Relational Database Concepts

Core Concepts of Relational Databases

• Fields are columns within a relational database.
• A primary table uses a foreign key to link data back to it.
• Cardinality defines relationships between entities in terms of one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships.
  • One-to-one relationships are exemplified by an employee being assigned one parking space
  • One-to-many relationships are exemplified by one product line having many products.
  • Many-to-many relationships are exemplified by students registering for different courses
• The Database Management System (DBMS) manages databases.
• Rows in a table are called records.
• Columns are called fields.
• Multiple tables constitute a relational database.
• SQL (Structured Query Language) sits between applications and databases to manage structured data.
• Big Data is used for unstructured data.
• A data lake consolidates various databases, while a data mart or warehouse restructures the data for better organization and analysis.

Key Attributes of Big Data

• Big data can be defined by three key attributes -Volume -Variety -Velocity

Cardinality and Relationships

• Cardinality describes the relationships between different tables (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many).

Online Advertising Metrics and Concepts

• Content adjacency refers to concerns about ad placement relative to video content.
• CPM is the cost per thousand impressions, a common advertising payment model.
• Web crawlers or spiders are software used by search engines like Google for web searches to discover documents for indexing and retrieval.
• A search on Google is called a query.
• Commonly searched items are stored by Google in a cache for faster access.
• An impression occurs each time an ad is displayed.
• CPC is the cost per click, where advertisers pay only when their ad is clicked.
• The landing page is where users are directed after clicking an ad.
• CTR is the click-through rate, measuring the percentage of users who click on an ad after seeing it.
• Rich media ads incorporate sophisticated graphics and sound.
• Interstitials are ads that appear between web pages.

User Attention and Online Advertising Trends

• User attention span is a critical factor for businesses, with users often leaving websites within 3-10 seconds.
• Online advertising is experiencing substantial growth due to increased user time online, improved measurement and accountability, and better targeting.
• Changes in technology and new laws are causing flux in digital advertising, including the phasing out of long-standing user tracking methods.

Advertising Formats and Purchasing Models

• Display ads are graphical advertisements.
• Rich media ads include animation, audio, or video.
• Interstitials run before a user reaches their intended destination on a website or app.
• The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) sets standards for display ads, promoting uniformity across ad networks.
• Cost-per-Click (CPC) entails advertisers paying only when their ad is clicked.
• CPM is the cost charged for every 1,000 ad impressions.
• Cost-per-Action (CPA) involves payment when a user performs a specific action in response to an ad.
• Affiliate programs are cost-per-action programs where referring websites earn a percentage of revenue from referrals.

Facebook's Impact and User Engagement

• Facebook has a vast user base, with a significant portion residing outside the United States.
• Facebook's daily traffic surpasses the viewership of major events like the Super Bowl.
• The platform dominates social networking on smartphones and boasts extensive monthly user engagement.
• Facebook is used for a less directed but still valuable user activity
• The user attention dynamic differs between Google, where users "hunt" with directed intent, and Facebook, where users "hike" with less specific goals.
• Google charges advertisers only for clicks, while Facebook's ads often focus on discovery and awareness.

Google's Dominance and Key Search Concepts

• Market capitalization made Google the most valuable media company.
• Google rapidly became one of the most profitable firms in the United States post-IPO.
• A query is a search conducted by a user.
• Organic search results are ranked by relevance through algorithms such as PageRank.
• Sponsored links are paid advertisements displayed on search engine results pages.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) improves a page's organic search results.
• Link fraud involves creating bogus websites to manipulate search rankings, also known as "spamdexing" or "link farming."
• Spiders, web crawlers, or software robots are used by search engines to discover and index web content.
• Cached refers to the temporary storage of data to speed up computing tasks.
• The deep web contains internet content that cannot be indexed by search engines.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Advertising Strategies

• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) involves designing, running, and optimizing search engine ad campaigns.
• Keyword advertising targets ads based on user queries, with advertisers bidding on keywords.
• Quality Score measures ad performance.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR) measures the percentage of users who click on an ad after it's shown.
• The landing page is the web page displayed when a user clicks on an ad.
• Dynamic Search Ads are automatically generated based on website content.
• Deep linking directs users to specific webpages or app locations.
• Ad creative refers to the text, images, and content of an ad.
• Ad networks connect advertisers with content providers who host ads.
• Contextual advertising targets ads based on website content.
• Content adjacency problems occur when ads appear alongside undesirable content.
• Negative keywords prevent ads from showing for specific terms.

Data Management Fundamentals

• Data Management is a technical and administrative process for acquiring, validating, storing, protecting, and processing data to ensure accessibility, reliability, and timeliness.
• Data consists of raw facts and figures.
• Information is data organized in a way that can answer a question or aid decision-making.
• Knowledge is insight derived from experience and expertise using data and information.

Databases and Their Management

• A database is a single table or a collection of related tables.
• Database Management Systems (DBMS) are used to manage databases.
• Structured Query Language (SQL) is used to create and manipulate databases.
• Database Administration (DBA) involves managing database activities, including design, implementation, and security.

Tables, Fields, and Records

• A table or file is a list of data arranged in columns and rows.
• A column or field represents a data category within a record.
• A row or record represents a single entity in a table.
• Relational databases organize data into tables related by common keys.
• A primary key uniquely identifies a record within a table.
• A foreign key is a primary key from one table used in another to link records.

Cardinality in Database Relationships

• Cardinality defines the nature of relationships between entities, including one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships.
• One-to-one relationships involve each instance having exactly one related instance.
• One-to-many relationships occur when one instance can have many related instances, but the reverse is not true.
• Many-to-many relationships involve instances on both sides having multiple related instances.

Data Warehousing and Big Data

• A data warehouse is a set of databases supporting organizational decision-making.
• Data warehouses are structured for fast queries and collect data from various operational systems.
• A data mart is a database focused on specific business concerns or units.
• Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a method of querying and reporting that calculates and summarizes data in a data cube.

The "Three V's" of Big Data

• The “Three V’s” of Big Data" are: volume, velocity, and variety.
• A data lake is a storage system that holds data in both structured and raw formats.
• Hadoop is a set of open-source tools for managing and processing large amounts of unstructured data.
• Key data cloud advantages include flexibility, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and fault tolerance.
• E-discovery involves identifying and retrieving electronic information for legal purposes.

Social Graphs and Network Effects

• A social graph is the mapping of users and organizations and their connections.
• The network effect (Metcalfe’s Law) suggests that the value of a product or service increases with the number of users.

Online Advertising Payment Models

• CPM: The amount charged every time an ad appears 1,000 times (M is the roman numeral for 1,000)
• Zero-party data is explicitly shared with a firm by a customer.
• First-party data is collected through customer interactions with the firm.
• Second-party data is collected by one firm with a partner organization.
• Third-party data is collected by a company without a direct relationship with the customer.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The process of improving a page’s organic search rankings
• Colocation Facilities: Sometimes called a “colo”, or carrier hotel. Provides a place where the gear from multiple firms can come together and where the peering of internet traffic can take place. Equipment connecting in colos could be high-speed lines from ISPs, telecom lines from large private data center, or even servers hosted in a colo to be closer to high-speed internet connections
• Google Ad Rank: Is equal to f (bid value a.k.a the amount an advertiser is willing to pay, Quality Score, expected impact of extensions and formats)

Legacy Systems and Transactions

• Legacy systems are older, often incompatible systems that can hinder data utilization.
• Understanding Search: Key Terms

Transactions

• Transaction Processing Systems (TPS): Systems that record a transaction (some form of business-related exchange), such as a cash register sale, ATM withdrawal, or product return

Customer Activities

• A loyalty program provides incentives in exchange for tracking customer activity.
• Data aggregators collect and resell data.

Technology Architectures

• Serverless computing manages servers, scaling, and security through a third party.
• A global server farm is a network of computer servers coordinating resource use.

Data Manipulation

• and ETL (Extract, Transform, Load): Copying data from multiple, disparately organized data sources, transforming the data into a common format, and loading it into a combined usable format