’ But asking questions is the key to success. Especially in tech, the moment you stop learning is the moment you become obsolete.” — Tyrone Ross, Product Operations Program Manager at Akamai

Nowhere is an environment more conducive to asking questions, than Akamai, which as the world’s leading content delivery network (CDN), holds the pulse of 40+ terabits of data transmission per second for 100+ million clients across 130+ countries. For our Hack.Diversity Fellows, spanning Network Technology, Information Technology, Information Systems, and Computer Science majors, this behind-the-scenes exploration of data acquisition, distillation, and consumption provided new perspectives on growing careers in data science.

A Multidisciplinary Art Form

Collecting data, and making sense of it, has been practiced for thousands of years, as evidenced by how our ancestors tracked ocean and wind currents, the flights of migratory birds, cloud formations and star patterns, then synthesized this data to advance their livelihoods.

Philip Tellis, possessing the enviably fun job title of “Principal RUM (real user monitoring) Distiller” at Akamai, emphasizes that data science combines aspects of statistics, computing, visual storytelling, domain expertise, typography, and psychology, with even more variants depending on the topic at hand.

To demonstrate this, Tellis guided our consideration of tracking the relationship of user behavior vs. the performance speed of a website. Our fundamental assumption was that the slower a web page loads, the less likely a user would spend time on said web page. However, in walking through a case study of how website performance affected user behavior during the US-Canada gold medal hockey match of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, we saw firsthand the diversity of factors that influences our interpretation of data. One’s understanding of a hockey game structure, which team is winning, how much time is remaining in the game, error tolerance, the load speed which the user is typically accustomed to, would all contribute to user behavior given the performance of a website.

The non-linear career path

While familiarity with statistics is a connective thread among those working with data, the importance of domain expertise allows for the rejection of a one-size-fits-all career trajectory into the field. At the onset of their careers, our speakers didn’t expect, or plan for, their journeys to take them to Akamai. Tellis originally studied physics. Similarly, Alden Jackson studied physics and electrical engineering, and is currently a Senior Architect in Platform Infrastructure Engineering. Ross initially studied Psychology, and is now a member of Akamai’s Business Security, Product Operations team. Not only is it possible to grow a career in data science from these backgrounds, it encourages a key asset: an added perspective in making sense of data by borrowing inspiration from other domains.

Visual communication

Capping off our night, we were treated to mesmerizing display of the real-time condition of the Internet during a tour of Akamai’s Network Operations Command Center (NOCC). Zooming in and out of the G-Net (global network) inspires concrete appreciation for what exactly Jackson meant when he spoke about Akamai’s global presence — all those terabits worth of data transmitting throughout all those trillions of interconnections — and consequently what it would mean if that content delivery ability fails for even a minute: “If you’re an organization like Amazon, with all the collective activity you see at any given time, you might lose $2 million a minute and that adds up.”

THANK YOU to our friends at Akamai, with particular thanks to Julia Bonarrigo and Laura Azevedo from the Diversity, Inclusion & Corporate Social Responsibility team, for hosting and coordinating such a fun, enriching event!

Want to partner with us for an event? Let us know at info@hackdiversity.com. Engage with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Website, and Support!

The Hack.Diversity Movement

Follow our movement towards diversity of talent representation in Boston's high-skilled innovation economy. www.hackdiversity.com

Hack.Diversity

Written by

Program of @newenglandvc, tackling the under-representation of minority talent in Boston’s high-skill innovation economy.

The Hack.Diversity Movement

Follow our movement towards diversity of talent representation in Boston's high-skilled innovation economy. www.hackdiversity.com

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