Stopping your head from spinning

by leah

head spinning?

head spinning?

When I think about measurement I get excited. Maybe that’s just me, but you’re missing out if you don’t feel at least a tiny thrill when you think about the possibilities for your organization.

A moment after my initial excitement my head starts to spin as I think of how many different things I could potentially look at and how much information I need to have available and I start to feel stuck in a Catch-22.

Internal voice 1: “I can’t know how my audience would feel about X if I don’t have data on X already available!” Continue reading …

Visualized (part 1)

by leah

beautiful or important?

On November 8 & 9 I attended the Visualized conference at the Times Center in NY. I initially thought it would be complementary to the Data Gotham conference I went to in September. Though there was an overlap in audience and goals, the overall philosophy and execution were a lesson in left-brain/right-brain opposites. The gorgeous venue, fancy food, lax time schedule and attention to presentation detail were more of what one would expect from the “artist” type, while the corresponding elements at DataGotham were more what you’d expect from the “number cruncher” type.

“Would you rather your work be beautiful or important?” is a polarizing question. Some some lean toward beauty and others toward gravity, but as usual I find myself in the middle of the gray area of “both and neither.” Continue reading …