2017 Data Storytelling Studio @ MIT

The types of digital data collected throughout 2/13/17.

• Location/travel: Facebook messenger’s location services track where my messages were sent from, and Uber receipts show that I traveled into Boston. MIT ID taps log when I entered my dorm and when I ate dinner in the dining hall
• Health: Fitbit tracks my heart rate, active minutes, calories burned, steps walked, etc. It also registered my morning workout and categorized the type of exercise I did. The treadmill recorded my pace and distance.
• Spending: Credit card data shows what I’ve spent (and it hints at what I ate). Venmo transactions record the payments I made for brunch
• Email: timestamps stored in Gmail show when I was received/opened/responded to emails
• Internet history: Chrome internet history remembers the web pages I visited
• Text messages: texts record who I interacted and the plans I made with friends for the upcoming days
• Calendar events: Google calendar stores my schedule for the day
• Computer downloads: these reflect the homework/readings I downloaded during the day
• Entertainment: iOS Game Center records when I opened mobile games and Spotify history shows when I listened to music (and what sort of mood I was in)

10:20am Browsed WeChat and Instagram.
10:35am Replied messages from my mom and friends.
10:45am Looked for dorayaki recipes from my phone.
10:55am Read emails; created notes.
2:30pm Wrote emails.
5:00pm Watched online lecturers and took notes.
6:00pm Looked for smoothie recipe online and saved some of them.
8:00pm Searched for flight tickets for summer from Expedia and saved the search results to compare later.
9:00pm Accepted meeting invitation and added it to Google calendar.
9:20pm Wrote Data Log.
9:30pm Took screenshots of some restaurants from Yelp and sent them to friends.
9:35pm Looked for dorayaki recipes again. Saved one to my phone.
9:40pm Finished the data log and submitted it.

• Google Maps- Tracked route driven and how long it took us. We also used it to look up nearby restaurants (that we didn’t end up going to) so it also collected data on which restaurants we were considering and the fact that we didn’t go to any of them.
• Ski Rental Shop– Collected name, height, weight, and skiing experience level when renting skis.
• Google Search History- Recorded time, search query, and any links followed from search.
• Bank of America- Recorded every credit card transaction (time, amount spend, retailer, location).
• Waterville Valley Ski Resort- Recorded time we picked up our lift passes and scanned our lift passes’ barcodes before we got on each lift, meaning they know exactly when we rode each lift. Also recored our names, addresses, emails, and birthdates.
• Whenisgood- Recorded my schedule for the next week.
• Gmail- Recorded what emails I got, when I opened them, when I responded, what I gave labels or marked as spam, etc.
• Facebook- Tracked my location and what content I viewed on my newsfeed. Recorded when I liked a photo and who’s photo it was.
• Snapchat- Recorded my location and what snaps I sent and received. Also recorded temperature and altitude data. It also noted which Snapchat users were nearby.
• Android- Recorded my phone’s battery use and network connectivity status. Also recorded which apps were opened, how long they were opened for, and how much storage/battery they used, as well as my location.
• Google Photos- Uploaded photos taken on my phone and their associated metadata to the cloud.
• Messenger- Recorded what messages I sent and received, their contents, and their times. It also tracked photos taken on my phone and my location.
• Chrome- Recorded what websites I visited, how long I spent on them, and what links I clicked on them.
• MIT RFID readers– Records what time I tapped into my dorm and my club’s office on campus.
• Dorm Desk Package Tracking- What time I picked up my package from my dorm’s front desk was recorded.
• MIT Campus Security Cameras– Cameras likely tracked a majority of my movements around campus, including entering my dorm.
• New Hampshire Highway System– Collected pictures of our license plates when we passed through the toll booths.
• Shaw’s Parking Garage- Recorded what time it issued ticket and thus what time we entered the parking garage.
• Rental Car- Tracked and recorded gas status, mileage, among other variables.

As a technology user, I generate mountains of data every day (often without realizing it). In this post, I will catalog all of the data that I manually generated, as well as the portion of automatically-generated data that I am aware of.

Now all this data begs the question: How is it used?

Activity Captured in Digital Form
February 12, 2017

• Meal Swipes – Captured every time I swipe my card into a dining hall
• Physical Activity – Fitbit captures heartbeat, number of steps, etc. throughout the day
• Emails – Apple Mail on my desktop syncs with the mobile Outlook app to keep track of which emails I’ve read and sent
• iPhone App Usage – Records percentage of battery usage each mobile app takes up
• Facebook Messages – Website and Messenger app tracks which messages I’ve sent and read
• Card Access – Captured every time I tap my MIT ID into a room or building
• Internet – Browsing history saved on browser or to Google account
• Logins – Captured every time I login to a website
• Google Drive – Tracks new uploads and changes to files
• Dropbox – Tracks new uploads and changes to files. Desktop version syncs with online version
• TripAdvisor – Website probably tracks which location webpages have been visited
• Credit Card – Captured every time I purchase something using a credit card
• Find My Friends – App tracks GPS location

• ID swipe for dining hall
• Sent text messages
• Used FaceTime
• Responded to email
• Browsed internet which added to my browsing history
• Tapped ID to enter dorm
• Updated Linkedin profile
• Liked images on Facebook
• Used Athena Cluster to print a problem set
• Downloaded files needed to complete a SolidWorks tutorial
• Received Venmo payment
• Used terminal commands to complete 6.S08 assignment
• Entered my name is the 6.S08 online queue to get help during office hours
• Submitted my code for automatic checking on the 6.S08 website
• Complete CMS.631 blog post

Data Log – Zachary Collins

• Debit Card Purchase – Bought coffee and food at the Student Center using my debit card; The transaction’s recorded by my bank and by Dunkin’ Donuts.
• Dining Hall Meal Swipe – Got dinner in the dining hall by swiping my ID to access my meal plan.
• Dorm Tap In – Every time I came back to my dorm I had to tap in to recognize my entrance.
• Facebook Messages – Sent messages to a friend about the club we are involved with using Facebook Messenger.
• Text Messages – Sent text messages back and forth with my brother
• Spotify Streaming – I listened to music for a little bit using Spotify
• Twitter Use – Went on Twitter a few times; My actions (scrolling, clicking, typing, etc.) were definitely recorded
• Search Engine Queries – Searched a few things on Google for homework
• Overwatch Games – Played a few games of Overwatch; Game data was definitely recorded
• Stream Celtics Game – I streamed a Celtics game using Xfinity on Campus
• Sent Email – I sent a few emails for a club I’m a part of
• Downloaded Problem Set – I downloaded one of my problem sets from stellar
• Printed Problem Set – I then printed it using the Athena Cluster in my dorm
• Posting this Blog Post – Submitting this blog post in itself is recorded on the website