I can also tell you that all of them show up in the sidebar because I know they'll be useful to many of you. Check out the data tools these fine groups have to offer:

InstantAtlas – Create and present compelling data reports on geographic maps.

Tableau Software – Data exploration and visual analytics in an easy-to-use analysis tool.

Xcelsius Engage – Create insightful and engaging dashboards from any data source with point-and-click ease.

Business Intelligence – Visual data analysis made easy. Try 30 days for free.

RWW Graph Contest - ReadWriteWeb Interactive Graph Contest
Create an interactive graph and enter to win a trip to Web 2.0!

Xcelsius Present – Transform spreadsheets into professional, interactive presentations.

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

[via @parterburn]

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

We’re inventors - we’re creators. And that’s the most important thing about what we do. And I think we should welcome failure every once in a while.
Hannah Fairfield - NYT Graphics Editor, Malofiej 18, March 2010

Last year at Malofiej, one of the major awards ceremonies for infographics in journalism, The New York Times took home 'Best in Show' for their work on box office receipts from 1986 to 2008. I'm sure most of you saw it. It was non-traditional. It was an adaptation of Lee Byron's streamgraph, which he had previously applied to last.fm music listening habits - a smoothed stacked area chart at the core.

What followed was a lot of back chatter among the infographic community. Many didn't like the interactive at all, despite winning an award voted on by peers. Some called it one of the worst graphics NYT had ever published, that it was too complicated for readers, and that it was too hard to read.

This surprised me.

It's something I've come to expect from academics and the stat crowd but not from graphic departments that report the news. I had the impression that they were more open-minded, but I guess not all of them are.

This, from Hannah Fairfield, a New York Times graphics editor, is no doubt a response to the haters at this year's Malofiej.

I obviously strongly agree. Although Hannah sort of implies that the streamgraph was a failure. I'd argue that it was a success. Hundreds of thousands of people, millions maybe, engaged with the box office data and there's no obscene misrepresentations. Were the patterns too complex to understand for some people? Yeah, probably, but how else is the general public supposed to learn? They'll get there eventually.

Your turn. Does the box office streamgraph work?

[via VisualJournalism]

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

With his usual cleverness, Christoph Niemann illustrates the everyday as Google maps. My favorite is the omelet highway. Oh what a twisty and confusing highway this GPS-less life is.

[Thanks, Tom]

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

Yesterday was the Interactive Infographics panel at South by Southwest, and if Twitter is any indication of how it went, I'd say the panel had a captivated audience. I wouldn't expect anything less from the four panelists, Ben Fry (Processing), Shan Carter (NYT), Casey Caplowe (Good), and Eric Rodenbeck (Stamen)

Unfortunately, I didn't get to attend, but luckily I was able to follow the play-by-play on Livefyre (sort of a cross between chat and forum) along with some excellent notes from @jpmarcum and @bryanconnor. Here are the important bits I was able to glean.

The bulk of the time was spent showcasing the work from the four groups. I think you can find most of the projects through FlowingData. Just use the search form on the bottom right of this page. The good stuff came towards the end during the Q&A.

The following answers are in note-form, not actual quotes from the panelists.

What’s next?

Shan Carter: Biggest question is what technology to use next.

Ben Fry: Getting beyond the screen. Interesting stuff is happening on the tiny screens we have in our pockets.

Eric Rodenbeck: Brands could use these things to express who they are. The literacy is rising.

What’s beyond Flash? HTML 5? Processing?

SC: Looking but don't have one answer.

BF: Mentions Canvas. Mozilla has taken an interest in Processing. Idea of no plug-ins is really exciting. Issue of access is really nice. As Java trails off looking to Canvas to pick up.

Where can you find data?

CC: Call people and say you're from The New York Times. ← So true, actually.

How do you balance data richness with design and beauty?

SC: Charting is a language and room all different voices. Feels like they’re all valid if they communicate something.

BF: Everything tends to be thrown in the same bucket as people are talking about it more. Always make sure it’s appropriate for the audience.

ER: It’s a medium more than a toolset. There’s going to be a Beyonce of data visualization. There’ll be jazz fans, different genres. There’s going to be the Steve McQueen of data visualization.

CC: It’s still very early on. Everyone brings their own style to it.

Evolution of information graphics...

ER: When people were first presented with Google maps no one knew how to use it. The idea that you can do stuff with charts and graphs is still pretty new.

Did I miss any other tidbits? Let us know in the comments below.

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

[via BiofusionDesign]

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

In 1870, Francis Walker oversaw publication of the United States' first Statistical Atlas, based on data from the ninth Census. It was a big moment for statistics in the United States as the atlas provided a way to compare data on a national level using maps and statistical graphics.

What continues to amaze me about these old illustrations is the detail - all done by hand. That's ridiculous. The kicker is that a lot of this stuff looks way better than a lot of what we see nowadays. Here are some selections from the 1870 atlas.

First, there's this lovely map of rainfall.

Then there's population measurements. Is this the beginnings of a treemap?

Ooo, stacked bar charts of expenditures and receipts.

Finally, let's not forget the chart of "idiots." I think we use "mentally challenged" now. Pie charts and bubbles galore.

Okay, so they're not all better than what we have now, but come on, it was the 19th century. It was only 16 years after John Snow's map.

In 1880 and 1890, geographer Henry Gannett took the reigns to produce similar atlases. In 1900 though, the atlas was headed for decline, and the last one was published in 1920 - that is, until 2000. I must say though I still think the first one in 1870 was the best. I hope there is a 2010 atlas. If there isn't, I'm so doing it myself.

Sidenote: we should be receiving Census surveys really soon. Make sure you fill them out and send them back! Really important. You only have to do it once per decade.

[via radical cartography | thanks, @krees]

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

If people put data on the Web - government data, scientific data, community data - whatever it is, it will be used by other people to do wonderful things in ways they never could have imagined.
Tim Berners-Lee, TED, February 2010

Tim Berners-Lee, credited with inventing the World Wide Web, comes back to TED a year after his call for open, structured data with a quick update. Spoiler alert: things are looking good - and they're only going to get a lot better. But you already knew that, right?

[via infosthetics]

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

For as far back as I can remember, I've always had corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day, or at least on the week of. There isn't a speck of Irish in my family, but for some reason my mom always made it, and now I make it myself.

I don't know the origins nor care enough to look it up on Wikipedia. All I know is that there will be three straight days of corned beef-related food, and that's good enough for me. Mmm, salty, beefy goodness. Reuben or corned beef hash anyone?

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order

How to split up the US - Geographic clusters based on social network connections on Facebook. [thx, przemek]

Rise of the Infogeeks - Lots of graphic designers have taken a liking to information graphics.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) gives augmented reality a go - Point your iPhone at the station and get info on when the next train is coming.

Google Public Data Explorer - Trying to get more mileage out of the Trendalyzer acquisition. [thx, eric]

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World Progress Report - 4 days left to order