8/29/2016Like a vast majority on planet Earth, I love data visualizations. Ok, so perhaps as the author of two bestselling books on analytics I love it a little bit more! There is something magical about taking an incredible amount of complexity and presenting it as simply as we possibly can with the goal of letting the cogently presented insight drive action. Magical. A day-to-day manifestation of this love is on my Google+ or Facebook profiles where 75% of my posts are related to my quick analysis and learnings from a visualization. Be it looking at 1.1 million FCC net neutrality comments, things people around the world identify as their biggest threat, water consumption of a burger patty vs. daily cooking, the religious gap on spanking children, or a simple graph that rises profound questions about where we donate vs. diseases that kill us. Data visualized is data understood. Better. Faster. More useful. It delivers world peace! I’m exaggerating a tiny bit. (As is clear from the discussion on the preference of guns over knowledge in 37 US states. But at least we’re talking.) In this post, I want to share some examples of data visualization I was excited about recently.
Recent Posts
Will Marketplaces Disrupt the Data Analytics Industry?
Few weeks ago, I came across Rocketgraph. This is a new platform that offers custom reports based on cloud data sources. While the concept is not new, what sets this company apart is the reports & dashboards are sold to users in a marketplace. The platform brings the analytics buyers and sellers together and provides the infrastructure. For years, many vendors have promised custom out-of-the-box solutions. In a majority of cases, most businesses require significant customizations. Will a marketplace approach to analytics offer an intermediate solution with significant time & cost savings? I interviewed Rocketgraph co-founder Constantine Nikitiadis to found out. Take a listen.
The US Election 2016 in Popular Votes · Lisa Charlotte Rost
Take a look at the refreshing data visualization on popular votes by Lisa Charlotte Rost. In this dense data graphic, she remarkably accomplishes information visualization, education, and election storytelling in one visual. A refreshing break from electoral maps!
The Limitations of Data and Benchmarks
Data visualization blogosphere is filled with great ideas and inspiration. What is missing is the candid conversations about the limitations of data. Unfortunately, finding quality content on this topic is like finding a needle in a haystack. So, when one of the greatest thought leaders in SaaS data world wrote on this topic, I feel obligated to share it with you. Here is Tomasz Tunguz on the limitations of data.
The Myth of Self-Service Analytics
Self-service has been a buzzword in the analytics industry for the last few years. While the self-service movement has been instrumental in bringing about rapid decision making and empowering business users get answers to their data questions, one has to be aware of the key skills still required. Stephen Few highlights this important foundation of building a data-driven culture.
Introducing Graphic Continuum Flash Cards
52 different charts in flash cards. Need I say more? Here are the first of its kind flash cards for charts & graphs from PolicyViz. Use them for teaching, researching, or spurring your imagination.
10 Reasons Why Discovering Tableau Is Like Finding Your Significant Other
In this article, we will look at how you can interactively plan for different scenarios to model the growth of your startup by working with the tool developed at Vizually Labs. Before we begin, let us look at what is Fundamental Unit of Growth (FUG) and then look at the tool below.
5 Data-Driven Email Newsletters You Should Subscribe To
Subscribing to email newsletters written by experts on growth and analytics is a great way to learn. Here are five newsletters that stand out from the rest. Written by entrepreneurs, data scientists, growth marketers and venture capitalists, each one offers unique insight into the process of using data to make better decisions and build a better company.
How to Improve Hierarchy in Tableau
In this technical tutorial Amanda Patist from The Information Lab explains how default hierarchy drill down behavior in Tableau can be enhanced to allow selective drill down. To implement this functionality she has parameter control and Tableau Javascript API.
How Computers Have Started Designing Your Clothes
How the next piece of clothing you buy may be designed by computers? The team at Stitch Fix shares how they use data science to design a blouse.
The Trouble with Chernoff
Chernoff visualization symbolizes data using faces. Martin Elmer discusses how Chernoff does a poor job of communicating information and why you should avoid it.