“Data in itself is not a value add.. It’s whether or not you’re turning it into meaningful insights” — Taylor Wells, News Corp

Data is often seen as a vital tool for businesses, but the way it is collected and analyzed can significantly impact its usefulness and legality. Taylor Wells, director of data products at News Corp, emphasizes the importance of responsibly collecting and analyzing data to drive business outcomes, warning against the pitfalls of collecting excessive data, which can lead to inefficiency, increased costs, and legal issues. Instead, he suggests focusing on essential data points and using structured frameworks to extract valuable insights. Wells also criticizes the overreliance on dashboards for communicating insights, advocating for more straightforward, actionable summaries to enhance decision-making. His experience at Disney+ exemplifies the importance of letting data, rather than assumptions, guide strategy, as it led to unexpected insights about their audience demographics, fundamentally influencing their content organization and marketing approach.