Lauren recently sent me a link to a new product from Microsoft Live Labs called Pivot. Pivot is a new application that allows users to sort through huge sets of data (called 'collections'). The data could be anything - from every donation made on Kiva to the relationship between one football player to another.
The brilliance behind this application is that it makes finding connections between huge sets of data accessible to anyone. You don't need to be an expert in statistics to see patterns provided by Pivot.
I think that the data examples provided in the video below are interesting, however I think that the real application will come when you input your social graph into an application like this. Imagine being able to view your holistic connections to everyone on Facebook beyond the first friend? Or track the people you talk to most, creep on most frequently or try to avoid?
From a brand perspective, the connections gained from this could provide valuable insight. Imagine uploading the Brand Tag data set and finding the connections that consumer have to various brands based on their perceptions.
All in all, just another example of the new types of creativity that are going to shape communications (and everything else) in the coming years.
