Give Me an Old Computer, a Blank DVD, and an Internet Connection and I'll Give You World-Class Analytics

• Activity Number: 397
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 5, 2014 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section for Statistical Programmers and Analysts
• Author(s): Ty Henkaline*+
• Keywords: open-source ; startup ; R ; Linux ; RStudio ; RShiny

Abstract

Today is a great day to be an applied statistician working at a web startup. You can get all the hardware you need for the price of a new pair of shoes. You can get all the software you need for the price of a pack of gum (and that's if you're feeling generous). And you can get quite a lot of data about your users for free. Meanwhile there are loads of problems with valuable solutions just waiting to be solved. In such an environment, where does one start? During this talk I'll take you through my transition from life as a PhD student to life as a Director of Analytics at one of the most successful web startups in the world. It has been a fun journey, and I have had the opportunity to learn a lot along the way. I'm excited to share what I have learned with you, and to hear from you about how I can make the next steps even better.