“I was really intrigued by the idea of using live streams of data that’s relevant to real people, and that would allow us to reflect and learn about ourselves.”

Save interesting thoughts, quotations, films, technologies… the medium doesn’t matter, so long as it inspires you.

When I look at a pie chart, I just go numb.

Data can actually make us more human.

I studied at UC Santa Cruz before going on to do a grad program at UCLA. Santa Cruz was like an awesome hippie summer camp. I got to take a vacation from reality and hang out on beaches and in forests.

What’s clear – and exciting – is that communication for social change is growing.

My mom’s a psychologist, and I think that has influenced me on a personal level. Plus, I’m just generally interested in visualization and humanity, social activity and technology, and what happens in aggregate.

It’s amazing how much data is out there. The question is how do we put it in a form that’s usable?

There was more data transmitted over the Internet in 2010 than the entire history of the Internet through 2009.

A data structure is just a stupid programming language.

The most important question regarding Big Data at almost any company is: How much are your customers really worth?

Recommended additon to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: “A right to not have your data rise up and attack you.”

Nothing beats standing in the middle of the action, with all the data I need at my fingertips

Windows Updates have sometimes been a pain point for users. The update pop-ups can interrupt a movie or a video game, and the automatic restarts can result in lost data or confused users.

Google is famous for making the tiniest changes to pixel locations based on the data it accrues through its tests. Google will always choose a spartan webpage that converts over a beautiful page that doesn’t have the data to back it up.