In July, KDNuggets.com, an online newsite focused on data mining and analytics software, ran an unusual listing in its jobs section. "We are looking for Predictive Modeling/Data Mining Scientists and Analysts, at both the senior and junior level, to join our department through November 2012 at our Chicago Headquarters," read the ad. "We are a multi-disciplinary team of statisticians, predictive modelers, data mining experts, mathematicians, software developers, general analysts and organizers - all striving for a single goal: re-electing President Obama." The job listing caught the attention of Alex Lundry, a Republican data-mining expert at TargetPoint Consulting. He tweeted a link to the ad, commenting, "The Obama campaign is taking #bigdata seriously; what about the GOP candidates?"
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In the mechanics of identifying voters, President Obama's team is ahead of GOP rivals
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Obama's re-election campaign is the only one doing cutting-edge work with data
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President's operation uses a powerful social-networking tool called NationalField
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Expert: GOP presidential campaigns don't fully understand power of data crunching
And unlike an open social network, where everyone is equal, @placeholder runs on a hierarchical social graph: Higher-level staff get a broader view of the state and local work below them.