Top 10 Things That We Don’t Need Top 10 Lists Of
[ 5 Comments ]Posted on August 11, 2010 by admin in Technology
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010We’re generating more information every two days than we did in all of human history prior to 2003. Unfortunately almost all of it is YouTube clips, stupid top ten lists, infographics, and crap content created by underpaid hacks writing linkbait for content farms to generate AdSense revenue.
You may have read the other day that although it took all of human history up until 2003 to generate five exabytes of information, that much is now created every two days. I can tell you where all that data resides. It’s comprised mainly of YouTube clips of teenage boys igniting their farts, self-referential personal blog posts about why the blogger hasn’t blogged for a while, incomprehensible infographics, overwrought and not-very-funny flowcharts, and useless top ten lists of things that don’t warrant top ten lists. Below is our contribution to this steaming heap of useless data that guarantees that of the 2646 web pages you view this month (infographic here), approximately 2645 of them will be of no lasting value to the human race. Read the rest of this entry »
Infoporn & Data Addiction
[ Comments Off ]Posted on September 15, 2009 by admin in Technology
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009Our endless plot to chart your demise by making you view graphic depictions of life, work, and money.
Now that there’s an Internet Addiction Treatment Center, I wonder if there are plans for a treatment center for infographic addiction? As I pondered this, I wondered, of course, what a “no graphs infographic” would look like. My quick prototype is on the left. Which raises an interesting question: If infographics are such a powerful communication tool, why am I writing about them? We’ve touched on flow charts and a variety of amusing infographics before, but there seems to be an endless supply of them. I’m especially partial to the kind that puts incomprehensible things into tidy visual form, like what does a million dollars like? Which is why I especially like What If You Printed the Internet? Economic data is also always more palatable when viewed graphically, as in this Good Magazine piece. A bunch of little “MSN Buddies” out of work are much cuter than a photo of a bunch of haggard hungry people in line. Technophiles in particular are naturally drawn to data visualizations, which is why the food-group-like pyramid graphics Balance Your Media Diet and The Hierarchy of Digital Distractions have made the rounds lately. It’s interesting that “gaming” and “device failure” top the respective pyramids. If I don’t get treatment for my little graphic addiction problem, I’ll be back with more soon. But if you’re yearning for more now, check out some of the sites below for more interesting data visualizations. But first, can someone explain to me what Iowa’s problem is? Read the rest of this entry »
No Need To Get Graphic
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 15, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Saturday, August 15th, 2009Or is there? These handy infographics of Aircrashes and dead Twitter users could save your life and your time.
Statistics Of The “Social Media Revolution” |
If you want to die on your next flight, take an Aeroflot DC-9 from the United States to Russia in August, and make sure to get a seat in First Class. At least that’s what this interesting chart suggests. Sometimes an infographic can say so much more than words, which makes the fact that I’m writing about it a little ironic (see infographic below). As I’ve pointed out before, 78.6% of all statistics mentioned in casual conversation are inaccurate. But I still find infographics and flowcharts fascinating. How else could you really wrap your mind around what a million dollars looks like ? This set of graphics, for instance, speaks volumes about how projects really evolve, and in a way that almost every guilty party involved would probably find amusing. And in spite of all the hype about Twitter (including the info in the clip at left) this set of graphics quickly puts things in perspective. The GOP/Dem debates about war and health care that I recently mentioned in this piece can also be summed up more quickly with two photos and some simple copy. What I’d really find interesting though, is if someone made an interactive graphic of how people from a broad set of demographics use their time throught the day. Oh wait. Never mind. Have any interesting infographics of your own to share? Read the rest of this entry »
Monday Morning Meticulously Mapped Out?
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on June 8, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Monday, June 8th, 2009Axis if we care. Our plot to disrupt the day you’ve carefully charted for yourself involves graphic depictions of death, birth, crime, and…Wikipedia?
Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the information and sensory input at your disposal these days? We’re here to help. Overwhelm you more, that is. In our ongoing plot to derail your Monday morning, we’ve touched on fleshmaps, facebook maps, why Ian can’t get a date maps, infographics, flowcharts , and million dollar graphics. So you’d think we’d be done, right? But no. Here we have 50 more examples of ways to visualize data, brought to you by WebDesignerDepot.com. Of all of the examples presented, I probably found TuneGlue the most useful; it visually cross-references musical artists and their work in a very simple interface, with Amazon links. By the way, a lot of those tools in that link made pretty graphs, but were in most cases visualizing things normal people don’t care about. And there’s definitely a flaw in the plan when a graphic actually makes it harder to understand complex information rather than easier. So check out 5,000 years of Middle East history in 90 seconds, or BreathingEarth, where you can watch deaths and births in real time and ponder your emissions. Even better, WorldClock displays everything from oil consumption to US crime stats in real time. And lastly, have you ever wondered what Wikipedia would look like if it were in book form?
Do You Need A Flowchart?
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on December 19, 2008 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Friday, December 19th, 2008I don’t know. Let’s do a flowchart.
We’ve talked about flowcharts here before. Although I’m a pretty organized person, I don’t actually find them useful for getting organized, but I do find them quite amusing. That’s why, when I dropped some lettuce on the floor as I was making a salad today, I realized I had to jump on the flow chart bandwagon and do one of my own. You see, I like simple rules, but the Three Second Rule for whether or not to eat food that’s been on the floor is just too simple. So here’s my flow chart assessing the problem. Think you might find a flow chart useful for a problem of your own, but you aren’t quite sure? Try the Flowchart Of Should You Make A Flowchart. Still not sure you’re getting the hang of it? Here’s A Guide To Understanding Flowcharts In Flowchart Form. And if you’re for some reason questioning the truth of the information I’m sharing, here are The Steps To Determine The Factual Content Of A Statement. You should be careful with this sort of self-referential analysis though, lest you become trapped in a Hasselhoffian Recursion.