Category: Contests

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  • Comment to win free copies of The Visual Miscellaneum: Winners announced!

    Posted Dec 4, 2009 to Contests / 353 comments

    Comment to win free copies of The Visual Miscellaneum: Winners announced!

    As we all know, David McCandless of Information is Beautiful, launched his new book The Visual Miscellaneum. You can read my review here.

    David was kind enough to provide a handful of copies to all of you. How to enter? Just leave a comment at the bottom of this post, and then come back on Monday to see if you're a winner. If leaving a comment isn't your thing, because it's just too crazy hard, you can buy it here. It's well worth it, and would also make an excellent gift.

    Good luck!
    Continue Reading

  • Friday Freebies: 5 Copies of Applied Security Visualization

    Posted Sep 4, 2009 to Contests / 124 comments

    Applied Security VisualizationWe passed the 20k-subscriber mark last week. Very cool, and a tiny bit scary at the same time. Thank you everyone for reading and spreading the word about FlowingData. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm looking forward to what the next few months brings.

    Anyways, I've found that the best way to celebrate these types of milestones is with some free stuff :). Plus it's Friday.

    Applied Security Visualization

    I have five free copies of Applied Security Visualization to give away. While the book is geared towards network security, the principles behind each chapter can certainly be applied to other types of visualization. The book also includes free software for visualizing networks and assessing security.

    How to Win

    Super easy. Just leave a comment below that says what you're thankful for. You are not allowed to say you are thankful for free stuff, wise guy. Do this by Sunday, September 6, 2009, 8pm EST. Comments will then close, and I will randomly select five winners. One entry per person please. Good luck!

    Update: I forgot about Labor Day. Extending the entry deadline to Monday, Sept. 7, 8pm EST.

  • Friday Freebies: Beautiful Data is Now Available

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 to Contests / 204 comments

    beautiful dataBeautiful Data from O'Reilly is now available! The book is a collection of articles from 39 data practitioners including Michal Migurski, Aaron Koblin, Jeff Heer, and plenty others, sharing their experiences with data, their methods, their thoughts, and most importantly, how beautiful data really is.

    I was fortunate enough to write one of the chapters: Seeing Your Life in Data. I describe my experiences developing for the Personal Environmental Impact Report and the beginnings of your.flowingdata. I'm looking forward to reading all of the other contributions.

    Two Free Copies to Give Away

    Lucky for you I have two free e-book copies to give away. Want to win one of them? Leave a comment below by the end of today - July 31, 11:59 EST. Let's go with your favorite food this week. One entry per person please. Good luck.

    P.S. If you're not one of the two winners, don't fret. Use the following discount code on the O'Reilly site for a 30% discount: ABF09.

  • Friday Freebies: 5 E-book Copies of Beginning Python Visualization

    Posted Jul 24, 2009 to Contests / 110 comments

    Beginning Python VisualizationIt's Friday! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the weekend, and what better way to start with some free stuff? I have five free e-book copies of Beginning Python Visualization to give away.

    I reviewed this book last month, and I thought it was really useful. In fact, I still have it in arm's reach on my desk.

    How to Win a Copy

    As usual, I'll make this really easy. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me why I should give you a copy. Make up a reason if you like. I could use a good laugh. Do this by 11:59pm EST today (Friday, July 24), and I'll select five random winners. Good luck!

  • Friday Freebies: 1,000 Business Cards from AllBusinessCards

    Posted Jun 26, 2009 to Contests / 102 comments

    abc-logoThe folks over at AllBusinessCards have generously donated 1,000 business cards to three lucky FlowingData readers. Uh, read that as three FlowingData readers will each win a set of 1,000 business cards. Design your own or pick from a template.

    How Do I Enter?

    All you have to do is pay me one thousand dollars. No, I'm totally kidding. Ten thousand. A million?

    Okay, okay, nevermind. I'll make it easy on all of you. Simply leave a comment at the bottom of this post. If you're too lazy, just copy someone else's comment (and let it weigh on your conscious for the rest of your life :).

    Do this by today at 11:59pm EST. I'll randomly pick three winners. One entry per person, and as always, make sure you leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. Winners in the continental United States get free shipping and internationals just have to cover shipping. Good luck!

  • FlowingData NCAA Tournament Bracket – Try and Beat Me

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 to Contests / 7 comments

    I just started the FlowingData NCAA tournament bracket. Join now. Try and beat me if you can.

    The great thing about the tournament is that that you're gonna hear tons and tons of statistics on what players have done, who's favored to win, and who is without a doubt going to lose. Throw a huge dose of raw, human emotion and competitive spirit, and without a doubt, a lot of the data will mean absolutely nothing. I love it.

    To make things interesting, to the winner goes a $20 Amazon gift certificate. If I win, nobody gets anything. Muauahahaha. Go on. I dare you. Join now and make your picks. Hurry though, because there's only a couple of days left.

  • Phew, FlowingData 10k Giveaway is Done!

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 to Contests / 2 comments

    Our 10k giveaway is now complete. Congratulations to all the winners, and a big thank you to all of you who participated. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the entries, especially the reader introductions (nice to know you all are living, breathing humans :) and the data visualization definitions. It just goes to show how diverse FlowingData readers are.

    I also want to take one last chance to thank the 10k giveaway sponsors. They put up some really awesome prizes for all of you. Please do give them a visit if you get the chance. Here's a recap of all the prizes and where they came from:

    Again, a big thank you to all of you. Thank you for reading FlowingData and keep spreading the word - statistics is the new sexy and data visualization's future is bright :).

  • Four hours and then we’re done…

    Posted Mar 2, 2009 to Contests / 1 comment

    If you haven't won anything in our 10k giveaway yet, there's about 4 more hours to enter three remaining giveaways here, here, and here. Enter now, because you know there is no better price than free. That is all. Good luck. Ok bye.

  • Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is Next Up… Better Hurry

    Posted Feb 27, 2009 to Contests / 109 comments

    If you haven't read Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, you're gonna wanna do that. I mean, there's a reason this book was a national bestseller. Good thing the next prize up for grabs is... Malcom Gladwell's Tipping Point. This giveaway is a quick one. The deadline is Feb 27, 8pm EST.

    How to Enter

    Super easy. Leave a comment below. That's it! The winner will be randomly selected at the deadline. Good luck.

    UPDATE: This giveaway is now oooovvva. Thanks for participating, everyone! This is the last prize announcement in for our 10k giveaway, but there are still three giveaways still going on here, here, and here about to come to an end so get your entries in quick.

  • Win a One-year Subscription to SiSense Dashboards

    Posted Feb 23, 2009 to Contests / 30 comments

    Want some easy-to-use online dashboard software? The next prize up for grabs is for you then - a one-year subscription to SiSense. This one will be especially useful for anyone who runs a business.

    The deadline for this giveaway is Monday, March 2, 8pm EST.

    Prize Description

    A one-year subscription to a SiSense standard package - a $500 value - is up for grabs:

    SiSense Prism is a powerful, user driven business intelligence tool that takes only a few hours to learn and implement. Our visual interface lets you effortlessly create analytics, reports, graphs and dashboards. Setting up Prism requires no IT support. SiSense offers non-technical users the ability to dashboard and analyze using common terminology and a drag and drop interface. We connect to different data sources and present them to the user in a unified way.

    Using SiSense, you can connect to a data source and begin work immediately, relieving the need for IT to mediate between the business user and the data source. The results are easy to share with a workgroup or your superiors. Pricing ranges from a free version to tens of dollars per user month.

    How to Enter

    For a chance to win a one-year subscription to SiSense, simply find an example of a dashboard (the cooler the better) and leave a link to it in the comments below. Please only one entry per person. A winner will be randomly selected on March 2. Good luck!

    UPDATE: This giveaway's all wrapped up. Check your email, and thanks for participating.

  • Limited Edition Infographic Goodies Up for Grabs

    Posted Feb 23, 2009 to Contests / 7 comments

    I'm a WallStats fan, so I was especially excited when Jess put up two 389 Years Ago posters for the 10k giveaway. One is limited edition, and the other is really limited edition. Whoever wins these bad boys should thank their lucky stars. The deadline for this giveaway is Friday, Feb 27 at 8pm EST.

    Prize Description


    The 389 Years Ago Poster by Jess Bachman is a "typographic mashup of black history" and was inspired by Barack Obama's victory in November. It's a honker of a poster measuring in at 16" wide and 46" tall. It begins 389 years ago when the first slave ship landed in American colonies and then progresses to the first African American president, Barack Obama. There are only 389 of the above poster. One of them could be yours. On top of that, there is also a color variant of the 389 poster:

    There are only 44 of these, and one of them is part of this giveaway.

    How to Enter

    Post to this thread in the FlowingData forums. Introduce yourself, tell us what you're interested in, your favorite food, drink, animal, number, etc and where you will put the poster if you win it. Two winners will be chosen at random on Friday - one for the original 389 poster and one for the color variant. One entry per person please. Good night and good luck. That was a good movie.

    UPDATE: We've wrapped this one up. Thanks for participating, everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed all the introductions in the forums. Congratulations to our two poster winners! I'm jealous.

  • Next in the FlowingData 10k Giveaway…

    Posted Feb 21, 2009 to Contests / 17 comments

    Information dashboard design is a subtle art. At the most basic level, it's a bunch of graphs and charts placed together, but it takes certain skills and knowledge to use the right type of visualization and data to make your dashboard worth looking at. You can have all the graphs you want and still not have a clue about what you're seeing.

    Stephen Few's book Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data aims help you avoid the major pitfalls and to put together effective information dashboards. The deadline for this giveaway is Sunday, Feb 22 at 8pm EST.

    Prize Description

    I don't think Information Dashboard Design needs much of an introduction, but here's a brief description:

    Dashboards have become popular in recent years as uniquely powerful tools for communicating important information at a glance. Although dashboards are potentially powerful, this potential is rarely realized. The greatest display technology in the world won't solve this if you fail to use effective visual design. And if a dashboard fails to tell you precisely what you need to know in an instant, you'll never use it, even if it's filled with cute gauges, meters, and traffic lights. Don't let your investment in dashboard technology go to waste.

    If you're looking for eye candy, this isn't the book for you, but if you want to learn about visual perception, how to minimize distractions, and how to maximize dashboard effectiveness, then you'll like Information Dashboard Design.

    How to Enter

    Again, I'm gonna make it super easy to win. Just post to this thread in the FlowingData forums (NOT in comments below) and tell us what your favorite FlowingData post has been. That's all! Take a look through the archives to jog your memory. I will randomly select the winner on Sunday. Good luck.

    UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Kevin! Several more giveaways to come, so keep an eye out everyone else.

  • It’s Time for Another FlowingData 10k Giveaway – Quick Deadline

    Posted Feb 20, 2009 to Contests / 80 comments

    I majored in computer science. I hated it. I ran from it like the black plague. That was then though. This is now. It turns out that programming can actually be fun, and when you know how to program - if even just a little bit - it completely changes the way you deal with and visualize data, which is why Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art is next up on the giveaway.

    The deadline for this one is the end of today: Feb 20 at 8pm EST.

    Prize Description

    Processing is a programming language that can help beginners do stuff with code they never thought possible. The learning curve is pretty shallow, and you get a lot of bang for your buck with surprisingly very little effort. That doesn't mean it's limited in what it can do though. Built on top of Java, Processing lets you do pretty amazing things when you know what you're doing.

    Processing: Creative Coding and Computation Art will help you in your path to coding enlightenment. "Create code, art, visualizations, and interactive applications with this powerful yet simple computer language and programming environment / Take a creative and fun approach to learning creative computer programming." I think that sums it up nicely.

    How to Enter

    Leave a comment below that answers this question: What is data visualization? Make your answer an essay, a paragraph, a sentence, a word, a picture... OK, pretty much anything. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of today. Good luck.

    Find giveaways still in progress here, here, and here.

    UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. The winner will be receiving an email shortly. Thanks for participating all. Keep watch for more giveaways on Monday.

  • WallStats’ Death & Taxes Poster – Three Chances to Win!

    Posted Feb 19, 2009 to Contests / 92 comments

    Where does all of our tax money go? Well, here's your chance to find out. Graphic designer Jess Bachman from WallStats has kindly put up three Death and Taxes posters for our 10k giveaway. This one ends Sunday, Feb 22 at 8pm EST.

    Prize Description

    After the popularity of the 2008 Death and Taxes poster, naturally there had to be a Death and Taxes: 2009.

    "Death and Taxes: 2009" is a representational poster of the federal discretionary budget; the amount of money that is spent at the discretion of your elected representatives in Congress. Basically, your federal income taxes. The data is from the President's budget request for 2009. It will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress by October 1st to begin the fiscal year.

    The poster provides a uniquely revealing look at our national priorities, that fluctuate yearly, according to the wishes of the President, the power of Congress, and the will of the people. If you pay taxes, then you have paid for a small part of everything in the poster.

    Here are a couple of shots:

    Check out the full, zoom-able, pan-able version to get the full effect. Jess goes into tremendous detail on how our tax money is spent and it's one of those posters where you'll see something new every time you look at it. It was even featured on Martha Stewart:

    How to Enter

    Like I said, there are three posters up for grabs in this round of the giveaway. All you have to do is promise that you will tell at least one person about WallStats in the comments below. Easy enough. Three winners will be randomly selected at the end of Sunday. Needless to say, make sure you enter a valid email address so we can contact you when you win. Good luck!

    Stay tuned. There are some book giveaways coming up.

    UPDATE: Finito. If you haven't received an email from me yet, keep an eye out for more giveaways this week. The other WallStats poster, 389 Years Ago, is coming up very soon.

  • Visualize This: 10k Giveaway Edition – FusionCharts Licenses Up For Grabs!

    Posted Feb 18, 2009 to Contests / 1 comment

    This is a special edition of Visualize This. Why? I'm glad you asked. Since our FlowingData 10k giveaway is now underway, it seemed fitting that we put up some prizes this time around. InfoSoft Global has generously donated three FusionCharts Professional Licenses valued at $499 each. This Visualize This will go the length of the 10k giveaway, so you've got lots of time to enter. Get your entries in by March 3, 8pm EST for your chance to win a FusionCharts Professional license.

    Prize Description

    FusionCharts lets you create animated and interactive Flash charts for online or desktop. Couple FusionCharts with InfoSoft's other products like FusionWidgets and FusionMaps, and you've got yourself the necessary tools to create a very worthwhile information dashboard. Use it in your web applications, personal data collection, in your business, or anywhere else you need to visualize data. FusionCharts can be integrated with just about all the major web technologies (e.g. ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, JSP, ColdFusion, Ruby on Rails, Python, HTML, MS SQL, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, CSV...) and the FusionCharts group has aimed to make things easy with very little code. Is that enough to whet your appetite? You're good? OK.

    How to Enter

    Unlike previous Visualize This projects, I'm not going to post a specific dataset. Instead, create a dashboard using the no-restriction trial version of FusionCharts on the theme of education and then post a link to to your entry to this thread in the FlowingData forums. If you haven't registered in the forums yet, you'll want to do that first.

    The trial version of FusionCharts has all the same functionality as the licensed one, so go wild. You are also welcome to use any of other of the InfoSoft products in your dashboard. Make it clean, make it sexy, and most importantly, make it informative.

    Feel free to focus on education data for just your area or make a dashboard for your entire country. Look at elementary schools, colleges, private schools, or all of the above. The key is to make a dashboard for a branch of education that interests you.

    Here are some education data sources to get you started:

    Got any others? Please post them in the comments.

    The three best dashboards (chosen by me and readers) will each be awarded a FusionCharts Professional License. Good luck! I'm looking forward to seeing what you all come up with (and can we please make it more active than the last one?? By the way - thanks, Hadley).

    Download the trial version of FusionCharts here.

    Stay tuned. Awesome infographics posters coming up tomorrow.

    UPDATE: The 10k giveaways is no finito. Thanks for participating everyone.

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