Many Eyes

Many Eyes is an easy to use data visualisation tool. First you upload data in the form of a spreadsheet, then you define forms of visualisations and finally customise and publish it. Many Eyes offer a dozen different visualisation types (maps, graphs, charts, histograms, and even network diagrams) and it is possible to apply a multitude of different forms to the same data set; Thus it is possible to play around with figures and to discover and highlight different aspects within the same data set. It is easy to integrate a thumbnail of a visualisation in your blog that links to the correspondent page at Many Eyes.
A thumbnail is by definition not rich in details and therefore you need to click on it in order to see the actual information. In the first moment one might prefer having the actual visualisation in the own weblog, but Many Eyes is not a mere visualisation platform but also a forum for interpretation. People start to discuss data like in this case. And that’s actually the greatest benefit of the service. It combines state of the art visualisation with the blessings of the living web.
I doubt that the masses will start discussing data sets but I think there’s a general tendency to explore global interdependencies. In a “globalised world” figures seem to be the most concrete evidence for developments, because in most cases we don’t have a first hand experience. Therefore statistics and network analysis seem to be an appropriate and necessary means of developing new forms of perception and discourse in order to cope with actually invisible but nevertheless vital challenges. I hope that XXx and XXX will go in with their approach.

http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/view/S2fqLEsOtha64-EgR_rLE2-

Thanks Dietmar Offenhuber and Gerhard Dirmoser from SemaSpace for sending me the link to Many Eyes!

This is the kind of democracy we would really need: First present the facts, Second discuss it in all aspects. And third make a decision on it.