megadata

Extremely large collections of electronically-stored data.

Experience with "megadata," large collections of remote objects presented to users, suggests that users typically view large collections of icons, but open only a few of them for detailed inspection.

An entity may also be selected by traversing a tree of increasingly specific names, which solves the "megadata" problem of searching one large dataset instead of many small sets [Sims 1994].

Large collections of personal data that are gathered and maintained by companies for commercial exploitation.

The multiple agencies (state, non-state and hybrid) engaged in surveillance and the various processes, forms and purposes of surveillance that is brought together through information sharing networks or other means (from the sale of access to databases through to secret court orders demanding technology companies transfer megadata to state agencies) to create more intensive and comprehensive surveillance capacities.

Examples of megadata-systems are Facebook, eBay, Twitter etc. Such systems raise questions regarding privacy, legality, and ethics, but, at the same time, have already been able to readily provide clinicians with important medical (although uncensored) information, like Google has.