The ever-empowering Internet has enabled not merely the accumulation and analysis of information; "Big Data" is also the rapidly-growing ability to extract meaning: to sort thru masses of numbers (and video images, text, and more) to find a hidden pattern, an unexpected correlation, a surprising connection. Taking shape in conjunction is "The Internet of Things," a catch-all phrase to describe adding connectivity and intelligence to devices in order to give them special functions. The forecast is for 50 billion THINGS to connect to the Internet by 2020. What are some of the far-ranging impacts these developments might have on our lives?