Choosing Tools to Visualize Data - Data Points: Visualization That Means Something - page 61

charts, basic mapping, and so on are available. You can mix and match
these displays, hook in a dynamic data source for a custom view, or a
dashboard, for a snapshot of what's going on in your data.

Most recently, Tableau released Tableau Public, which is free and offers
a subset of the functionality in the desktop editions. You can upload your
data to Tableau's servers, build an interactive display, and easily publish
it to your website or blog. Any data you upload to the servers though, like
with Many eyes, does become publicly available, so keep that in mind.

P Visit
Tableau Soft-
ware at http://
tableausoftware
.com . It has a full-
functioning free
trial.

If you want to use Tableau and keep your data private, you need to go with
the desktop editions. At the time of this writing, the desktop software is on
the pricier side at $999 and $1,999 for the Personal and Professional edi-
tions, respectively.

your.FLoWINGDATA
My interest in personal data collection inspired my own application, your.
flowingdata (YFD). It's an online application that enables you to collect
data via Twitter and then explore patterns and relationships with a set of
interactive visualization tools. Some people track their eating habits or
when they go to sleep and wake up. Others have logged the habits of their
newborn as sort of a baby scrapbook, with a data twist.

P Try personal
data collection via
Twitter at http://
your.flowingdata
.com .

YFD was originally designed with personal data in mind, but many have
found the application useful for more general types of data collection,
such as web activity or train arrivals and departures.

Tr ade - O f f s

Although these tools are easy to use, there are some drawbacks. In
exchange for click-and-drag, you give up some flexibility in what you can
do. You can usually change colors, fonts, and titles, but you're restricted
to what the software offers. If there is no button for the chart you want,
you're out of luck.

On the flip side, some software might have a lot of functions, but in turn
have a ton of buttons that you need to learn. For example, there was one
program (not listed here) that I took a weekend crash course for, and it
was obvious that it could do a lot if I put in the time. The processes to get
things done though were so counterintuitive that it made me not want to