What’s New This Week?
Stop Spying Everyone, Says Facebook
Facebook is explicitly telling groups to stop using their data for surveillance, writes TechCrunch. You can thank the ACLU for forcing the issue. Back in October, one group was caught compiling protesters’ posts from social sites and selling the data to law enforcement. Twitter also forbids this practice.
“Very, Very Fictitious” Data
Remember that time the Obama administration manipulated jobs data to make the unemployment rate look lower? Yup, it’s another story about “fake” data in the Trump Administration. Thanks FiveThirtyEight for breaking down why this claim is so absurd.
The State of the Social Media Union
I see so many one-off stories about social media trends (Twitter is over! Facebook use is down!), that it’s hard to keep track. I appreciate Forbes’ mile-high overview of what’s up with each main social platform.
Crafty (Oh the Pun!) Use of Ad Targeting
Not a nonprofit by any means, but Joann Fabrics has an interesting technique to combine IRL shopping with digital advertising. They are retargeting users of their in-store wifi with online ads. Give them your email address to access their wifi, and you’ll start seeing their digital ads. Here are the details.
…And In Other Links
If you want to hone your Google Analytics skills, I recommend checking out Google’s own Analytics Academy. They just introduced new beginner and advanced courses.
One Bar Chart at a Time
Data visualization consultant Lea Pica has great templates (and advice) for creating clearer presentations. Check out this downloadable template for a personal favorite… the stacked bar chart.
Several Harvard students mixed data and a personal story to create this affecting visualization about sexual assault on college campuses. And it was all for a class project.
Subscribe to Bee Update
A weekly newsletter covering the collision of data, digital communications and progressive causes. (oh yeah, and really cool data visualizations too)