Data Tools of the Fuuuuture ... fuuture ... future ... uture... ture ... re ...

January 11, 2011 1:23 PM

Dataists give their hopes and dreams for data, data tools and data science in 2011. Already, Google has provided Google Refine (previously) to help clean your datasets. While great visualizations can be created with online tools or by combining R (great posts previously), with ggplot2, GGobi, and even Google Motion Charts With R (already built into Google Spreadsheets). Need data? Needlebase, helps non-programmers scrape, harvest, merge, and data from the web. Or if you’re introspective, Your Flowing Data and Daytum provide tools to measure and chart details of your own life.
posted by stratastar (19 comments total)

There is also ScrapperWiki that assists in creating/modifying screen scrappers to pull datasets from websites.
posted by Prince_of_Cups at 1:38 PM on January 11, 2011 [3 favorites]

next generation dadaism.
posted by oonh at 1:43 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

great post! Looking forward to trying out the Google Motion Charts With R

As Tableau pulled the aggregated wikileaks data from their public server I've chosen to avoid using their rather nifty service.
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 1:54 PM on January 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

dataists gonna date.
posted by special-k at 2:02 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Christ, what a horrible word.
posted by ryanrs at 2:03 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

I ♥ ggplot2 (and plyr and reshape).

Here's a presentation the author (Hadley Wickham) gave at the WHO.
posted by special-k at 2:35 PM on January 11, 2011 [3 favorites]

It really amazes me how many niches there are within the umbrella of "information technology," and when I learn new things about those niches it makes me want to learn more. I really pity people who view computers as nothing more than a nuisance or adversary; they miss out on a vast array of interesting applications of technology.
posted by sonic meat machine at 2:42 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Data Nerds > Font Nerds
posted by blue_beetle at 2:44 PM on January 11, 2011 [6 favorites]

Data Nerds > Font Nerds

damn straight.
posted by special-k at 2:45 PM on January 11, 2011

Great post! Thank you.
posted by buzzv at 3:16 PM on January 11, 2011

I read this as Dadaists give their hopes and dreams for data and I thought their visualizations would be weirder.
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:47 PM on January 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

Ack, sorry oonh.
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:50 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

I thought this post from Dataist, about the three skills necessary to do data science and what happens if you have only two out of three, was thoughtful and interesting.
posted by escabeche at 6:54 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Data Nerds > Font Nerds

What about Data && Font Nerds?
posted by signal at 6:57 PM on January 11, 2011

IMPOSSIBLE! You're either with us or against us!
posted by stratastar at 8:01 PM on January 11, 2011

Data Nerds > Font Nerds

Citation needed.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:16 PM on January 11, 2011

What about Data && Font Nerds?

I prefer DataNerds ⊕ FontNerds


...which would be DaaFo, I guess
posted by foonly at 12:25 AM on January 12, 2011

This is very rich post—thanks. The usual flip comments are a big reason I enjoy this site, but this entire topic is an indication that people who really understand this stuff are already well on their way to a higher level of consciousness.
posted by impuls at 1:48 AM on January 12, 2011

SpecialK: Thanks for that video link.
posted by srboisvert at 7:04 AM on January 12, 2011