Dr. Amy Vanderbilt

CEO & Chief Strategist

The TrendPOV Show

http://DrAmyVanderbilt.com

Dr. Amy Vanderbilt is the Founder and Chief Strategist at TrendPOV.com, next generation social omni-media that over 600 thousand executives call GPS for your business strategy. She is an award-winning author, show host, executive coach, speaker, and commentator.Her career has enjoyed a fast climb through the ranks of academia, large business, small business, and even the Government by harnessing the power of emerging trends and her unique ability to understand where they are going, and how to use them for competitive advantage.

The large majority of all trends go through seven distinct stages. Data visualization is a trend in stage six. Over many years, we saw data visualization capture interest with its first prototypes, feel the sting of limitations, find several utilities and come back into vogue and now it seems it’s time to retool for longevity. This could take a while. Data have been represented in a visual way for centuries dating back to around 6200 B.C. Bar charts were first used to represent economic data toward the end of the 18th century. Most statistical graphics seen today were developed in the first half of the 19th century and there was very little change until computer technology became integral in the latter part of the 20th century; this gave rise to data manipulation which allowed visualization to become animated and interactive. Form and function are important parts of data visualization. Javier de la Torre noted in his report on Data Visualization that 80 percent of our brain is dedicated to visual thinking and written language originated from drawing and sketching.  However, visualization requires the capture and analysis of relevant data. Mapping and geolocation have also become an important part of data visualization because, as noted by Jorge Garcia in a post on blog.mindjet.com, “Location is a basic criterion for doing business.” But, absolute figures are not true and can be misinterpreted, therefore need relative figures connected to other data for true representation. And, because interpretation of visual data is variable, simplicity is paramount. Mobile technology has made data visualization more accessible but has presented challenges in terms of securing the data. Text and scientific reports are harder to analyze but innovation has made this process more manageable. Although companies like Google, IBM and GE have jumped deeply into the data visualization game, supply has already exceeded demand and competition has weakened the trend which will likely remain in stage six until something happens to stabilize it. To make the most of this stage six trend, consider the following. Data visualization is a stage six trend. That is, it is retooling itself for the long haul. Data visualization will stay in stage six longer than most. This is due to the fact that there is no one size fits all visualization that works for everyone. The future of visualization may be a common process, instead of a common picture. I would not waste time or effort on visualization right now. Work with what you have and upgrade as new things become available but I would not invest heavily in this area for a few years.It will be years before data visualization enters stage seven.. as many as twenty but at least five to ten.