Charles Blow is the New York Times "visual" Op-Ed columnist. His column appears every other Saturday and he often includes visual representations to help him try to make his point. I find it very interesting that the New York Times has an Op-Ed columnist who focuses on statistics and visual representations, not just text, to try to communicate. I think it's another indication of the power of visuals - often, but not always, in conjunction with text - and the changing nature of both communication and literacy in the 21st century. It's also another example of the transformation of "traditional" newspapers and how they deliver content in a technological age.
He's also just started a blog, called By The Numbers, where he intends to discuss "all things statistical - from the environment to entertainment - and their visual expressions." Like many blogs, it appears to be designed to be more immediate and more interactive than a traditional New York Times column, and will definitely focus on the visual as much as the textual.
[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert.]
Now, I don't know yet if this is going to be a blog that I'll stay subscribed to, or how well he'll make the transition from columnist to blogger. But one thing's for certain, he has excellent taste in videos.
Here's a "shameless plug" for a fledgling project across the prairie in Missouri.
ReplyDeletehttp://virtualsouthside.ning.com/
This blog (the Fischbowl), and especially the presentation mentioned in this article were fuel for the start of our fire. So your shameless plug in a small way helped to lead to ours.
Have you yet attempted to keep track of the "fires" you have helped to start?
That might be an interesting list.
~Sean