Mark Elliot

Hi,

I am Mark Elliot, and I am a Data Scientist.

As a Data Scientist, I acquire, structure and analyze data to do a number of really interesting things.

Mostly these things involve making other guys rich.

This seems cool until you understand that it is not the same as making them happy. But, I am good at it, and a guy has to make a living.

Sometimes these things involve the entertainment industry, sometimes not. On the surface the industries I do work for, can seem as different as night and day, but, they all share one common attribute: their success or failure depends on human behavior, and how their marketing addresses that attribute.

To understand the behavior that will determine whether they, or you, succeed or fail, the first question to answer is, how do people make choices?

Data driven strategies are not about producing a specific result. Data strategies are about changing the odds and using data to discover what things change the odds. Data strategies are about creating a process in which the choices a massive corporation, or you CAN make, will consistently shift the odds in your favor.

How do people choose?

The answer to that question exists where science and art intersect. The three act story structure is as old as we are and a fundamental indicator of how our minds work. It is a key factor in understanding the process of choosing.

When you examine the data, ultimately it leads to one place. People choose a story. But which story?

In a business transaction where a product is involved, the story chosen can frequently belong to the salesman and not the product.

If you are selling yourself, (looking for a job), the market (the person looking through a massive pile of resumes) will gravitate toward a story that resonates personally. They will instinctively trade being entertained for not necessarily choosing the most qualified person.

So art and science intersect.

Every product has a story. Figure out what that story is, and find a compelling way to tell it. If you are the product, what is your story?

That is art.

The science is in determining, what kind of people like your kind of story.

It is in discovering where the kind of people who might like your story spend their time.

It is in researching and uncovering what common mistakes statistically result in failure. There are usually a small number of mistakes that are made consistently.

When you follow your strategy and do the work to put your product in front of the right audience, you want to avoid making the stupid mistake.

Here is my resume ad copy.

I have thirty years experience as Business Analyst, Data Analyst, Database and System Designer and Designer of Business Solutions, using Databases, Software and Technology, in a wide range of corporate environments.

I am a designer of analytic Initiatives and data driven business strategies, including enterprise-wide governance and utilization of information as an asset, achieved via a deep understanding of human behavior and combined with a researcher's skill set which includes years of experience in data base architecture, data mining, data analysis, business analysis and the creation of predictive models and data collection strategies.

I also write stories, but that is a different story.