Some of the world’s biggest tech companies from Google to Facebook are data-driven, but few startup founders have any idea what a data scientist does, never mind whether they should hire one. Here is VentureBeat’s guide to data science for startups.

What does a data scientist do?

DJ Patil led LinkedIn’s data science team and is now the Data Scientist in residence at Greylock Partners. His free ebook “Building Data Science Teams” provides an excellent introduction to the basic areas of data science and how to build a team.

For startups, the most relevant applications of data science are probably decision science and product and marketing analytics. Decision science, as the name implies, allows you to identify and monitor key metrics for your business and answer strategic questions like “Which country should we expand into next?” or “What is the impact on the business if we lose this client?”. Google’s data science team even drives its HR policies.

Product analytics covers anything from how users are reacting to new features to developing standalone data products. LinkedIn’s “People you may know” feature and Amazon’s recommendation system are data-driven features that attempt to keep users on the site longer or drive more sales.

Using data to showcase or market a product is the domain of marketing analytics. One of the best known examples is okCupid’s okTrends blog, which features posts like “The case for an older woman” or “The 4 big myths of profile photos”. The blog drives massive traffic to the site and is regularly covered in the media.

Who are the data scientists?

Since data science is a new area, practitioners often migrate from other fields. You may see maths, statistics, machine learning or computer science on their resumes or a data-intensive field like meteorology. Data scientists want to be of central importance to a business, especially when it’s a startup. The best data scientists are both intensely curious and great communicators. They answer important questions and tell good stories using data.

What is data infrastructure? 

Data scientists need specialized tools to manage and process large amounts of data. The minimum you need to get started is simple data access, usually via a database. Larger-scale or less uniform data may require a tool like Hadoop, an open source platform for distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers, as well as someone with the technical expertise to use it. Data stores like Cassandra are designed to perform well on very large datasets. These are some of the most commonly used tools, but there are many others for tasks such as streaming data collection, querying non-relational databases and job scheduling.

When do you need to hire a data scientist?

VentureBeat talked to data scientist Cathy O’Neil, who herself works for a startup (Intent Media), about when you need to hire a data scientist. If your data volume is growing, you don’t know if you are seeing noise or information in your data, or in general, if you are not running your business sufficiently quantitatively, then you may need to consider hiring.

Read the interview with Cathy O’Neil.

York University offers a world-class, modern, interdisciplinary academic experience in Toronto, Canada’s most multicultural city.  York is at the centre of innovation, with a thriving community of almost 60,000 faculty, staff, and students who challenge the ordinary and deliver the unexpected.  The bilingual Glendon University College offers courses in the social sciences, humanities and international relations, and graduate programs in French, Hispanic Studies, Public Affairs and Translation.

York University Libraries consist of a large central library and three branch libraries, one of which is the Leslie Frost Library on the Glendon campus.  The Frost Library serves, in French and English, a population of approximately 2,800 students and faculty.

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

• An ALA-accredited MLIS, or equivalent with up to five years’ post-MLIS experience.
• Educational background in the social sciences.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in both French and English.
• Broad knowledge of sources in the social sciences, including print and electronic sources, data and government publications, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to provide excellent reference service.
• Understanding of the principles of collection development
• Experience with the creation of web-based resources
• Strong public service ethic and/or background.
• Demonstrated understanding of the concepts, goals, and methods of information literacy instruction and ability to teach in a variety of settings and formats.
• Familiarity with the trends of technology in teaching and librarianship.
• Evidence of professional initiative and leadership.
• Excellent advocacy, organizational, problem-solving and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and diplomatically with a diverse population of faculty, librarians, staff, and students.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a diverse workload.
• Willingness to undertake university committee work, research, and professional development.

This position is a tenure-stream appointment to be filled at the Assistant Librarian level and appropriate for a librarian with up to five years’ post-MLIS experience.  Librarians at York University have academic status and are members of the York University Faculty association bargaining unit (http://www.yufa.org/).  Salary is commensurate with qualifications.  The position is available September 1, 2011.  All York University positions are subject to budgetary approval.

York University is an Affirmative Action Employer.  The Affirmative Action Program can be found on York’s website at www.yorku.ca/acadjobs or a copy can be obtained by calling the affirmative action office at 416-736-5713.  All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents will be given priority.

York University resources include centres relating to gender equity, race and ethnic relations, sexual harassment, human rights, and wellness.  York University encourages attitudes of respect and non-discrimination toward persons of all ethnic and religious groups, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

The deadline for applications is April 8th, 2011.  Applications should include a cover letter relating the applicant’s qualifications to the requirements of the position, a current curriculum vitae, with the names and contact details for three referees. Please also have two of your three chosen referees send written letters of reference directly under separate cover by fax or mail by the deadline. Please ensure each referee is supplied with a copy of this position advertisement before writing the reference. All materials should be sent to the attention of:

Chair, Frost Librarian Appointment Committee
York University Libraries, 310 Scott Library
York University, 4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3J 1P3
Fax: 416-736-5451
Email: yulapps@yorku.ca

Applications should be sent by mail, or by email/fax with a hard copy following.

Position Type: Full Time, Salaried

Location: Toronto – Liberty Village
Start Date: April 2011

Artscape is currently seeking a qualified individual as Online Communications Manager, to lead the planning, coordination, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of Artscape’s online and digital communications. Artscape currently manages two online properties: www.torontoartscape.on.ca and www.artscapeeventservices.ca, a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Youtube social media channels and ongoing email communications to its stakeholders. In the coming year, Artscape is set to expand its online properties to include websites for the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre, Artscape Shaw Street Centre and an online Knowledge Exchange portal.

Reporting to the Director of Communications, the Online Communications Manager will be a key member of a dynamic four-person Communications Department and will work collaboratively with other departments within the organization.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Leads the development of strategies, plans and tactics as they relate to Artscape’s web and social media properties
• Provides creative and digital content support for multiple online properties with differing stakeholder markets, creates and executes marketing collateral, including online ads, email campaigns
• Interacts directly with various departments to ensure online needs have been articulated
• Manages the flow of updates to all Artscape online properties and social media channels, cross-pollinating content across online properties where required, repurposes content for multiple communications channels
• Manages and develops institutional guidelines for social media content, engagement and participation, ensures brand consistency and integrity, acts as a spokesperson in social media channels
• Monitors performance using online analytics tools and identifies emerging trends and best practices
• Manages relationships with technical consultants to provide solutions for content challenges and opportunities
• Ongoing development and maintenance of plain-language style guide
• Monitor communications operating procedures and demonstrate initiative in making recommendations for improvement
• Develops work plans and budgets, implementing actions and monitoring results, including ensuring projects are completed on time and on budget
• Coordinates content and technical requirements for digital displays at Artscape facilities
• Supports additional editorial management, planning, writing and copyediting of marketing and communications materials as required
• Supports event planning activities as required
• Supports multimedia library organization and maintenance

QUALIFICATIONS:

Technical Skills

• Essential: Fully confident in the use of Microsoft Office Professional and CS5 applications, with an understanding of and ability to work in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Illustrator, webbased CMS (Drupal, Joomla or other) and/or HTML, social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube),
• Desirable: Ability in database management and best practices (Raiser’s Edge or other), InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, film editing (Premiere or other)

Education: Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, marketing, liberal arts or the equivalent mix of education and experience

Language: Fluent in English (written and spoken). Other languages would be considered an
asset.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years experience and confidence working in online and print communications and marketing
• Strategic planner, compelling copywriter and master content planner
• Demonstrated experience in project management and coordination
• Demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative team environment
• Has knowledge about, and passion for, the intersection of culture, community building, economic development and urban regeneration
• Demonstrated experience in web-based content and design principles, web writing styles, web implementation tools
• Familiarity with multimedia storage, organization and handling of large volumes of files, asset libraries and copy decks
• Familiarity with email marketing concepts and systems, online conference and webinars, digital video editing, advancing mobile technologies
• Creative Commons knowledge

Personal Skills:

• A generalist and fast learner – always keen to expand their skills and knowledge
• Proven excellent written, graphic and oral communication skills
• Highly organized and posses capacity for critical thinking
• Focused on results – a sense of urgency, self motivated, and a disciplined doer
• A confident and personable communicator
• A multi-tasker – able to juggle multiple priorities
• Our work environment demands a commitment to quality, ability to meet tight deadlines, and a willingness to work in an open-concept, team-oriented atmosphere

Deadline for Applications: March 23, 2011 at 12:00 noon

TO APPLY:

Please respond with a cover letter outlining the skills, qualifications and experience you would bring to the position as well as your salary expectations; and a resume.

Applications will be received in confidence by mail, courier or email only and should be forwarded to:

Attention: Human Resources, Online Communications Manager Submission
Artscape
Suite 224, 171 East Liberty Street
Toronto, ON M6K 3P6
info@torontoartscape.on.ca

No phone calls please. We thank all applicants, however only those being considered for an interview will be contacted directly.

Artscape is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and inclusiveness in all its work. We work proactively to be fair and equitable in practice and to build diversity into our teams, creative communities, programs and services.

About Artscape
Artscape is a not-for-profit organization that makes space for creativity and transforms communities. Artscape projects provide affordable space for creativity while generating positive cultural, economic, social and environmental impacts. Since its inception in 1986, Artscape has transformed a portfolio of underutilized buildings across Toronto into dynamic community assets that serve to enable innovation and creativity, including the award-winning Artscape Wychwood Barns and multi-tenant arts facilities in the Queen Street West, Liberty Village, Toronto Island and Distillery Historic District neighbourhoods. Collectively, Artscape manages 10 buildings for 863 artist and cultural worker tenants and owners in 417,000 square feet of space.

Artscape is currently developing Artscape Shaw Street Centre, a 75,000 square foot creative convergence centre for artists and arts, community and social mission organizations in the West Queen West neighbourhood, and Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre, a 60,000 square foot newbuild project located in the heart of the Regent Park community revitalization project. While Artscape’s development work is focused in Toronto, it shares its expertise with communities across Canada and internationally through its Knowledge Exchange program. Artscape’s Knowledge Exchange Program delivers tools, expands thinking and inspires action in communities large and small through a suite of continuing and new programs, including: Mentorship and Coaching Program, Research and Development, Online Tools and Resources,
Spacemaking and Placemaking Workshops, Creative Places + Spaces Conference Series.

For more information on Artscape, visit www.torontoartscape.on.ca

For the full job ad and how to apply, visit http://www.navltd.com/site/director-knowledge-services/

Position Type: Full Time, contract for 6 months
Location: Toronto – Liberty Village
Start Date: April 2011

Artscape is currently seeking a qualified individual as Project Development Manager responsible for managing and undertaking research and pre-development planning for Artscape’s proposed Centre for Creative Sector Entrepreneurship (CCSE).

Toronto’s Centre for Creative Sector Entrepreneurship (CCSE) is a collaborative initiative led by Artscape in partnership with trade and service organizations, academic institutions, governments and development partners that aims to build the entrepreneurial capacity of Toronto and area artists and creative sector micro-enterprises. The project has been designed in response to extensive research into market challenges for entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sector
and gaps in provision of programs to grow their capacity. The recently released report on the CCSE is available at: http://www.torontoartscape.on.ca/node/1165

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reporting to the Director of Knowledge Exchange, the Project Development Manager:

• Manages the research and planning stage of CCSE
• Undertakes research and develops a business plan for a new business model for affordable shared space, services and equipment
• Contributes to the development of partnerships
• Contributes to the development of a governance framework
• Manages and undertakes market testing and leasing negotiations
• Makes a significant contribution to program development
• Prepares and submits funding applications as required
• Liaises with and contributes to cross departmental project teams as required

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education

• At minimum, a first degree in a relevant discipline, ideally related to business and / or the arts, culture and creative industries and / or real estate development. A Post Graduate business qualification would be considered a major asset.

Language

• Fluent in English (written and spoken).

Experience

• A minimum of five years at a senior / leadership level in demonstrably relevant professional environments
• Demonstrated experience in project management
• Demonstrated experience in business plan development
• Demonstrated experience in research / market testing
• Demonstrated experience in program development
• Demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative team environment

Technical Skills

• Essential: Fully confident in the use of Microsoft Office Professional applications, with a sophisticated understanding of and ability to work in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project Manager.

Personal Skills

• An entrepreneurial attitude
• An interest in and knowledge of the arts, culture and creative industries sector
• Proven excellent written and oral communication skills
• Highly organized and possesses an intellectual grasp and capacity for critical thinking
• Focused on results – A sense of urgency, self motivated, and a disciplined doer
• A confident and personable communicator
• A multi-tasker – Able to juggle multiple priorities
• A learner – Always keen to expand their skills and knowledge

Deadline for Applications: March 23 by 12:00 noon.

TO APPLY:

Please respond with a cover letter (maximum one page) outlining the skills, qualifications and experience you would bring to the position as well as your salary expectations; a personal statement (maximum two pages) including at least two examples of complex projects you have managed from initiation to completion and explain how this experience is relevant to Artscape’s requirements; and a resume (maximum two pages).

Applications will be received in confidence by mail, courier or email only and should be forwarded to:

Attention: Human Resources, Project Development Manager, CCSE Submission
Artscape
Suite 224, 171 East Liberty Street
Toronto, ON M6K 3P6
info@torontoartscape.on.ca

No phone calls please. We thank all applicants, however only those being considered for an interview will be contacted directly.

Artscape is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and inclusiveness in all its work. We work proactively to be fair and equitable in practice and to build diversity into our teams, creative communities, programs and services.

About Artscape
Artscape is a not-for-profit organization that makes space for creativity and transforms communities. Artscape projects provide affordable space for creativity while generating positive cultural, economic, social and environmental impacts. Since its inception in 1986, Artscape has transformed a portfolio of underutilized buildings across Toronto into dynamic community assets that serve to enable innovation and creativity, including the award-winning Artscape Wychwood
Barns and multi-tenant arts facilities in the Queen Street West, Liberty Village, Toronto Island and Distillery Historic District neighbourhoods. Collectively, Artscape manages 10 buildings for 863 artist and cultural worker tenants and owners in 417,000 square feet of space.

Artscape is currently developing Artscape Shaw Street Centre, a 75,000 square foot creative convergence centre for artists and arts, community and social mission organizations in the West Queen West neighbourhood, and Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre, a 60,000 square foot new build project located in the heart of the Regent Park community revitalization project.

While Artscape’s development work is focused in Toronto, it shares its expertise with communities across Canada and internationally through its Knowledge Exchange program. Artscape’s Knowledge Exchange department also makes a significant contribution to researching and undertaking pre-project development and planning activities for many of Artscape’s planned future projects. For more information on Artscape, visit www.torontoartscape.on.ca

This infographic says it all – take a look: point, click and be inspired.

Thanks to @stolarick who pointed me to the article on FlowingData.

Fortune Best Companies to Work For infographic

Take a look:

It’s time for younger librarians to claim the future.

I was intrigued when I saw an announcement for an ARL-CNI meeting, “Achieving Strategic Change in Research Libraries”, to be held in mid October, because Lord knows this is a good time for strategic change. Yet when I clicked through to the program, I was sorely disappointed. The program is oriented toward library directors talking amongst themselves. In the growing string of strategy meetings and whitepaper collections coming from research library organizations, I see many familiar names. While I find these individuals to be brilliant, thoughtful people, I don’t believe much will come out of their talking amongst each other for another day. Library leadership has been discussing emergent roles for libraries for over a decade.

(N.B.: In libraries, the senior executive usually has the title “University Librarian”, and their immediate junior staff, “Associate University Librarian”; these are abbreviated as UL and AUL respectively.)

The current leadership of many of the leading research libraries belongs to a cohort that has held senior management positions for several decades; they have exceeded, or are near, retirement age. The generation beneath them, the late boomers and the Gen X’ers, have often been unable to fully advance in their careers because of the overhanging cliff edge above them. In libraries, archives, and museums – all organizations with astounding levels of commitment and loyalty – theirs will be a Lost Generation. They are not likely to steer these institutions for any long length of time. Instead, Gen X has led – is leading – a Long March.

Even in conversations with the existing leadership, there is wide acknowledgment that the greatest sea change of vision and perspective among librarians, museum and archive staff, rests primarily among those (more or less) in their 20s, into their early to mid 30s. This generation has completely different expectations for information management, privacy, direct access to data and people, interaction with services, and organizational behavior.

It is perhaps in the expectations for organizational conduct that the need for change is greatest, and most immediately wanting. Libraries are supremely hierarchical organizations, not given to matrix management or effective team based project management. Many young librarians do not have any effective means to make substantive comment on change in their institutions; even when their voices are heard, no engagement is offered.

I encourage everyone to read the entire post. Then, let me know what you think by posting a comment.

The PwC Canada Knowledge Management Group is recruiting for a Manager on our Knowledge Management Operations team. To read the role description and apply online, please go to: https://www.pwcrecruiting.com/ifs/hr/RMS_External.nsf/JobPosting/BD85F8A95721635E8525771200460522?openDocument.

I think he’s right. A few excerpts:

Q: Can there be too many of these codified pieces–too much information?

Yes, there can be too much information in the sense that there’s too much to absorb, but you can never have too much knowledge. That’s one of the differences between information and knowledge. Who would ever say they have too much knowledge of something? Would you want to go to a doctor who says, “I know too much about your illness?” You want people who help us in our lives–doctors, politicians, economists–to have a lot of knowledge.

Q: So, where does that leave information professionals? The common perception is that they bring information into the organization and it gets passed up the chain to the top, and along the way it gets filtered and distilled into knowledge.

I would disagree with the chain scenario–I don’t think that’s an accurate description of what happens. I think people at the top of organizations make their decisions based on all sorts of things, but information wouldn’t be at the head of the list. I think they make decisions based on peer knowledge–asking their bankers, their lawyers, their peer executives within the firm. They may read some things, perhaps an article or report, but generally, by the time something’s in print, they already know it. It’s old news. There isn’t that much in print that’s new for business executives.

That’s why librarians don’t have the–what’s the right word here?–the position, the respect, the authority that maybe they think they might, because what they’re dealing with is stuff that’s not absolutely essential to the running of the firm. If it was, it would make a big difference.

Q: It sounds like you’re saying that information professionals need to move away from procuring and maintaining content.

I coined a phrase years ago that I think is useful here: If you have a dollar to spend on either information or knowledge, spend it on connection rather than capture. That’s really an important slogan. You’re much better off connecting people, helping them find one another, than on capturing material. I’m not talking here about university libraries or public libraries–if you run the library at Harvard, you want to capture everything in different forms. I’m talking about organizations.

Q: So, 10 years from now, will we still be talking about information workers and information societies?

It already sounds old hat. Yes, there was a time when information was a hot topic, and it was very exciting, but the costs kept dropping. No one foresaw everybody having personal computers; no one foresaw Google. Information transactions have become ubiquitous, transparent, and almost cost-free. No one predicted this.

And, to be honest, a lot of the information hype was generated by vendors with a commercial aim. I remember when everyone was saying that if you get the right information to the right person at the right time, it will give an organization a tremendous advantage. That’s just not true. I had an economist model that for me, and it would give them some advantage, but there’s just not enough information out there to make a big difference. The real advantage lies in using knowledge better and in innovating. That’s where information professionals should focus their efforts.

The entire interview is available online at “You Can Never Have Too Much Knowledge“, SLA Information Outlook, December 2009.

The author of a new book talks about the secret lives of America’s favorite — and endangered — disciplinarians.

Behold the stereotypical librarian, with her cat’s-eye glasses, bun and pantyhose — a creature whose desexualized persona and desire for us to be quiet has fueled generations of wild sexual fantasies. But there’s bad news for those of you with a shushing fetish; as Marilyn Johnson explains in “This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All,” the uptight librarian is a species that’s rapidly approaching extinction.

A new generation of young, hip and occasionally tattooed librarians is driving them out. They call themselves guybrarians, cybrarians and “information specialists,” and they blog at sites like The Free Range Librarian and The Lipstick Librarian. They can be found in droves on Second Life, but also outside the Republican National Convention, dodging tear gas canisters and tweeting the location of the police.

Johnson, a former staff writer for Life magazine, and author of “The Dead Beat,” a book about the fascinating world of obituary writing, delights in refuting our assumptions about librarians, while making a rock-solid case for their indispensability at a time when library systems are losing an average of 50 librarians per year. Who else is going to help us formulate the questions Google doesn’t understand, or show non-English speakers how to apply for jobs online, or sympathize with your need to research the ancient origins of cockfighting? Librarians, Johnson argues, are one of our most underappreciated natural resources.

Read the entire review at Salon.com.