Linguistic Empires

One of the main arguments used by Vladimir Putin to support any possible intervention in Ukraine is the suppression of the rights of Russian language speakers. The Economist wisely decided to wholeheartedly endorse the underlying principle of Putin’s logic and redrew the world map accordingly. You should read the article.

Linguistic empires of the world
Linguistic empires of the world

Credit for the piece goes to the Economist’s graphics department.

Mapping Your LinkedIn Connections

Today’s post comes via a co-worker. LinkedIn’s R&D lab published a tool to map your LinkedIn connections. You login to your account and then receive a social network of map. Mine, seen below, clearly shows three different and generally not inter-connected networks. The orange represents my current employer; the blue is my university network; the green and pink are high school and my employer while in university (they were in the same town).

My LinkedIn network map
My LinkedIn network map

To be fair, I’m not a frequent user of LinkedIn. So for those of who you use it more regularly to make connections, contacts, and acquaintances will find yourselves with more complex networks.

Credit for the piece goes to LinkedIn.

Wisconsin Politics

Today we dive into state-level politics north of Chicago, in the state of Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an in-depth article looking at the political divide in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. While one could publish an article of that nature with just lots and lots of words, the Journal Sentinel chose to use maps and charts to support their arguments.

Comparing Milwaukee urban vs. suburban voting patterns
Comparing Milwaukee urban vs. suburban voting patterns

Credit for the piece goes to Craig Gilbert and Allan James Vestal.

John Lester Dominates

This past weekend was some good Red Sox baseball. Okay, so we only won two of three from Oakland, but that second game was fantastic. John Lester dominated. Last fall I mentioned a studio called Statlas that was visualising the World Series. They continue to update and tweak their product and so it was great to see Lester’s performance documented.

Lester dominates
Lester dominates

Though, as you can see, Lester so dominated the Athletics, you can see almost nothing happening from Oakland’s batters. But, I will skip the near ninth-inning implosion of Boston’s relief corps that nearly cost us the game. Mostly because the visualisations of the game tell a great story. And so if you like baseball and data visualisation, you should check it out.

Credit for the piece goes to Statlas.

Comparing the Troop Deployments of Russia and Ukraine

Things remain tense in Ukraine, especially after the violence late last week in Odessa. But in many senses, Ukraine is limited in the operations it can undertake against the separatists, at least with its armed forces. A lot of this has to do with the tens of thousands of Russian troops, tanks, and aircraft now deployed along the border. Thankfully the Washington Post has taken the time to detail just what is known to have happened lately.

The buildup along the Russian–Ukrainian border
The buildup along the Russian–Ukrainian border

Credit for the piece goes to Gene Thorp.

Symbology on the Internets

Today I am going to take a day-long step away from data visualisation. The Harvard Business Review recently published a short piece looking at some of the symbolism—I mean symbology clearly—we use on the internets.

The ampersand
The ampersand

Credit for the piece goes to the Harvard Business Review.

Strolling into Work…

…forty minutes late with an iced coffee? It’s what we millennials do since we don’t understand that time exists between 04.00 and 10.30. Don’t believe me? Well, Nate Silver over at FiveThirtyEight crunched the numbers and it turns out that there is some truth in the humour. Cities with a younger, more millennial workforce tend to see workdays start later.

Selected cities in the Eastern and Central time zones
Selected cities in the Eastern and Central time zones

Credit for the piece goes to Allison McCann.

NATO Deployments Near Ukraine

Things continue to deteriorate in eastern Ukraine. And along the other borders of Ukraine, NATO is boosting its presence with planes, ships, and soldiers. This graphic from Jane’s details the recent deployment of aircraft to the theatre.

NATO's deployments
NATO’s deployments

Credit for the piece goes to IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly.

Syrian Anti-tank Missiles

Rebels in Syria have recently acquired American-made anti-tank missiles. But for those who don’t know how exactly the TOW missile system works, the Washington Post illustrated it. In theory, these weapons will give the rebels an advantage over Syrian armour.

TOW missile system
TOW missile system

Credit for the piece goes to Richard Johnson.