This month we’re defending the Modern Data Stack and announcing our summer conference schedule. Let’s get into it!
Pickaxe in the Wild
It’s been a busy few weeks explaining best practices:
Eric Callahan kicked off April with an appearance at MDS Fest, talking about Data Engineering for Normal People. You don’t have to be a super nerd to read it, if you missed that, you can check out the recording HERE.
At the end of the month, Eric also joined the Open Data Science Conference to talk about Data Hygiene in the Modern Data Stack. You can check out a sneak peek of his presentation HERE.
We also attended Braze’s City x City event in New York in mid-April.
Meanwhile, the team has an exciting schedule ahead as we kick off our summer conference season.
Keep an eye out for Team Pickaxe at the following events:
What: Snowflake Summit
Where: San Francisco
When: June 3-6, 2024
What: Cannes Lions Int’l Festival of Creativity
Where: Cannes, France
When: June 17-31, 2024
In Defense of the Modern Data Stack
Recently, many people who are deep into data science have been discussing the idea that the Modern Data Stack has outlived its usefulness.
It’s true that the MDS isn’t perfect, and it’s not a solution to every problem. However, in our work, we’ve seen that a lot of organizations – even big companies – haven’t even begun building a Modern Data Stack.
So should we kill the MDS because it can’t do everything? Or should we try to implement it widely, and let the world catch up, before moving on to the next thing?
We think the Modern Data Stack deserves a chance. Check out our latest blog post to learn why.
Meet The Team - Ralph Bradley
What is your role at Pickaxe?
I’m a data scientist. I’m responsible for model research and development, our insights engine and also custom work for specific needs/client requests.
I like to think in terms of bridging the gap between raw metric data and how it can be practically useful, via a route of transformations, feature engineering and model building.
We have models still in production that I worked on 6 years ago, which is something I’m happy about as at the time we definitely focused on model reliability and extensibility. They’ve stood the test of time!
What did you do before Pickaxe?
I worked as a consultant data scientist (including for a firm now part of Deloitte) and have also launched (and subsequently closed after 2 years) a start-up.
What do you do in your spare time?
Running up and down hills…
Running a long way…
Also working on my personal projects, (quantitative finance-related and also a product related to car reliability).
What We've Been Reading This Month
- Ad targeting may be banned – inside the US privacy proposal that could jeopardize the marketing tactic (Ad Age)
- NBC Prepares $2.5-Billion-a-Year Bid to Pluck NBA Rights From TNT (WSJ)
- Snowflake releases a flagship generative AI model of its own (TechCrunch)
- Even Cable TV Giants Know That Consumers Prefer Streaming — but They’ve Got a Plan (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Paramount is leaning into AI-enabled shoppable TV (Morning Brew)
