In my experience, data is always political. There is power in having the numbers… and more in how you interpret them. But this week, the Trump administration flexed a frightening level of control over how data is shared with the public.
One Awful Week in Data (Politics)
On Monday, Washington Post covered White House press secretary Spicer’s avoidance of sharing a simple data point: the current unemployment rate. Then, the administration told the EPA and other federal agencies to stop talking to the press or posting on social media. (A Badlands National Park employee responded by tweeting climate change data. #BadassBadlands) Now, administration appointees are reviewing EPA data before it’s released to the public. I’m afraid for next week.
Who Needs Data When We Have “Alternative Facts”
Washington Post conducted their own experiment with aerial photos of the 2009 and 2017 inauguration crowds. I can’t recap it better than the reporter: “Even when the photographic evidence was directly in front of them and the question was straightforward, one in seven Trump supporters gave the clearly false answer.”
This blog post from analytics firm LunaMetrics does a great job of explaining what is Google Tag Manager and how it is used. (Hint: It’s not just the newest version of Google Analytics.)
Too Many Ads for Your Newsfeed. Let’s Move to Messenger
If you feel like your Facebook feed is all ads these days, Facebook’s with you. The social media giant is now testing ads in its mobile messaging app.
How Does Your Social Media Stack Up?
Clients often ask how their social presence compares other non-profit organizations. M+R’s annual benchmark study to the rescue.
Mapping the Culture Divide
Forget about the urban/rural divide. How about the Modern Family/Duck Dynasty divide? The New York Times mapped out the zip codes of Facebook users who “liked” certain TV shows, and they found top shows clustered into three groups with distinct geographic distributions. Awesome maps!