Social media algorithms silently shape what billions of people see and how they interact online. While most data scientists work to optimize business value within platform rules, there's valuable knowledge to be gained from understanding how these systems can be exploited - knowledge that can make ethical data scientists better at their jobs.

In this episode, Tim O'Hearn joins Dr. Genevieve Hayes to share insights from his experience manipulating social media platforms, revealing what ethical data scientists can learn from understanding the dark side of algorithmic systems.

This conversation reveals:

1. How social media platforms are essentially just sophisticated recommendation engines [08:16]
2. The "canary" technique for detecting when underlying systems have changed [11:36]
3. Why customer accounts often provide better testing data than artificial test accounts [13:56]
4. The importance of time series data collection for identifying suspicious patterns, effectiveness of campaigns, and understanding platform dynamics [18:04]

Guest Bio

Tim O’Hearn is a software engineer who spent years gaining millions of followers for clients by circumventing anti-botting measures on social networks. He is also the author of the new book, Framed: A Villain’s Perspective on Social Media.

Links

• Tim's Website
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to Tim's newsletter
• Connect with Genevieve on LinkedIn
• Be among the first to hear about the release of each new podcast episode by signing up HERE

Most dashboards and reports get ignored despite all the technical expertise that goes into creating them. The reason isn't technical limitations or poor data quality - it's that they fail to deliver value to the people who are supposed to use them.

In this Value Boost episode, Nicholas Kelly joins Dr. Genevieve Hayes to reveal proven strategies for increasing dashboard adoption and showcasing your value as a data professional.

In this episode, you'll discover:

1. The number one reason why dashboards fail [01:15]
2. The three-bucket framework that transforms dashboard development [04:06]
3. How to salvage an already-built dashboard [07:12]
4. The simple wireframing technique that opens doors to meaningful user conversations [10:08]

Guest Bio

Nicholas Kelly is the founder of Delivering Data Analytics, a consultancy focused on helping organisations enable their teams to make smarter, faster, and more confident decisions through data and AI. He is also the author of Delivering Data Analytics and the recently released How to Interpret Data.

Links

• Nicholas's Website
• Connect with Nicholas on LinkedIn
• Connect with Genevieve on LinkedIn
• Be among the first to hear about the release of each new podcast episode by signing up HERE

Despite unprecedented data abundance and widespread data science education, even experienced data professionals still struggle to interpret data effectively. They draw wrong conclusions, miss critical insights, or fail to communicate findings in actionable ways.

In this episode, Nicholas Kelly joins Dr. Genevieve Hayes to tackle the critical challenge of data interpretation - revealing why technical expertise alone isn't enough and sharing practical frameworks for transforming raw data into actionable business insights that drive real organisational change.

This conversation reveals:

1. The four primary challenges that make data interpretation so difficult [02:24]
2. Why ChatGPT and AI tools are changing the data interpretation landscape [06:23]
3. The "Five Whys" technique that ensures you're asking the right questions instead of wasting time on problems everyone already understands [17:32]
4. Why successful data projects don't end with presenting insights and what to do next [20:01]

Guest Bio

Nicholas Kelly is the founder of Delivering Data Analytics, a consultancy focused on helping organisations enable their teams to make smarter, faster, and more confident decisions through data and AI. He is also the author of Delivering Data Analytics and the recently released How to Interpret Data.

Links

• Nicholas's Website
• Connect with Nicholas on LinkedIn
• Connect with Genevieve on LinkedIn
• Be among the first to hear about the release of each new podcast episode by signing up HERE