an unexpected Twitter frenzy + HelpMeViz

I routinely post to Twitter about data visualization and storytelling related stuff: interesting articles or blog posts, updates on what I'm working on, good and not-so-good visuals from the media, etc. A couple of weeks ago, I posted the following:

The full Economist article where this visual appeared can be viewed here.

I honestly wasn't expecting anything close to the response I received - a couple dozen replies and quite varying views on the effectiveness of the visual. Some were fans; some were not. Others noted points of confusion. A number of people suggested alternative approaches (one vote for a dreaded pie!) some even taking a stab at what a remake could look like. There was a bit of dialog on having a venue for conversations like this so they can potentially be useful to others later:

On this last note, I'm going to parlay this post into a recommendation for a related resource. 

HelpMeViz is a site run by Jon Schwabish where individuals can submit visuals and ask for feedback. In the description, Jon says, "This site is designed to facilitate discussion, debate, and collaboration from the data visualization community." A quick scan through the homepage will reveal a lot of great and varied visualization examples, challenges, and conversations. In the event that you'd like to weigh in on the Economist waffle graph shown above, we've posted it on HelpMeViz here. In any case, I recommend checking out HelpMeViz and adding it to your data visualization resources.