One of the main buzzwords emerging from the tech world the past two years has been “big data.”

But from a non-techie perspective, what exactly is big data? And how does it work?

I sat down with Barry Eggers, the Managing Director of Lightspeed Venture Partners the other day to discuss his unique approach to the subject of big data. He likes to explain its impact by focusing on how it is beginning to transform major league baseball.

Between fines from the state PUC and class-action lawsuits by taxi drivers, several of the ride-sharing services we’ve covered here – Lyft, Uber and SideCar – have been under fire lately.

On the surface it appears to be a classic case of technology startups disrupting an industry that has failed to innovate, of using smartphone apps to find rides almost instantly vs. waiting on the street corner wondering whether the cab you ordered the old-fashioned way will actually show up.

Well, Flywheel (formerly Cabulous) is a San Francisco company with a different solution. Since 2009 it has been building digital dispatch apps and forming relationships with the taxi companies to help bring the industry into the 21st century.

Ordering food for pickup can sometimes be problematic.

First, you have to place the order by speaking to someone over the phone; next you often have to stand in line at the restaurant to pick it up; and then you have to pull out your wallet to pay at the register.

After all of that, it’s not uncommon -- once you get back home or to your office -- to discover that mistakes have been made.

As I key in these words, so many gift cards are being exchanged across the US that–if you listen closely–you can almost hear them swishing by, rather like reindeer pulling an invisible sleigh.

It’s estimated to be roughly a $110 billion/year market and the average American now gives about five gift cards per year–the vast majority of them right now, during the holiday shopping season.