Heard the news? Infographics are hot in social media, journalism and business – and as we see it – in decision-making.
Recently, Leslie Bradshaw (@lesliebradshaw), president and co-founder of data visualization firm JESS3, shared a recap of the Columbia School of Journalism’s panel “Infographics and Viral Media” at their first-ever Social Media Weekend.
Three of the takeaways Bradshaw shared in her CBS News article revealed some important lessons for those of us in the data analytics world. But, first here’s a roll call of the panelists followed by a high quality video on infographics:
- Max Shron (@mshron) – the data scientist at OkCupid);
- Matt Owens (@mattvolumeone) – partner at the New York design collective Athletics
- Russ Marshalek (@russmarshalek) – social media manager for Flavorpill
- Shane Snow (@shanesnow) – founder of Contently.com and advisor to Visual.ly (a soon-to-launch visualization sharing site)
Visual.ly (@visually) is an up-and-coming visualization community from the creators of Mint.com. You can see the site’s purpose and a quick history of infographics in this video.
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Three Lessons from the Infographics and Viral Media Panel for Data Analytics Pros
Even though this panel centered on the social sharing rise of infographic popularity, the lessons on data visualization are key for our industry. Let’s jump right in.
Data visualizations tell the story buried in the data. As Snow said during the panel, “There are a million ways to tell a story with visualization.”
Our take: When you can take complex information and explain it in an appealing format – such as an infographic – your data means something to someone – a buyer, a decision-maker or even an entire team.
Infographics are not “viral by nature.” According to Marshalek, infographics derive their strength from the data analytics. The visual aid “helps you understand the data better.”
Our take: What’s viral about infographics are the human “ah-ha” moments we’ve seen happen over the past four years. Academia and conferences has been using the infographic approach for years to persuade and bring new research to the forefront of a field. The Internet has given us the environment to take these visuals off the Powerpoints, pivot tables and poster boards to present them to the average Joe or Jane. That’s where the viral element arrived.
“Infographics take information and make it decidable.” Shron gives us this takeaway and ultimate infographic truth.
Our take: As Shron says, “Our eyes are good at taking in information, better than any other way.” This form of information presentation is why dashboards are so popular and useful to business. They put all of the data up front and in plain sight – virtually speeding our time to decision. That’s what we refer to as the power of now.
