Over the past few months, media focus on Cambridge Analytica, the political data firm hired by President Trump's 2016 election campaign team, has exposed the use of big data in politics.  But the truth is that election campaign teams in both parties and at all levels of government have been using advanced data and analytics for years.  In fact, it's had a transformational effect on nearly every facet of the political landscape. What Is Big Data? Big data is the term used to describe the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured – that exists in today's world.  There are literally trillions of data points floating around in cyberspace, but it's not the amount of data that matters.  What's really significant is how businesses, organizations, and – in the context of this article, politicians – use these data to make smarter and more strategic decisions. The concept of big...(Read Full Article)