10 Staggering Data Visualizations (Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic)

One of the big tenets of Web 2.0 has always been "open data". The move towards opening up statistics and public data along with APIs has lead to a great deal of phenomenal mashups, such as the Chicago Crime Mashup. But that's not all, this open data movement has lead to some very interesting development in the practice of data visualization.

Data visualization is any technique for creating images and diagrams to communicate a message. With the power of open web 2.0 data and data tools, recent visualizations have grown even more engaging. As part 1 of a three part series, we will be looking at 10 staggering data visualizations, those that use the data behind them to illustrate their message for maximum impact. This is far from a complete list...

1. Death and Taxes (above)
"Death and Taxes: A look at where tax dollars go" details the amount of federal budget, specifically federal income taxes, that is spent on military vs, non-military efforts. The staggering impact comes from the reasonably equal distribution of money towards "death" vs money towards... everything else. Like many good data visualizations, this one you can buy as a poster.

2. WorldMapper
WorldMapper is a site that contains over 350 maps that relate to particular sets of data taken from around the world, from disease and disaster to military spending and carbon emissions. The size of the country distorts based on irregularities in the data, meaning a country that has more of something, in this case it is HIV-infected citizens, will swell in size, whereas countries with low numbers will shrink. Other interesting maps include countries effected by disaster and military spending.

3. They Rule
They Rule explores information and connections about the "US Ruling Class". The idea is that some of the people on the boards of top US companies and in other powerful positions occupy spots on other boards and in other powerful positions. The interface allows users to browse through these interlocking connections and make their own conclusions. Users can save and share these visualizations they create. The one pictured below shows how six board members on the New York Times sit on 13 of the top 500 companies in the US.

4. Choose Your Weapon
The INA produced a series of iconographics that illustrated major world issues, from the serious to the somewhat amusing. While they are all worth checking out, the Choose Your Weapon visualization puts the US defense spending in some shocking perspective.

5. Hans Rosling's new insights on poverty and life around the world
This visualization has to be viewed on video. Researcher Hans Rosling uses interesting data tools to show how countries have been pulling themselves out of poverty while at the same time upping their carbon emissions. The most interesting part is the moving data visualizations over time, from the 1800s to fifty years in the future.

6. A Year in Iraq
Posted on the New York Times, the chart gives information on the type and location of the 2,592 recorded deaths of American troops, Iraqi security forces and members of the militias. While presented in a fun and colorful way, the chart is incredibly poignant. You find yourself wondering why the chart has a sudden patch of yellow, and then you look down to read the words "suicide bomb".

7. Oil Change USA
The site Oil Change USA hopes to make public exactly how much campaign funding for current presidential hopefuls Obama and McCain comes from "oil money". Although there is no good basis for comparison, say what George W. Bush's numbers looked like back in 2004, the obvious different between Obama and MCain's oil contributions is enough to make you scratch your head.

8. The Cost of Living on the Bleeding Edge of Gadgetry
Wired takes a look at what it cost in the past to live as an early technology adopter. Americans took longer to get comfortable with new technology in years past. While color TVs were out in the 1950s, it took many families another 20 years to ditch their sets. When adjusted for the rate of inflation it is also interesting to note that color TVs in the 50s were the same cost as a good flatscreen HDTV now.

9. America By The Numbers
Time Magazine takes a look at where most Americans live to reveal that 80% of all Americans live in metropolitan areas. More interesting than the numbers, which are not necessarily new, is the technique for presenting it. The peaks of population in New York and California tower over the vast emptiness in the middle of the country.

10. If You Are A TechCrunch Reader Outside of California, Raise Your Hand.
Finally, TechCrunch recently posted an article dealing with the dangers of inaccurate data visualization. Based on whether you wanted to see if users were searching for "techcrunch" or "techcrunch.com", you'd get completely different results. The more conservative answer gave the indication that no one outside of California even reads the blog at all.