Big data alone is not information, it's not enough to transmit the message over to your reader. You need visualization to leverage the bandwidth of the visual system to move a huge amount of information into the brain very quickly.
Infographics versus Data Visualization
The other day I started reading about Designing Data Visualizations and I discovered some key criteria to differentiate Infographics from "real" Data Visualization:
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The "Big Five" IT trends of the next half decade
Today I was reading about the "Big Five" IT trends of the next half decade:
- mobile,
- social,
- cloud,
- consumerization,
- big data.
And yes, it was their infographic that inspired this article altogether:
It does a better job at transmitting the idea than the list preceding it, doesn't it?
From Big Data to Information
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'd put big data first! And moreover, regardless how big is your data set, data alone is just stark. I believe that big data alone not enough to transmit your message over to your reader: data alone is not information.
It's the visualization that can
leverage the incredible capabilities and bandwidth of the visual system to move a huge amount of information into the brain very quickly
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So, if we are to talk about the top shifts in Information Technology, I would definitely add visualization to the list:
Big Data + Visualization = Information
