Datadoodle

Home » jock mackinlay

jock mackinlay

Tableau’s first conference / What a little tool proved

by

Ten years ago this month, Tableau made me want data. One magical demo of the almost unknown Tableau desktop tool was like a trapeze act. It looked so easy, so fluid, and so much fun as director of visual analysis Jock Mackinlay showed off daring leaps in rapid succession. I had no data, but that made me want to get some so I could play like that.

At the first Tableau Customer Conference (“customer” was dropped later), July 20, 2008. fewer than 200 people showed up, including staff. I was the one journalist or industry analyst. We stood in crammed corridors and meeting rooms at the 223-room Edgewater Inn on the Seattle waterfront.… Read the rest “Tableau’s first conference / What a little tool proved”

“Big changes” in storytelling: simple and simplistic

by

The storytelling world shook this morning with this headline from Tableau: “Data storytelling is undergoing a big change.” The blog post lists three changes: scrolling with less clicking, simpler charts, and visualizations that weave into the narrative.

What is really changing? Not much, and to call it “big changes” is worthy of a trashy tabloid newspaper.

Here’s what should change: Tableau’s leadership in storytelling. So far, Tableau has been a hammer that sees only nails. In storytelling, it sees only another use for data visualization.

The trouble here is that this blog post is sheer marketing when the data storytelling genre needs actual leadership right now.… Read the rest ““Big changes” in storytelling: simple and simplistic”

Tableau Public launches visual analysis for the masses

by

I’m sorry to tell you serious types out there, but visual analysis is often a game — in fact, one of the best games in town with Tableau Software’s visual analysis tool. Now Tableau Public is going to bring it to the masses.

In the same way that YouTube spawned a surge of new filmmakers, Tableau Public — free, running the same engine as its desktop sibling, and embedable — will bring on a new generation of data players and spectators.

I was a spectator at a data visualization conference one afternoon two years ago. Tableau Software director of visual analysis Jock Mackinlay had finished his presentation and another person had started his.… Read the rest “Tableau Public launches visual analysis for the masses”