Data Lives

"A powerful and important account of the role data plays in shaping everyday life from a world-leading researcher with decades of experience in the field." James Ash, Newcastle University

“Rob Kitchin is engaged in making our datafied world more liveable. He asks not just how our digital selves are constructed, managed and marketed by others, but how we might connect to that process and influence it.” Linnet Taylor, Tilburg University

"We all use data to tell stories. In this tremendous book, Rob Kitchin tells stories too, prompting us to reimagine how data lives and how we live with it.” Paul Dourish, University of California, Irvine

“An anthropologist and a computer scientist walk into a café… Using diverse narrative styles, this book provides an engaging and important account of the choices and contexts that shape the data that increasingly impact our lives.” Teresa Scassa, University of Ottawa

“Written in a very accessible and engaging format, ‘Data Lives’ is a brilliant tour de force of how data shapes our everyday lives and is shaped by the ways we produce it. This is going to be a key reference for years to come.” Ayona Datta, University College London, UK

"A staggering volume that knowingly and skillfully upends established visions of our data lives. Surprising, unpredictable and inspiring. By breaking the patterns of commentary and mixing-up the style of academic writing this will be a landmark and transformative text from one of the foremost thinkers in the field." David Beer, University of York

“Rob Kitchin’s appealing and innovative use of data stories propels the reader right into complex discussions about data creation and use - a thought-provoking and highly enjoyable read.” Sandra Collins, National Library of Ireland.

"Data Lives is the ultimate resource for all of us who have wondered what happens to our data after they enter the ether beyond our digital devices, where we only briefly encounter data along what are revealed to be complex and often surprising trajectories." Agnieszka Leszczynski, Western University

Rob Kitchin is a Professor in the Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute, Ireland. He is author/editor of a number of books about technology and society and is a recipient of the Royal Irish Academy’s Gold Medal for the Social Sciences.

Part 1 ~ Introduction

Data Stories

Part 2 ~ the Life of Data

Blind Data

The Nature of Data

Gridlock

In Data We Trust

How to Lose (and Regain) 3.6 Billion Euros

Harmonizing Data Is Hard

Open and Shut Case

The Politics of Building Civic Tech

So More Trumps Better?

Hustling for Funding

The Secret Science of Formulas

The End of the Data Lifecycle

Part 3 ~ Living With Data

Traces and Shadows

Recommended Life

The Quantified Self

Fighting Fires

Management by Metrics

Guinea Pigs

Big Brother Is Watching and Controlling You

Security Theatre

When a Country Ignores Its Own Data

Data Theft

Data for the People, by the People

Black Data Matters

Part 4 ~ Conclusion

A Matter of Life and Death

Data Futures