News

• United Stats of America series premiere tonight

  May 8, 2012 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  The series premiere of United Stats of America (See what they did there?) on History is tonight at 10/9c.

  Episodes explore the stats that help us understand how much money we make (and what we spend it on), how long we will live (and how we will die), what we do with our free time (and how to make more of it) and a whole lot more. In one episode, the Sklars explain how the deadliest animal in America is neither the snake nor the shark but rather the deer. In another, viewers learn that Americans waste 4.2 billion hours a year stuck in traffic and that, in a nation with over 3.5 million square miles of territory, 99 percent of us are crowded into only 8 percent of the land.

  I watched a couple of clips and got bored quickly as they went through a bunch of numbers. It seems like a rehash of Yahoo and Huffington Post lists with jokes. I'm setting my expectations low, but maybe there'll be more to it in the full episodes.

  [Thanks, Gary]

• Open source Data Journalism Handbook launched

  April 30, 2012 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  What used to be a small specialty in a few newsrooms has grown some larger wings in the past couple of years. The challenge though is that a lot of journalists aren't used to handling, let alone analyzing, a lot of data. The free and open source Data Journalism Handbook, a set of guides and case studies, hopes to help with that.

  It was born at a 48 hour workshop at MozFest 2011 in London. It subsequently spilled over into an international, collaborative effort involving dozens of data journalism's leading advocates and best practitioners - including from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, the Chicago Tribune, Deutsche Welle, the Guardian, the Financial Times, Helsingin Sanomat, La Nacion, the New York Times, ProPublica, the Washington Post, the Texas Tribune, Verdens Gang, Wales Online, Zeit Online and many others.

  At a glance, looks like a promising resource, even if you're not a journalist.

• Gimme my data

  April 18, 2012 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  We intentionally and unintentionally put data in places like Facebook and Google but most of us don't think much of it. In an interview with The Guardian, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, says why you should care.

  My computer has a great understanding of my state of fitness, of the things I'm eating, of the places I'm at. My phone understands from being in my pocket how much exercise I've been getting and how many stairs I've been walking up and so on."

  Exploiting such data could provide hugely useful services to individuals, he said, but only if their computers had access to personal data held about them by web companies. "One of the issues of social networking silos is that they have the data and I don't … There are no programmes that I can run on my computer which allow me to use all the data in each of the social networking systems that I use plus all the data in my calendar plus in my running map site, plus the data in my little fitness gadget and so on to really provide an excellent support to me.

  Of course, getting users to see that is easier said than done. And until users see, the incentive for companies to provide such a service is low. In turn, it's hard for data people to make a case to users, and you end up with a lot of hand waving. Challenge accepted?

• Shan Carter on data storytelling

  December 1, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  Shan Carter, who makes interactive graphics for The New York Times, talks telling stories with data in his aptly named presentation, "How I tried for years to find the perfect form for interactive graphics, how I failed, and why, whether a perfect form exists or not, I've stopped my desperate pursuit."

  He starts with finding a balance between statistical analysis and story, and then finishes with the kicker that visualization is a form of communication just like a movie or a book. And that carries with it its own implications.

  The short Q&A at the end is pretty good, too. Just ignore the first obligatory question on how you make graphics that get more traffic.

  [Video Link via @mericson]

• Do you need a data scientist?

  November 29, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  Cathy O'Neil on when there's enough data to justify a data scientist in the workplace:

  Too much to fit on an Excel spreadsheet. And it’s not just how much, it’s really about how high quality the data is; the best is for it to be clean and for it to not be public, or at least not generally used for the purpose that your business uses it for.

  Even data that does fit in Excel can be examined more closely. Then again, if you only have that much data, your data scientist will get bored quickly.

  [VentureBeat]

• Popular Science data issue

  November 11, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  The November issue of Popular Science is a special on data. There are a couple of original graphics by Jer Thorp and Jan Willem Tulp, along with a handful of interesting articles. I also got to put together a gallery of some of favorite visualization projects over the past few years.

• Telling Stories with Data – VisWeek 2011

  November 4, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  Note from Nathan: Last week, visualization researchers from all over gathered in Providence, Rhode Island for VisWeek 2011. One of the workshops, Telling Stories with Data, focused on data as narrative and what that means for visualization. This is a guest post by the organizers: Nick Diakopoulos, Joan DiMicco, Jessica Hullman, Karrie Karahalios, and Adam Perer.

  "Data storytelling" is all the rage on websites ranging from international news outlets, to political and economic organizations, to personal blogs. Indeed, this trend has captured the attention of those who research and work in information visualization. Scores of both aspiring and seasoned visual storytellers descended on the Telling Stories with Data workshop that we organized this year (the 2nd installment of the workshop) to discuss and learn about visualization storytelling tools, issues, and contexts. The workshop took place in Providence, Rhode Island on October 23rd and was part of the yearly international VisWeek conference which itself drew about 1,000 attendees.

  As in many technological fields, those interested in "narrative visualization" face the challenge of connecting with like-minded others across the oft un-negotiated boundary between academic research and practical applications or designs. Yet these groups have much to learn from one another. To bring visualization research in contact with visualization practice, we structured the workshop line-up of speakers to include both academicians (e.g. from Harvard, UC Berkeley, UIUC) and people from industry (e.g. New York Times, Microsoft Research, OECD, Workbook Project). The talks were organized into three blocks: (1) tools for structuring and sharing, (2) communicating with visualization, and (3) storytelling in context.
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• Word clouds cause death… or something

  October 18, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  

  Jacob Harris, a New York Times senior software architect, rants about how people like to use word clouds to tell stories:

  Of course, the biggest problem with word clouds is that they are often applied to situations where textual analysis is not appropriate. One could argue that word clouds make sense when the point is to specifically analyze word usage (though I’d still suggest alternatives), but it’s ludicrous to make sense of a complex topic like the Iraq War by looking only at the words used to describe the events. Don’t confuse signifiers with what they signify.

  Harris says he dies a little inside every time he sees a word cloud presented as insight. Hopefully his computer doesn't catch a virus that permanently changes his wallpaper, screensaver, and every text document he's ever written into word clouds, or yes, he would die a little inside many times and effectively die a lot inside so much that it might show on the outside.

  Dramatics aside, I have to admit it is amusing when I get emails from people who think they have found the holy trinity of analysis, ease-of-use, and aesthetics that is Wordle. It was never intended as a serious analysis tool. Word clouds were originally made popular as a way to navigate tags for bookmarks, but other than that they're more of a toy and should be treated that way.

• Smart people talk about art and data

  September 16, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  A few months ago, a packed crowd gathered in Minneapolis for the Eyeo Festival to hear some of the best in data art, visualization, and creative code talk about what they do and how they do it. I didn't get a chance to go, but from all the chatter online during the event (and the stellar speaker lineup), I get the sense I missed something good. Luckily, some of the talks are available online.

  For starters, Ben Fry and Casey Reas talk about Processing, their grad school grown programming language; Aaron Koblin presents some of the work from the Google Data Arts team; and Nicholas Felton discusses the process behind his annual reports.

  Catch a few more on the Eyeo Vimeo channel or to stay updated for when new videos are uploaded.

• Data-ish job openings

  September 12, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  If you're good with data and looking for a job, you're in luck. There seem to be quite a few jobs out there. Here are a handful of positions that have showed up on my radar recently.

  SENSEable City Lab at MIT — "The SENSEable City Laboratory is seeking exceptional candidates to fill positions involving research on the process of data visualization. Candidates should have a sound experience in the process of visualizing data both in static as well as dynamic form."

  Front-end Engineer at GeoIQ — "[Y]ou will be a key member of our growing platform engineering team building dynamic, interactive visualizations, maps and mobile applications. You will be working directly with our JavaScript and ActionScript components to create compelling interfaces that use cutting edge technology and web standards."

  Front-end Developer at Periscopic — "A passion for dealing with data, making sense of large amounts of disparate information, or statistical analysis would be lovely."

  Stamen Developer — "You're excited by the possibility of cutting and bending data to fit it through the thin straw of the internet. You can look at a source of information and model it as resources, rows and columns, messages and queues."

  News Developer Jobs — A pretty good list started by Matt Waite that others can edit. Includes openings at the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Boston Globe, and others.

  Got a job you need to fill? Feel free to post it in the forums.

• Strata data conference: Last day for early bird registration + 20% off

  August 22, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  Following the success of the Strata conference earlier this year here on the west coast, O'Reilly is hosting another event from September 19 to 23. This time it's in New York.

  If you're planning on going, I suggest you register now and save a few hundred dollars. Tomorrow is the last day for early bird registration. Plus, FlowingData readers can use the discount code FLOW at checkout for an additional 20% off (and support FlowingData in the process).

  This time around there's the two-day conference on the 22nd and 23rd just like before, but there's also Strata Jumpstart on the 19th, which is "a crash course for managers, strategists, and entrepreneurs on how to manage the data deluge that's transforming traditional business practices across the board--in finance, marketing, sales, legal, privacy/security, operations, and HR." On the 20th and 21st, there's an invite-only summit.

  So what you could do is go to Jumpstart, hang out in the amazing city of New York for a couple of days, and then round out the week with some interesting data talks and meetups.

  If it's anything like the west coast conference — and I'm sure it will be — it'll be worth the time. When I went in February, I thought it'd be really business-y, but it turned out being an all-around fun event.

  Register here, and be sure to use FLOW to get the extra 20% discount.

• Data Scientist: The hottest job you haven’t heard of

  August 11, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  Maryalene LaPonsie describes some novel job called Data Scientist (although we've known about it for a while) and their role in competitive intelligence:

  Competitive intelligence is poised to offer data scientists increasing job opportunities in coming years. SCIP reports that the market for business intelligence is worth approximately $2 billion annually, and Garrison says that many corporations now operate their own competitive intelligence divisions.

  Plus there's a shortage of an estimated 140,000 to 190,000 people who are qualified for the openings available (not all in business). What you need to know to get hired:

  As part of a relatively new field, data scientists may come from many different backgrounds. Garrison says that employers are often looking for two things when considering a job applicant. "The first part is the technical background," he says. Companies may want professionals with an industry background who are familiar with its specific jargon and trends. "If you want to work for a pharmaceutical company, you might need a degree in biochemistry," he explains. Other jobs may require only a general degree in business.

  In other words, you need to know statistics and know or be able to learn about the subject matter. Programming skills are a plus. Actually, programming is required. I don't know any data scientists who don't have that skill. I hear there's some book to help you get started though.

  [AOL Jobs via @alexlundry]

• Comparing current data boom to past waves

  June 8, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  Pete Warden, for O'Reilly Radar, compares current data responsibilities with those of harbor masters from the Victorian era. Warden warns:

  Specialists like us who can understand and interpret data are in a privileged position. Most people have an exaggerated respect for arguments expressed as numbers or visualizations, because they don't understand how many assumptions and simplifications go into these creations. It's our job to remember that and balance our enthusiasm about the power of our techniques with some humility about their limits.

  In other words: You should learn statistics. You don't have to go out and get a PhD, but it's helpful to be able to think like a statistician, so that you know the right way to think about data.

• Data tales, revolution, and journalism

  May 20, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  On the Media's episode last week was on data, namely personal data collection, journalism, and two cautionary tales. I haven't listened to it yet, but I have a feeling it's going to be a good listen. Part one on personal data embedded below to kick things off. [via]

• Growing need for data heads

  May 20, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  The New York Times, citing a number of bits from a recent McKinsey report on big data, reports:

  One hurdle is a talent and skills gap. The United States alone, McKinsey projects, will need 140,000 to 190,000 more people with “deep analytical” skills, typically experts in statistical methods and data-analysis technologies.

  Additionally:

  McKinsey says the nation will also need 1.5 million more data-literate managers, whether retrained or hired. The report points to the need for a sweeping change in business to adapt a new way of managing and making decisions that relies more on data analysis. Managers, according to the McKinsey researchers, must grasp the principles of data analytics and be able to ask the right questions.

  I've said it before, but if digging into data is your idea of fun, there's a whole mess of excitement and adventure headed your way. There are lots of opportunities already out there in marketing, journalism, tech, the Web, government, and pretty much everywhere you look. And more importantly, there are lots of opportunities that you can make for yourself. This is a great time for data heads.

  [The New York Times]

• Ben Fry on visualization future and data literacy

  May 13, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  Ben Fry, co-creator of Processing and head of Fathom Design, talks data visualization with O'Reilly Radar editor Mac Slocum. When asked about the concern over visualization and analysis getting into amateur hands:

  I think it’s kind of funny… The same argument has been made with any technological leap since the beginning of time. Books printed in mass had a similar reaction. The internet came along and everybody could post things on the internet and wouldn’t that be the end of the world… The important thing is to focus on the literacy aspect of it. The more that people are doing the work — it all kind of goes to improve the conversation of what’s good, bad useful and what’s not.

  When asked how he sees visualization developing over the next couple of years:

  I think the real thing that's going to change is that we're going to start understanding that visualization isn't this sort of monolithic thing... I like to look at it a lot like writing. You have novels and poetry and haikus. You know there's lots of different types of writing and styles of writing — and I think the same thing happens in visualization... some things are tools for analysis and some things are purely for entertainment, and there's not so much a spectrum that there is different ways of addressing it.

  Watch the short eight-minute interview below. There are some other interesting soundbites in there. I especially like the tidbit at the end about snippy discussions within the visualization sphere. Similar sentiments in a recent Q&A with Moritz Stefaner.
  Continue Reading

• Ben Cerveny talks Planetary and where they go next

  May 11, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  

  Planetary, the iPad app for music exploration by Bloom, has hit the ground running. Out only a few days now, Planetary is already number four on the list of top free apps. Ben Cerveny, the president of Bloom, chats on Press:Here about the app, visualization as UI, and where they go next in the video below.
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• Science as metaphor

  May 4, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  In this article from Science from July 1998, award-winning journalist John Banville on the similarities and differences between art and science:

  Of course, art and science are fundamentally different in their methods, and in their ends. The doing of science involves a level of rigor unattainable to art. A scientific hypothesis can be proven—or, perhaps more importantly, disproven—but a poem, a picture, or a piece of music, cannot. Yet in their origins art and science are remarkably similar. It was a scientist, Niels Bohr, who declared that a great truth is a statement whose opposite is also a great truth. Oscar Wilde would have agreed.

  It often seems like there's a chasm between the two, but there is also plenty of common ground.

• Coming soon: Bloom visualizes your music collection as planets

  April 29, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  

  I almost never post about projects that aren't released yet, but the previews of Planetary from Bloom have got me excited. If you recall, we saw a taste of what Tom Carden and Ben Cerveny were up to last month in an interactive that displays your Twitter feed and one that maps Instagram photos.
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• Statistics is the sexiest subject around. And information design.

  April 7, 2011 to News  •  Nathan Yau  •  Share on Twitter

  Natasha Singer for The New York Times starts the article on visualization and design with: "In an uncharted world of boundless data, information designers are our new navigators." Uh oh, I thought, another aesthetic-heavy piece on hot numbers. But then Singer continues:

  They are computer scientists, statisticians, graphic designers, producers and cartographers who map entire oceans of data and turn them into innovative visual displays, like rich graphs and charts, that help both companies and consumers cut through the clutter. These gurus of visual analytics are making interactive data synonymous with attractive data.

  I can get on board with that. Includes soundbites from Rosling, Shneiderman, and Rodenbeck.

  [The New York Times]