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Twitter@#CIL2010 Wordle

Jane Dysart messaged me earlier on Twitter and bounced over the idea about using the #CIL2010 TwapperKeeper Notebook to create a Wordle.  I took one look at all the tags and abbreviations and realized that would be messy, but her idea sounded fun if we just used the Twitter ID’s of those who used the #CIL2010 hashtag.

This Wordle is made from  the Twitter ID’s of everyone who used the #CIL2010 tag 5 times or more whether they were in attendance or not (yea, I mean you Tom Bruno/@oodja).

Twitter@CIL2010 - Click for full size

Library Engagement Through Open Data

Libraries collect mountains of statistical data, and much of it remains hidden on the library’s internal servers, so it is never used for marketing and other activities.  Oleg Kreymer and Dan Lipcan at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York decided to make the data visually available, so that it could be used to justify the library’s existence to management and for other internal public relations uses.

The tools they used were IMA Dashboard from the Indianapolis Museum of Art, IBM’s Many Eyes, and Google Charts.  Many of the visualizations use motion charts.

Some of the lessons learned include:

  • Get support from the administration.
  • Define the target audience and your story.
  • Use Google Documents as a repository, and leverage your colleagues’ efforts.
  • Be prepared to revise your efforts.  Data formatting can be challenging–use plenty of trial and error.

Google Public Data motion maps is a new development and will be worth watching.

Don Hawkins
Columnist, Information Today and CIL 2010 Blog Coordinator

What Web Managers Want to Know

Darlene Fichter, et al, did a survey in the Web Managers Academy Workshop yesterday about what more the audience would like to know.  She posted the results as a tag cloud — cool.  Thanks for sharing in such a visual way.  She and Jeff Wisniewski will be doing a whole session on Information Visualization Tools on Wednesday, a new session A304, which you can read more about on the blue final addendum sheet tucked into your program.  Jane Dysart, IL08 Conference Chair