Becoming Data Literate
Here’s a question for you- when did you learn to read and write? Odds are it was one of the first things you remember learning, and that makes sense: learning to read and write is foundational for all other knowledge you acquired.
Literacy. We usually think of it as the ability to read and write, but in reality the term is much broader than that. Beverly Moss, in her work “Literacy Across Communities” writes “There is still much discussion and disagreement on definitions of literacy…” and further notes that, despite the many disagreements, the field has landed on a definition which “links literacy to a complex web or network of social practices.”
Essentially, our definition of literacy is expanding, and to that list we would like to add what we believe is the most important kind of literacy anyone can have in the modern world. Data literacy.
60 Years of Snowy Weather
As of Thursday afternoon the top news story on our feeds around the VisualCue office is the impending blizzard about to hit Washington, D.C. We sincerely hope everyone involved stays safe, warm, and experiences no more than a weekend of forced relaxation due to staying indoors.
To help make that weekend a reality we thought we’d do our part and provide some interesting data visualizations for those stuck inside this weekend to browse.
Big Data Analytics Use in Small-to-Medium Enterprises
The presence of big data analytics and the number of students who are pursuing a big data analytics degree has grown exponentially with the emergence of digital technology and the advancement of other high-tech fields. With the incredible amount of data that is created and stored on a daily basis, researchers are now able to identify patterns, correlations and trends in an effort to help various stakeholders make informative decisions that impact our day-to-day lives.
Over the past decade within the field of big data analytics, several trends have emerged. The top five are outlined below:
Gaming with Data
It’s a fact of the modern world that data has seeped into nearly every aspect of our lives. That’s what the Internet of Things and big data is all about, millions of devices all broadcasting data just waiting to be analyzed.
Need proof? As we were talking about our weekend plans the VisualCrew decided that most of us were going to spend it exploring our favorite digital worlds in video games. As it turns out data and the visualization thereof have become a part of our favorite pastime!
What makes VisualCue unique?
Everyone has talents: those unique aspects of their personality that make them indispensable. One in a million.
The tricky part is finding out what they are.
Maybe it’s tricky because it’s not something we think about all the time. We just assume that we know what makes us special and move on. But if you take the time to sit down and think about what you have to offer the world you can come up with some pretty interesting insights.
We figured if it works with people, it should work with groups of people working together. There are tons of data visualization solutions out there, so we thought it would be a good exercise to see what we had to offer that was different from the rest. We sat down as a group the other day and came up with a list of what makes VisualCue so unique. Our original list had dozens of items, which we then trimmed down to just the top 5.
Making time for data
We love New Year’s. Just something about getting a fresh, clean start gets us optimistic.
And at VisualCue, how do we celebrate anything? With data visualizations!
To help you make the most out of every minute of the new year we’ve gathered the best visualizations from around the Internet to help you get inspired.
We believe in data transparency
Everyone needs a purpose- a reason for existing. Think about it; having a deep, committed purpose gives you motivation for everything else you do. Ideally it’s what informs your decisions and gives you direction.
While having a purpose as a person is certainly important, we believe it’s equally necessary for organizations and businesses to have a purpose as well. And the purpose can’t just be “to turn a profit,” that’s a cop-out, and frankly doesn’t inspire anyone. Turning a profit should come as a result of your deeper purpose.
At VisualCue we’ve always had some idea about what our reason for existing is, but yesterday we actually sat down and talked about it. Here’s what we came up with.
We believe in data transparency.
2015 Data Visualization Year in Review
Everyone always gets really excited looking forward to the new year. And we get it: it’s a brand new year full of possibilities, a clean slate to work from.
But we get sentimental around the VisualCue offices and at times like this we love to look back at some of our favorite memories from the past year.
And, same as ever, those memories include our favorite data visualizations from around the Internet. Added bonus- they all have something in common.
Here they are: VisualCue’s top 5 picks for best data visualizations in 2015!
Interview with Aashish Gandhi
As 2015 comes to close, the VisualCrew thought it would be a great opportunity to taking this opportunity to turn our sights towards the horizon and take a look at some of the exciting new innovations coming to VisualCue.
To tell us about these new features we spoke with Aashish Gandhi, our very own development wizard, who told us about what he is most looking forward to in VisualCue for the new year.
Elf Performance Profiles
VisualCue was built on the belief that anyone, regardless of their training or experience, should be able to use data to its fullest potential. It’s called data transparency, and it informs everything we do as an organization.
And when we say anyone, we mean it.
This holiday season we thought that if anyone can gain actionable insights from VisualCue, why not arguably the busiest demographic in the world at this time of year?
Santa, if you’re reading this we hope you’ll take these performance profiles on three of your elves and use it to improve your operation. Our Christmas gift to you!