The use is in the use

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I have worked on lots of data projects with organisations that collect far more information than they used.

The promise of new technology is its ability help people and organisations analyse and use larger data sets to derive new insights and make more informed decisions.

In the projects sometimes the new technology was able to make a huge difference - this depended on the capacity and willingness to build internal systems of feedback loops and learning.

More data is useless if the information never gets used. It piles up in paper boxes, now data centres, taking up space, and is difficult to find when you need it.

A personal learning and writing system is similar - its ability to make a difference in your life depends you using it.