Data is information that is computationally tractable; information that can be interpreted and used by a computer (given the existence of appropriate software).
This means that many more things that you would first expect can be considered data, if they can somehow be measured and digitized. Images are data. Sounds are data. Smells are data. Poetry is data. Many physical constructions - bridges, vehicles, concert houses - start out as data in a simulation before they are even constructed.
