The Wall Street Journal has started using simple data visualisations in tweets using an online tool called Sparkblocks. Basic block shapes create the graphics in what are becoming known as “sparktweets”.
Zach Seward explains in his blog how the Wall Street Journal started using sparktweets to illustrate unemployment statistics and how developers battled to make the images both PC and Mac friendly.
Others have picked up on the trend which can be tracked with the use of the hashtag #sparktweets.
Who’s signed up for news:rewired so far, and where from?
Using some simple tools used by data journalists to illustrate stories reporter Joel Gunter has made a couple of visualisations to illustrate who is coming to news:rewired – noise to signal.
A Wordle illustrates some of the groups and companies sending representatives to our event.
We have also mapped the locations some of our delegates to show the distances some people are traveling, including visitors from Romania, Norway and Portugal.
Links: Session 2A – developing the data story
We’re back with another collection of useful links and resources in the run up to news:rewired – noise to signal, this time looking at session 2A: Developing the data story. Speakers on the panel will include Michael Robinson, head of infographics, the Guardian and Federica Cocco, editor, OWNI.eu, with more speakers to follow. I’m going […]
news:rewired – hear more about ‘noise to signal’ from our speakers
We spoke to three of our speakers to give you a better idea of some of the issues that will be covered on the day.
Greg Hadfield, director of strategic projects, Cogapp, discusses his work on “open-data cities” and the benefits of open data to journalists, developers, and others; Robin Hamman, director of digital, Edelman, talks about innovation in social media strategy and where media organisations should start; and Matt Wells, blogs editor, the Guardian, explains why journalists should be making the most of social media platforms for news sourcing and verification
Links: Session 1B – sorting the social media chaos
In the run up to news:rewired – noise to signal, we’re posting useful links and resources for each of the sessions. In the second post in this series, we look at session 1B: Sorting the social media chaos
Announcing news:rewired – noise to signal, 27 May 2011
Journalism.co.uk’s next news:rewired event will take place on 27 May at Thomson Reuters’ London offices.
What’s it about?
news:rewired – noise to signal is a one-day event for journalists and communications professionals who want to learn more about the latest tools and strategies to filter large datasets, social networks, and audience metrics into a clear signal for both the editorial and business side of the news industry.
Panel sessions will cover: the data journalism toolkit, audience and demographic data, building social media strategies; measuring online reputation; developing the data story through visualisations; community engagement; and how to effectively filter and verify the social media information flow.
Who’s it for?
news:rewired events are for: working journalists with an interest in digital media; media trainers and students; journalism and communications academics; PR and communications professionals; and anyone interested in the future of the journalism and media industries.
How can I learn more?
You can see the full agenda here. You can also subscribe to the news:rewired site to receive updates about the event at this link, or email rachel [at] journalism.co.uk for more information.
BBC to launch nationwide social survey, developer tells news:rewired
Interactive developer Philip Trippenbach revealed today that the BBC has been approached with offers to buy data from the survey, but he said it would remain a strictly public service initiative
Links: What is linked data and why does it matter to journalists and publishers?
Following the success of previous panel discussions about data journalism at news:rewired events, we wanted to focus on the potential of linked data for news and media organisations this time around. We’ve collected together some useful websites, blog posts and tools to give you an introduction to linked data.
#newsrw: Interactive storytelling and visualisation: a culture shift to more compelling content
Interactives experts explain how a new way of storytelling is making data newsworthy, content compelling, and journalism an easier sell
Audio: Tony Hirst on data mashing
Courtesy of Glyn Mottershead, one of the delegates at news:rewired, here’s audio of Tony Hirst from the Open University talking about in-browser data-mashing for journalists.