Seeing is believing. It’s true with data analytics and even more powerful when you can “see yourself” — or a subject that affects you — in the data. So spend a few minutes to watch the evolution of broadband Internet on a colorful new data visualization map created by Akamai Technologies Inc. It vividly illustrates the spread of high-speed Internet across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions. The report, called State of the Internet, has maps that change color to show broadband Internet use.
Regions “light up” thanks to analytics of historical data, and change from blue to pink showing areas that had 2 Mbps Internet service. A set of dashboard gauges shows regional consumption of online news, music and video and how they have increased along with Web speeds. Another set of analytics show the Internet’s growth in “real time” as more people connect and at ever-faster bandwidth speeds
Akamai manages that load, serving Web pages and video worldwide so it has huge volumes of data about data use. That requires analytics tools that slice through big numbers, to show trends and patterns. The company handles billions of web interactions and manages as much as 20 percent of the globe’s web traffic. And if you’re old enough to recall metered ‘pay-by-the ‘minute’ Net access or (gasp!) dial-up, you don’t take the high-speed Web for granted.
When did YOU go from blue to pink?
