Visualization Culture: Data Literacy for the Rest of Us

Google Tech Talk January 16, 2013 Presented by Fernanda Viégas at the Boston Chapter Meeting of the Society of Women Engineers ABSTRACT Data visualization has historically been accessible only to the elite in academia, business, and government. It was "serious" technology, created by experts for experts. In recent years, however, web-based visualizations--ranging from political art projects to news stories--have reached audiences of millions. What will data literacy look like--and what are the implications for technologists who work with data? To help answer this question, computational designer Fernanda Viegas reports on recent research into public data analysis and visualization. She will also show how the art world has adopted visualization. Finally, she'll discuss the future of visual literacy and what it means for a world where visualizations are a part of political discussions, citizen activism, religious discussions, game playing, and educational exchanges.