Posts tagged ‘map’
How Do You Like to See Your Data? – Parking Lot Chat
Are you a spreadsheeter, mapper, or grapher?
These days it doesn’t really matter, if you know what you are looking for. When data is in a good clean consistent format there are numberous possibilites of what you can learn. I just finished putting together some fairly simple analytics based on basic information that hopefully wows the audience. Unfortunately for the client, they would have to decode the data and possibly misunderstand how the data translates into information because they are not database marketers, they are the client that sells things or provides or services something etc.
I Like Spreadsheets…
And other visual formats but the spreadsheet is my friend. If the data is in Excel or a csv, ansi, or txt format, I can manipulate it while verifying that nothing is out of the quality control world. I have mentioned Pivot Tables and vLookups and other various Excel functions. Even when working with sophisticated programs like Salesforce, Excel is a big part of the reporting and both are useful and perform different tasks. Since Excel is able to read straight data, it is up to the user to make the magic and depending on the user, the magic is very cool.
On the Job
I worked for a database marketing agency for a few years and learned a great deal of valuable tricks, tactics, and shortcuts that create a more efficient use of time. The company has mail processors and they do a great job and it is important to verify, reverify, and confirm, when it comes to data, and even then there are errors that fall within a small margin that just have to be accepted. My point is that the processors never use Excel and don’t care to. I really do not want to process files and the nice thing is I like to audit them and find that issues.
Bringing it Back Home
Whether it is in graph, spreadsheet, map, video, or pictures, you know when something looks incorrect. If you look at data the way you look at or learn something that is more interesting to you it will increase your ability to work more effectively. I took data from a third party vendor and provided it to my contact with straight numbers, spreadsheets, and maps. I will follow up with what they like best.
The 53 Second Profile – Me
My 53 Second Profile. I figure if I am making thrse for others I should make on for myself. Take some photos, add some music, and mix in the secret sauce and you have this:
