5 Coolest Places To Find Visualizations On The Web

The Growing Appeal of Data Visualizations

Approximately one month prior, I was approached regarding the potential publication of an infographic on this website. Previously, I hadn’t given significant consideration to these types of data representations.

As many of our consistent readers are aware, we appreciate infographics here at MUO. It’s difficult not to enjoy visually engaging content, such as the “Wrath of the Angry Birds” infographic previously shared by Mark.

Discovering the Value of Infographics

Further investigation within the MUO archives confirmed my initial impression: infographics are indeed quite effective. They offer a compelling method for conveying information.

Indeed, any imaginative presentation of data holds considerable appeal. Consequently, I began exploring other platforms that specialize in innovative and engaging data visualization techniques.

Benefits of Visual Data Representation

Visualizations provide a means to display substantial amounts of information or statistics within a limited area.

This makes them particularly useful for presenting research findings or poll results in a manner that is easily digestible and facilitates the identification of trends.

They are an excellent way to make complex data accessible. Patterns become readily apparent when presented visually.

Data visualization allows for quick comprehension, surpassing the limitations of purely textual data presentation.

5 Engaging Platforms for Data Visualization Exploration

When seeking innovative methods for analyzing Internet search trends, History Flow from IBM was among the first resources I discovered. This project meticulously examines the historical evolution of keyword trends, considering both author contributions and posts on Wikipedia, alongside the subsequent modifications to those pages over time.

IBM History Flow: Tracking Page Evolution

The data visualizations presented showcase specific keywords, and as IBM highlights, it’s possible to observe instances of Wikipedia page alterations – even potential “sabotage” – through black lines indicating periods of content deletion by malicious actors.

Observing the growth of a page over time, and identifying the subjects experiencing the most significant expansion, is particularly insightful. This growth is visually represented by the increasing prominence of colors corresponding to those keywords or phrases.

Topics that generate considerable debate are especially compelling to analyze, as the visualizations reveal the extent of content changes and the frequency of disruptive edits on those Wikipedia pages. The IBM History Flow platform provides a comprehensive list of Wikipedia topics that have already undergone analysis.

The gallery section features completed and updated visualizations covering subjects such as evolution, the Iraq War, abortion, and capitalism. Further additions to this collection are anticipated.

FleshMap: A Unique Exploration of the Human Form

Despite its name, FleshMap is not what it initially seems. It’s an intriguing analysis of trends related to the human body. While some content touches upon human sexuality, the primary objective is to “map” out revealing data concerning the human anatomy.

For instance, FleshMap Listen offers a graphical depiction of all body parts referenced in popular music. It demonstrates that songs within the Alternative genre frequently mention eyes, hands, head, and face, whereas hip-hop songs more often reference the human posterior than any other musical style. Indeed, Hip-Hop exhibits a greater focus on body parts overall compared to most other genres.

Clicking on any music genre reveals a display of all mentioned body parts, with each graphic’s size proportional to its frequency of occurrence.

FleshMap Touch presents an interesting visualization based on the results of an online poll, inquiring about preferred areas for physical touch, both for oneself and one’s partner.

The analysis and visualization are executed with considerable sensitivity, offering a unique perspective and highlighting subtle differences between areas people enjoy receiving touch versus those they enjoy touching.

While certain body areas are universally pleasurable, the more subdued areas are particularly revealing. For example, men appear to enjoy touching more of a woman’s face, while women generally prefer specific areas on their neck to be touched. Explore the site to discover further distinctions in touch preferences.

Many Eyes: A Diverse Collection of Visualizations

For discovering a wide range of graphic data displays, the Many Eyes website is an excellent resource. This platform functions as a library of datasets and visualizations, encompassing a remarkably diverse array of information. The content is constantly evolving, offering something new with each visit.

Browsing the available visualizations, I encountered graphs illustrating Internet usage across six U.S. schools, fuel consumption for electricity generation in Germany, and the states that have enacted bans on texting while driving.

The browsing section currently showcases over 4200 visualizations, with the list continually expanding. Some are exceptionally interesting, while others may be less captivating. A notable feature of this online resource is its crowd-sourced nature, allowing users to upload their own datasets and create custom visualizations for publication on the site.

Visualizing.org: Advanced Infographics

Visualizing.org offers more sophisticated visualizations compared to Many Eyes. The displays found here tend to lean towards the “infographic” style of data presentation.

I discovered a French project called Politweets by Jerome Cukier, which visualizes political tweets by month based on topic, a humorous piece from Column Five Media titled "The Many Faces of Internet Users" (featuring a memorable troll character), and another from Xerox called "The Future of Healthcare". You won’t find standard bar charts or pie graphs here – these are infographics in the truest sense.

Berkeley Visualizations: A Curated Collection

If you’re simply looking to explore data visualizations from across the web, the Berkeley collective provides a valuable resource, curating visualizations from various Internet sources.

Highlights include the baby name voyager, style.org, and a particularly fascinating visualization called Websites as Graphs, where the creator mapped websites based on their tag structure. This is a truly captivating exploration. For example, CNN.com’s tag structure resembles an elaborate, beautiful flower.

Data analysts will recognize this as a form of nodal analysis. It would be beneficial to more easily identify each central node and trace the various paths. However, this level of interactivity exceeds the scope of most data visualizations.

I have a strong interest in data visualizations and would appreciate hearing about any other compelling platforms you may know. Please share your discoveries in the comments section below.

Image Credits: A Technology Man via Shutterstock