Nowadays, every morning you get a new tryout invitation from the new app or monitoring system that will give you the full view and control of how your social content is spread on the network. I personnaly use Social Bro to do that, although some time it gets quite cold and… let’s say it… boring.There sure is a need for some monitoring, that’s why I tought I’ll introduce you to (or remind you about) the Cascade project from the NY-Times Lab.
Data Visualization
Jer Thorp, creator of the Cascade project, makes it perfectly clear : he, as a digital artist fascinated with data, thinks the large amount of statistics and numbers that we’re filled with every day lacks of a certain human quality. In a great TED Talk, he underlines that every little bit of data that tracks our everyday life is just another way to record emotions, moments, paths, and its compilation can get very poetic if treated correctly.
More than poetic, Cascade is visual : It records the spread of an NY-Times information through 3 dimensions of time, members and space within the social networks. The result is an impressive 3D space that shows you how the word spreads. No surprise, to see that reaching the biggest players is the safe way to create more engagement, bringing people discussing of issues and keeping the info spreading. Still, we knew it, but thanks to Cascade, we see it!