Big data refers to the collection and aggregation of large quantities of data produced by and about people, things or the interactions between them. With the advent of cloud computing, specialised data centres with powerful computational hardware and software resources can be used for processing...

A field of personal analytics has emerged around self-monitoring practices, which includes the visualization and interpretation of the data produced. This paper explores personal analytics from the perspective of self-optimization, arguing that the ways in which people confront and engage with...