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"Awesome Data Visualization Projects\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. IsBarackObamaThePresident.com and IsMittRomneyThePresident.com\r\n\n\nThe Guardian joined forces with Real Clear Politics to collect and illustrate polling data to reflect the state of the 2012 race for the American presidency. \nGraphics by Greg Chen show Obama and Romney holding balloons for each state, inflated to show the number of electoral votes at stake for each location. Then, geniusly, \"read more\" links to The Guardian's full coverage of the campaigns.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Drug Prevalence Across the World\n\n\nThis is the world. This is the world on drugs. \nWhen the World Drugs report came out in 2012, we learned that 230 million people had used illicit drugs. The Guardian extracted key findings and had them visualized by Tableau's Andy Cotgreave. You can see how usage of cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines and opiates varies across the globe, and below the map, view the 10 countries with the most usage for each drug type. Clicking on a country bubble yields a breakdown of the percentage who indulged in each drug.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. Gay Rights in U.S. States\n\n\nObama may support gay rights, but state's rights dictate that states can legislate as independent entities. The 50 U.S. states have varying degrees of gay rights on various issues, including marriage, adoption, housing, employment and hospital visitation.\nThe interactive graphic, again from The Guardian, lets you view the 50 states either as equal slices in the circle or as a proportion of the population, and each geographic area is clumped together to give a sense of gay rights throughout various regions of the country. You could also connect with Facebook to see how your friends' states fare when it comes to gay rights.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. Global Android Activations, 10/08 to 1/11\n\n\nIn February 2011, Google's Android Developers compiled data from October 2008 to January 2011 and mapped it out, then made a video to visualize Android activations -- and thus, Android adoption -- over 28 months. The timeline at the bottom indicates the day represented in that moment of the video, and the top-left corner indicates big releases, so you can trace data by device release. \nWe think the most stunning part of the video is when the Motorola Droid is released on Nov. 6, 2009. This video is not one of the most recent data visualization projects, but as gadgetry nerds, we find it pretty awesome.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. OpenStreetMap\n\n\nWhen Foursquare forewent Google Maps for OpenStreetMap earlier this year, it was hailed as a win for the upstart crowdsourced map project. When Apple ditched Google Maps in favor of Apple Maps, the iOS kingdom nearly imploded. \nWhile the battle brewed between Apple and Google, MapBox -- which draws on map data from OpenStreetMap -- got ahead, scoring a $575,000 grant from the Knight Foundation.\nMashable spoke with Steve Coast, the developer of OpenStreetMap earlier this year. Coast launched OpenStreetMap in July 2004, as an open-source maps API that uses Wikipedia-like crowdsourcing to fill in the blanks, not only for roadmaps but also for hiking trails, bike paths and footpaths. \n\u201CThe software was all freely available, but there was no data,\u201D said Coast, who used a GPS system and a Linux laptop to gather data and create a map. Within two years, he had a solid group of contributors; today there are 500,000.\n\u201CPiece by piece you can create a map of the world just like Wikipedia creates the encyclopedia,\u201D Coast said. And the project is still underway even as it gains steam. \"Although what we have looks like a very complete map, there are still blank spots in the world where we need to find people.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Characters in The Iliad\n\nSure, there are a crap-ton of words in The Iliad, but did you know there's a lot of raw data, too? This timeline-inspired graphic by Santiago Ortiz visualizes the Interactions of characters in The Iliad and how they change over the course of the book (note the chapter markings up top). Neat!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. The Biggest Sports Droughts\n\n\nBen Jones submitted this data visualization to a Tableau contest, and won. It visualizes the longest sports droughts for every team in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL in the U.S. and Canada. It's interactive, interesting and fun to click through -- as all interactive data should be. \nIs your team looking to kill a drought this season? Check out the interactive graphic to see how your team stacks up.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. Explore New Planets With Exo\n\nNASA's Kepler mission has identified nearly 2,300 exoplanet candidates. This video from stellar data visualizer Jer Thorp, created with Oblong.com, demonstrates a tool called Exo that lets you explore the planets in a spacial area via gestures (sort of like zSpace), based on data from Kepler.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Imports and Exports of Small Arms and Ammunition\n\nGoogle mapped government-authorized imports and exports of small arms and ammunitions from 1992 to 2010. The sliding scale across the bottom lets you see trends over time, such as the point at which ammunition transactions overtook arms in 2002. You also can spin the globe like a gyroscope by dragging your mouse to see different parts of the world. The color-coded pathways indicate whether something is an import or export, and whether it's miilitary, civilian or ammunition.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAs a phrase, \"Big Data\" can be overwhelming, and as it creeped into business lexicon, many became intimidated. But it's really just a fancy term for using vast amounts of data to explain or visualize trends. And it's nothing new \u2014 businesses have always run the numbers to see trends. \nWhat is new is that the social web has allowed for much bigger pools of data, birthing Big Data. Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data; to put that in perspective, 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone. So yeah, that's Big Data.\n\nSEE ALSO: Why Big Data Falls Short of Its Political Promise\nAnd with Big Data, people have done some pretty cool things. Check out the gallery above for nine beautiful, riveting and downright awesome applications of number-crunching.\nEager to learn more? Mashable will host an excellent lineup of speakers and panelists with Big Data knowledge at the 2012 Media Summit. Details are below, and we hope to see you there.\nGet Your Tickets to Mashable Media Summit\n\nThe Mashable Media Summit 2012 will explore the impact that technology is having on media, and how digital media is affecting our lives and changing the world. This one-day conference will bring together the brightest minds in media, including content creators, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social media executives and journalists.\nDate: Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 \nTime: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. \nLocation: The TimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036\nTickets: Purchase early bird tickets on Eventbrite.\nA Look Back at Last Year's Mashable Media Summit\n\n\nMashable Media Summit 2011\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nThe Mashable Media Summit on Nov. 4 at the Times Center in New York City attracted professionals in digital, tech, advertising, sales, marketing, mobile and publishing from all over the world.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nWe had a packed house in attendance for this year's Media Summit.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social Media\nPete Cashmore, founder and CEO of Mashable, speaks on the future of social media, its current landscape and what trends to expect for 2012.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nThis year's Media Summit was located at the Times Center in New York City.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSocial Media Grows Up: The Evolving Role of Social Media in News Organizations\nMashable's community manager Meghan Peters chats with Katie Rogers, social media manager at The Washington Post; Anthony De Rosa, social media editor at Reuters; and Drake Martinet, social media editor at AllThingsD.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTeaching \u2013 and Learning From \u2013 The Old Grey Lady\nBrian Stelter, a media reporter and blogger at The New York Times speaks at the Media Summit.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Filter Bubble: How to Fix Content Curation\nEli Pariser, author and chairman of the board at MoveOn.org, discusses how human editors and algorithms can work together to get users clicking on content that matters.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat Facebook's New Features Mean For Journalism\nAdam Ostrow, executive editor and senior vice president of content, Mashable speaks with Vadim Lavrusik, journalist program manager of  Facebook, about how the social network's new features can help journalists.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n The Evolution of Sports Illustrated\nSports Illustrated Group editor, Terry McDonell, talks about the magazine's transition from print to digital with Mashable's Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFrom Tactile to Mobile\nJosh Koppel, co-founder and chief creative officer of ScrollMotion, speaks on the reinvention of content experience and engagement.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTV Makes You Smarter\nChristy Tanner, TV Guide's general manager and executive vice president, explains how technology is changing entertainment for better and for worse.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTV Guide Audience\nA member of the audience asks TVGuide general manager and EVP Christy Tanner about technology's changes to the entertainment industry.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWho Owns Your Identity?\nMashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites. Also on stage is Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity, and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWho Owns Your Identity?\nMashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook; Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity; and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLike A Virgin\nTor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen. Here he is at age 14. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLike A Virgin \nTor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n The Problem of Prediction\nTony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, discusses how real time data changes what you should be doing. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMashable's Big Announcement\nAt Mashable Media Summit, we announced the Mashable Publisher Platform, a new editorially curated syndication experience that brings content from select publishers to our site.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Importance of Being Awesome\nFaris Yakob, chief innovation officer of MDC Partners\u2019 kbs+p and founding partner of Spies &amp; Assassins, covers from art and copy to arduinos and code, and how important it is to be awesome.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAT&amp;T Brings 4G to NYC\nLarry Solomon, AT&amp;T's senior vice president of corporate communications, announced that 4G LTE will be coming to New York City.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAT&amp;T\nSpecial thanks to our presenting sponsor, AT&amp;T. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOne on One\nBloomberg TV anchor Emily Chang talks tech with Foursquare's General Manager Evan Cohen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe New Model of Content and Commerce\nLauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe\u2028; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe New Model of Content and Commerce\nLauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, Founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe\u2028; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBreaking Down Content Barriers\nMichael Lazerow, founder and CEO of Buddy Media talks about the rules of content that need to be changed for social media.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSponsors for the Mashable Media Summit 2011\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGetting Ready for the Post-Conference Reception\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSupporting Sponsor\nSponsorship Opportunities\nA limited number of sponsor opportunities are available for the Mashable Media Summit. This is an excellent opportunity to get in front of Mashable\u2019s passionate and influential audience. Contact sponsorships@mashable.com for opportunities."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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