Community briefs and cluefulness

Posted on May 8, 2012 by gabe

Last week I attended the City of Toronto’s Data, eh? event, billed as “part celebration and part moving forward.” A major intent was to connect those working with data inside and outside of the City; it was great to see the diversity of people in the room.

…and yet, it was a frustrating experience. There were many calls for more data standardization, for the City to develop apps internally “as an example for others,” etc. This, to me, reflected the cluelessness of the developer community to how government works. Their job is to run a city, not to make it easier for you to build an iOS app.

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Time flies when you’re looking for work

Posted on May 8, 2012 by gabe

There appears to be little correlation between how busy I am and how much money I make. I’m currently looking for a job, which is a new experience for me. (I’ve been self-employed for 13 years.) Really, my days now are pretty much as they’ve been for the past 13 years: each day is different, and I have no routine to speak of. The difference is that my main client is myself, and the project is to find an appropriate employer.

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What innovation isn’t

Posted on April 18, 2012 by gabe

I talk about innovation a lot. In the past couple of months I’ve even started introducing myself to people as an innovation strategist. It often triggers people’s bullshit detectors.

Yeah, it’s a slippery word. (But aren’t all the good words slippery?) My interest in the word probably started around 2005, when the province of Ontario got a Ministry of Research and Innovation. I suspect that I started hearing a lot more about innovation starting around then, anyway.

But unlike most things, as I heard more about it, I didn’t feel like I understood better what it was. If anything, my understanding of what innovation is got less clear over time. Which fairly directly led me to OCADU’s Master’s program in Strategic Foresight and Innovation — I wanted to understand what innovation is, and what innovation isn’t. And I now have a graduate degree in — among other things — innovation.

I understand people’s frustration with the word, and I get frustrated when I see it misused. (Definitions are tricky things, but the ones I like insist that innovation is something that creates new value.) Continue reading →

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Notes from my talk on visualization for non-profits

Posted on April 18, 2012 by gabe

Last night I spoke at the Toronto Net Tuesday event about visualization for non-profits. Thanks to those who came out, my co-presenter Justin Malecki from ClearSky Advisors, and the organizers, TechSoup Canada. Here are the links I showed, and my notes:

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Speaking: Toronto Net Tuesday

Posted on April 12, 2012 by gabe

[Update: The notes from my talk are posted here: http://gabesawhney.com/?p=234]

On April 17th I’ll be doing an intro to information visualization for (primarily) non-profits at Toronto Net Tuesday:

Does your organization collect a lot of data?  What are you doing with all the data and how are you sharing it with funders, board members and the community?  Data visualization is an increasingly popular way to share and communicate complicated sets of data. A visual display of information can deliver a clear and strong message – more than numbers and text alone. It can also be a powerful way to engage supporters in a particular action or decision. This session will look at some inspiring examples of data visualization, as well as simple ways that your organization can get started. Continue reading →

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Four weeks away

Posted on April 7, 2012 by gabe

I got back this week from a four-week trip. I can’t recall if I’ve ever been away for so long. Highlights: Continue reading →

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