There was the gold rush and the oil boom. Now, there's the data dash. With the digital age still in its infancy, we're just beginning to mine and refine the mountains of data accumulated from our mobile devices and Internet activity. Let's examine some of the possibilities of how Big Data may change society for the better.

As a marketing professional, there is nothing I hate more than receiving any form of communication (email, Web experience, social media, mobile, whatever) and not see an obvious place where I can either opt out of the communication or protect how much information is being captured. As a consumer, I probably hate it more.

In this era of Big Data, three visions of the future of the Internet have crystallized. Depending on which vision emerges as correct will impact knowledge-generation forever. There's the Zuckerberg Vision, the Tim Berners-Lee Vision and the Jimmy Wales Vision.

I was fortunate enough to work for Hunter Madsen, the Yahoo! guru who led the team that developed Behavioural Targeting for the company back in early-to-mid 2005. We were in awe as Hunter explained the mechanics of targeting users within the network, based on where they'd been, what content they consumed, what they searched for.

On the heels of big data grabbing headlines the world over for its role in President Obama's re-election, could 2013 be the year big data makes the big leap into the mainstream, especially business? The task ahead of us is to take the promise of big data and realize it in every department and in every industry. Some surprising pioneers are already leading the way.

Technology is changing and it's providing opportunities for businesses to adapt to the changing communications landscape. Further necessitated by real time discussions, the speed of this information, plus a global shift towards improving workforce efficiency, companies now need to look at ways to transform to ensure their survival. The first company profile in this series: Tellagence.

Next week, the who's who of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry around the world will arrive in Montreal, Canada, for the biannual World Congress of Information Technology (WCIT). With all the economic upheaval making business headlines, why does this specialized gathering matter?

I haven't been able to pick up a paper or surf online recently without getting bombarded with news, research or expert opinions featuring Big Data and its value to the future of business. I worry that without engagement and investment, the promise of Big Data initiatives will remain just a promise.