Maura Welch on Social Media

The power of data visualization

There are 7 billion humans on earth and the Internet contains more than 1 billion Terabytes.

Data? We've got that. We're drowning in it. 

But how to grok it?  How to draw out key insights for what is happening between, among and individually to 7 billion humans, and hopefully, well, make the world a better place?

We need maps. Lots of maps.

Here are a few cartographers that show how powerful it is when we look at data visually...

David McCandless
 

Hans Rosling "Let my dataset change your mindset"

 

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Teens, Obama and Social Media

I have two teenagers and I work for teens all day at WeeWorld. It's great. Really. 

Why? Because they are interesting, emerging adults that are vocal and engaged - and not just about music, celebrities and fashion. They also are developing their stance on politics, the environment and volunteerism. 

One of the coolest things I worked on last year was helping the WeeWorld community become a place to further the presidential election debate.

All year long WeeWorlders were able to discuss and show their support for their favored candidates through virtual goods and presidential avatars.  More detail here.

The election was historical on so many fronts, not the least of which was how engaged youth and teens were in the process. And on WeeWorld I watched first hand how teen (voters and non-voters alike) found a new voice in the virtual arena.

WeeWorld recently entered this initiative into the Forrester Groundswell Awards. I welcome you to vote or comment on our submission here: http://groundswelldiscussion.com/groundswell/awards2009/detail.php?id=127.

 

Voting closes in early October. If you want to make your voice heard, do it now please!

I'll come clean up front. Like so many others, I worked on the Obama campaign as a volunteer. But the thing I loved most about watching the election unfold on WeeWorld was the way these young adults expressed their views and talked to each other - no matter which candidate they supported. They are the future after all. 

Where we're headed

I've been reading Fred Wilson's blog for a long time. He always provides intelligent, incisive observations and ideas.

He recently gave a talk at Google about why the internet is disruptive, what it's disrupting and where we are likely headed from here. Worth contemplating. Here is the slide show:

Disruption - Final Version

View more presentations from fredwilson.

Fail and Opportunity

Today on HuffPost the headline is all about Chrysler's bankruptcy.

But Infiniti has an expanding multimedia banner buy right above it.

Well done Infiniti. Chrysler? You never, ever got it.

Now the taxpayers are stuck with you.

We need to make this a turning point. With Obama administration and taxpayers, surely we can get a new American-made hydrogen cars, or major green initiative cars?

Let's get started

Last night I was in Chicago where I was privileged to share a deeply moving, historic night of change with 240,000 Americans.

I woke this morning laughing and crying, with a new collection of Obama buttons on my jacket and a profound sense of hope, optimism and determination.

Everyone we met this morning felt it too - the concierge, the cop, the Starbucks barista, random people on street corners, and our Pakistani-American cabbie.

During our 45 minute ride to the airport we talked with Imran about the problems of the world and the barriers to understanding and communicating with each other. He shared his experiences as a Pakistani and a Muslim in the United States. We shared our experiences as Americans. We discussed all kinds of things - 9/11, health care, the Middle East, Pakistan, and extremism in the US and abroad. We talked about our regrets and concerns with the culture and politics of fear. We shared stories about our families.

So here's what struck me…

Even a day ago we probably would not have had that discussion with each other. Why? It would have been too depressing. We would have felt too angry and frustrated at the way our government was handling these issues. It would have been yet another conversation that ended in cynicism and despair - so why even have it? Why even try?

As we pulled into O'Hare, we all agreed that discussion, communication and most importantly education is the key to changing the world and that in the end we all want the same thing…a good life, a better world.

In the months and years ahead, I'm confident we will all be working harder than ever to make America and the world a better place.

And Imran, the Pakistani immigrant I met today has reinforced my commitment to Room To Read as on of the steps to making change.  Based on his experiences growing up in Pakistan, Imran  felt that the only way to keep the world safe from the destructive cycle of extremism and poverty is to educate children, giving them the hope and information they need to build a good life.

President Obama swept to a position of leadership because he awakened in us the belief we are the change we have been waiting for...that the world is an interconnected place...and that by reaching out and working together to make change we are all stronger, safer, better.

Thank you a TON to everyone who has already sent a donation or bought a ticket to benefit our library project in Cambodia!

Consider sending a donation or joining us at the Elephant Walk on November 12th!

Let's toast to new hope…and get on with the work of making change happen.

Starbucks "R" Us?

If you vote tomorrow, Starbucks will give you a free cup of coffee.

WWSPD (What would Sarah Palin do)...about that? Take a swipe at elitist, Starbucks-sipping voters?

Or maybe not...we know she favors Starbucks Mochas based on her stump rhetoric:

"I'm reading on my Starbucks mocha cup, okay? The quote of the day... It was Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State [crowd boos] and UN ambassador. ... Now she said it, I didn't. She said, 'There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't support other women.'"

Even though that's not what Albright really said...insert "help" where Palin said "support" which puts a different spin on it.

But hey, Starbucks isn't just a cultural indicator, it's increasingly referred to as an economic indicator.

Salon notes that you don't need to chart foreclosures or rising unemployment to know how badly the economy is really tanking...you just watch how many Americans are "cutting back on their morning lattes at Starbucks."

On Halloween The Motley Fool named Starbucks the World's Scariest Stock due in part to "a bone-chilling outlook for consumer discretionary spending."

But why stop at the US economy? Slate's Daniel Gross has a theory that there is "a close correlation between a country having a significant Starbucks presence, especially in its financial capital, and major financial cock-ups," er...meltdowns.

"Having a significant Starbucks presence is a pretty significant indicator of the degree of connectedness to the form of highly caffeinated, free-spending capitalism that got us into this mess. It's also a sign of a culture's willingness to abandon traditional norms and ways of doing business (virtually all the countries in which Starbucks has established beachheads have their own venerable coffee-house traditions) in favor of fast-moving American ones."

Hmm...I'll have to think about that over my free Starbucks coffee tomorrow.