A new way of looking at the world

By Manav Tanneeru, CNN

November 2, 2009 3:27 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

New tools are making it easier to see and analyze complex data
Cheaper technology and digital data are leading to innovations
Data ranges from statistics to Facebook and Twitter posts
Sophisticated visualizations are also appearing on mobile phones

(CNN) -- What's the first thing that goes through your mind when someone says the word 'data'?
For many of us, the first image is line graphs, pie charts and spreadsheets with columns and rows full of numbers that leave you bleary-eyed and a bit dazed.

But what if someone were to say data can also mean what you post on Facebook and Twitter, the ratings you gave a restaurant, the photos you uploaded to Flickr or even, perhaps, what you feel.
A bit of a reach? Not anymore.

An emerging set of tools is making it easier than ever to track and compile all sorts of 'data' and display it in a way that's relatively easy to understand.

You can now point your mobile phone at a street and instantly get ratings for restaurants. Or type in your address and find reports of crimes that may have occurred in your neighborhood. It's even possible to track emotions on a national and global scale.

'Specialists from scientists to accountants have been dealing with data for decades,' said Martin Wattenberg, a researcher at IBM's Center for Social Software. 'What's new is that there's a whole lot more data of relevance to consumers. 'At the same time, people are generating a whole lot of data themselves.'

There are several reasons why we're seeing more data visualization in popular culture and why it's becoming simpler and more innovative, experts say.

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