3 cool web-tools for visualization geeks

Hi guys! I am back again. 

You are not going to believe what I have been doing these past couple of months! While I am in the process of summing up everything that happened in a blog post or two - take a look at the following paragraphs. Here are some cool tools for making our life more visual and visually beautiful :) Enjoy!

As it has already been mentioned in one of my really early web-notes, it's all about visualising big data now. Just think of how you browse news on the Internet or read scientific reports (I can only imagine a person sitting in a big cosy chair reading something on nuclear physics) or even your Facebook timeline. There are only a few things to catch your eye - screaming headlines, videos and pictures...mainly videos and pictures. Thus, in order to spread the message people and companies have to re-invent the wheel. Well...in a cool way. Like Vice News with their cartoonish stories Correspondent Confidential or, say, 'I am a Drop in the Ocean' project (well known yellow&blue poster symbolising ideas of freedom, democracy, mutual help and all-national support in a minimalist picture). 

Of course, all great ideas soon become the over-used ideas, or move from 'Oh my gosh so-o-o amazingly original & fresh' phase to the 'we just had too much of it'. If you want an impression of 'infographics gone completely wrong' or 'how to ruin the idea of visualisation - I found this Guardian collection of 16 useless infographics. Moreover, I decided to share this great little guide from journalism.co.uk which looks into the psychology of visualisation and the extent to which colour, form and icons influence perception of the data. 

Now that you are completely backed-up with all the basics, let me share with you something pretty:

1. Easelly 

What's that? I would call it great easy-to-use and free-to-download online tool for infographics. But the 'official' definition would be:

'easel.ly (n) - a theme based web-app for creating infographics and data visualizations'

So basically it differs from the other similar tools in terms of simplicity. Easelly offers a huuuge range, like really impressive one, of pretty and unusual themes even a child could adopt for creating a nice original infographics. Like, for instance, this free hipster theme on the left. Have you seen anything better? Hipsterlicious! In addition to the standard picture formats, you can also download. pdf version which is supposedly nice. I was going to embed this video presentation of the app, but the music in it was too annoying and I do not want to annoy my readers, so I am just going to paste this link here, so you can see for your self. However, what might actually be professionally useful is this video below which shows the way Eeaselly may be used by journalists. 

Here you go:

2. Tiff 

Speaking of hipsters: 

'I got a tattoo of the word Helvetica on my chest in an Arial. It's ironic, you know'. If you don't get this joke from a PocketHipster app - the Tiff tool will be super useful. If you do get the humour, check how much an expert on fonts you are by taking this silly test here. This article from The Industry may also shed some light on the mystery behind the two alike looking fonts. Anyway, moving on to the tool:

'Tiff (n) - is a type diff tool that visually contrasts the differences between two fonts'.

The tool may help you to decide which font to use for your blog, or simply get more familiar with the styling differences. The only potential problem I see with this tool is that it only recognises Google Web fonts, but having tried many different combinations I did not see it as a big flaw. If you really do want to compare a wider selection of fonts or simply want to know more similar tools - check Typetester (may not be that hip, but super useful as it shows you text extracts in bold, italic and other styles and allows comparing 3 different fonts at the same time). To make it a list of 3, will also share with you this font-comparer with an original name Fontcomparer %-). It does not have a wow-design, but seems super convenient. So do not forget to check it out.

3. RAW 

Ok. Now when I have tried this web-application, I want to go back to my statistics course and re-submit my lame Excel tables, pasted-in-a-Word-document graphs and other simple-looking data visualisations. RAW has been specifically designed for aesthete-sociologists, journalists and other specialists who work with data. 


'Raw (n) - an open web app to create custom vector-based visualisations on top of the amazing D3.js library through a simple interface'. 

Beautiful graphs and charts can now be made in 5 easy steps: 

copy-->paste-->customise-->export-->enjoy

Your work can be exported in vector format (.svg) or .png

And here is another video illustrating more useful features of the tool.

Raw 1.0 - Basic Tutorial from DensityDesign on Vimeo.

That's basically it. Thank you for reading :-) 

I got hired!

Hey folks!

I bet you missed me. :-)

Sorry for not writting about my job hunting success earlier - I was too busy strategizing my very own information war, more like a battle (p.s. I am gonna tell you all about it later on). So yeah, I got the job and now I am one of those office people wearing fancy suits and having my phone bills covered. Not really...;-) But here is what happened.

More than a month ago I have started this little job hunting experiment, to be precise I started looking for the job in the first week of February. On 19th February I had my first day of work. I now work on TV and do the stuff I love the most - manage PR and media relations.

In order to find the job I have used several techniques with most of them being fairly traditional (I did not make any viral videos, but probably should have). You can take a look at a little visual report below illustrating the progress of the experiment, although, first, I would like to make a little conclusion.

1. Your path to the dream job  almost solely depends on you. 
Knowing me, I can now say with 100% assurance that if I really-really wanted to get the job at Google I could have. I just needed to really work for it and really want it. Of course there always are circumstances you just cannot deal with. Like in my case, I can only work in the countries which do not require the working permit. And believe me this list is like super short. Thus, at this point of my career I decided to establish myself in the filed first before applying to work abroad and having amazing companies to do the paper work for me. So yeah, your success is directly proportional to the efforts behind it.

2. Your CV and your ability to make an impression is 90%, 10% is luck.
Clearly CV and your email, pitch or phone call to come with it is the first thing potential employer gets to know about you. Thus, it should speak for itself. To add something to this topic which I have already covered, you can also consider looking at this latest article on Mashable. The main rule to remember here is tailoring! You may and should have that one perfect universal resume to begin with, but you would very likely have to edit it for each particular job offering.

3. It is personal. 
Out of every channel tried, targeted emails seem to work the best. As you will see on the chart below, I have tried several ways of distributing my CV among the potential employers. If 100 is the maximum efficiency, email gets 100. Every time I have sent personal email with my resume attached to real people (not just HR department or a general email) asking them for a job, I always got the response.
References and letters of recommendations and  are also personal and extremely fruitful, it is like the word of mouth in action, like the true meaning of PR (when the person who says you are cool is actually not you, but somebody even cooler).

4. Social bookmarking works. 
Not just for blogs, but even for the job hunting. As this little technique helps increase traffic site and make your post (CV) more visible. Just imagine if the story of you looking for a job appears on Digg among the most sharable content. I bet somebody would hire you to do their social media.

5. Be creative. 
There is nothing to add here, except that every profession has place for fantasy and talent. If you can show at least 1% of you might add to the job while going through the application submission/CV writing/hiring process, it definitely increases your chances for success. 

Simple content marketing tips

Monday morning to everyone! :) Hope, you all had a great weekend!

This week I will start from explaining the basics of the content marketing, because this truly is a big thing nowadays. In case you are wondering why content marketing is important, I will provide you with 3 interesting facts from 2 different studies (by Content Marketing Institute and NewsReach)

1. 78% of UK companies invest in content marketing 

2. 54% of businesses plan to invest more into content marketing next year

3. 97% of UK organisations planed to maintain or increase their investments in content marketing this year

When marketing your content there are three simple but importnat things to remember:

1. Use various formats of content. Overall, among 12 different content marketing tactics - social media channels, blogs and case studies are seen by the practitioners as the most effective. Video as a way of delivering messages is used by 70% of UK businesses, making it 6th most effectively used content marketing tool. Interestingly, infographics - very engaging, likeable and shareable type of content, are used by 32% of companies. I believe this number will increase withing the next few years, because users seems to appreciate infographics more than long boring articles. Finally, contests, games and quests are brilliant, just make sure you know the best way to approach them. This recent piece at +Jeff Bullas blog on Facebook contests should be helpful. 

2. Use multiple platforms to deliver your content. It is not only about driviing traffic, but simplifying it for your audience. It is always great when the mechanics of the website or company`s blog allow readers/visitors to share the content in one click. Thus, don't forget to put the necessary social media buttons and make sure it is possible to login to your site through those social media channels. (And to make this paragraph sound more legitimate, here is some more statistics for you). 83% of all businesses use LinkedIn to share their content, this is a significant figure proving that professional networks cannot be underestimated. Moreover, Google Plus seems to promise great future for your business presence online.

3. It is not about how your write, but what your write about. Quality over quantity, content and essence over the delivery format - there are many ways to formulate this tip. The main point is that everyone, including Google and other digital habitants are becoming smarter developing digital savvy, creating a real challenge for the content marketing practitioners. Not only your content should be tailored for the specific audience, it should always provide additional value and originality. Facts and figures should be up-to-date, 'borrowed' ideas should be referenced, you should be an expert in what you write. (Well, luckily I just share what I know here, not pretending to be a business shark or marketing guru). 

Finally, I have co-written this fabulous blog post with my colleague +Euan Leopold (who, by the way, has also started his own blog). Don`t forget to check it out! 

Have a great productive week and come back tomorrow as I will share some thoughts with you on the new iPhone! :) 

Job hunting, CV writing and professional profile building

Good Monday morning to everyone! :)

Hope, you had a wonderful weekend! It is a beginning of new week, new life and time to look for a new job. For those who are just about to hand in a CV or two to the desired companies (mine is Google), I thought this post may provide some insights.

Earlier today I came accross this article on Mashable (seems like I only post links to this website) talking about Facebook introducing 'Professional Skills' category. It seems like social networking sites are becoming more and more appropriate for building employer-employee relationships. I believe most of you already have LinkedIn profile. I personally find it very useful for me (as a recent graduate), because of the possibility to connect with influencers, look for new opportunities and make quick applications. However, increased number of users demand certain improvements from the SNS. In addition, for your LinkedIn experience to be fruitfull there are 13 mistakes to avoid.

Anyway, LinkedIn is great, but let me share with you some interesting alternatives for creating professional image online. I would want this tips to be helpful for merketers, PR-people and advertising job hunters, but everyone else is also welcome to read and share:)

1. I always wanted to have a business card (not sure if I do enough business for that), smartly designed piece of recycled paper with my name on it, at least. The World Wide Web made my dreams come true - About.me is a wonderful and easy-to-use service ('nameplate') for making online business cards. Many thanks to my friend TJ for telling me about this one. And! you can easily transform the thing into a short CV and send the link with you paper resume.

2. Some jobs not only require to have a curriculum vitae to be considered as a potential candidate, but ask for the portfolio. If you are a designer, person who makes creative commercials or a web developer - check out Zerply and show your work to the rest of the world.

3. Another alternative to the LinkedIn page is a 'branded web presence' making tool called Flavors.me. This service also allows you to connect all the social media profiles at one web-address; create your resume and personal card; promote your 'personal brand' online.

4. For creative industry workers infographics CV does not look like a bad idea at all. If you don`t feel like making it yourself, don`t have inner designer-self or simply want to have it done quick - I have a solution for you. I heard this is a Russian start-up which proved to be successful allover the world. ResumUP - great took for visualising your Facebook or LinkedIn profile. The advantage is that infographics CV looks really clear and informative, so can be send to employers on its on, whilst the 'comics-looking-like' resumes may need a textual compliment. I have used this service myself and really enjoyed the results!

5. If you are an inspiring marketing or PR-professional, SEO guru or content marketing evangelist who does a lot of talks on the subject, takes active part in conferences, TED talks and other speakers featuring events, you should register with ExpertFile. This is probably not for recent graduates, but who knows what you will achieve in the next 5 years, right? ;-)

Good luck getting your dream job!

Dissertation in Facts&Figures

Hi everyone!


Remember I`ve told you about great free websites for infographics? Today I decided to test Piktochart and create an illustration to my dissertation writing process. Looks pretty engaging to me. Tell me what you think!

Best wishes,

Me :)

Infographics and video editing for bluffers

Infographics are being widely used by all types of companies as the new form of content. 
From the maps and cartography -  











through the road signs -

the use of icons evolved into the whole image-based stories and business reports -

This is how infographic was born, I guess. I always admired how this type of content looks and always wanted to create one my self. So here are some tips concerning infographic I would like to share.

1. It is simple

There is probably no better way to explain the big data and heavy statistics to the ordinary person except for visualising it. Easy-to-understand pictures may not only display your products, reveal key information on the company's achievements, but be an informative piece for the stakeholders and business partners.

2. A form of content and the content per se

Infographics are now quite commonly used by the marketing, PR, advertising and digital blogs and news outlets as a way of delivering complicated data (statistics, rankings, process descriptions). On the other hand, when a brand decides to create infographic, this often becomes a newsworthy story itself. Take Google, for example, who supplemented the ‘9 years of Gmail celebration’ with the colourful illustrations making the event more ‘catchy’.

3. People love infographics

Cool cat`s images and infographics (as more serious stuff) represent the two examples of the most sharable content. This is especially true among the Internet users who not as much read, but observe. While with the articles and news stories the information may be more in-depth, it only takes few seconds to get the idea of the infographics and repost the picture to your social media page.

4. Infographic cannot be too long

The blog post may be too long, so can the video, but with infographics it is more like a comics book - you want to know the end of the story. Thus, this format of content is rarely boring. So it is like bonfire, waterfall or 'another person working' - something you can watch forever. :)

5. There are so many tools to make infographics

In order to make an infographic you do not necessarily need to be a photoshop guru. There are at least 3 great free online editors to help you start visualising your content.

- Piktochart

-  Infogr.am

-  Visual.ly

6. Users love them, search engines don’t.

The biggest problem with infographic is that they are not SEO-friendly, Being an image infographic content cannot be recognized and indexed. Therefore, it`s use have to be very dosed and always supported with some kind of a pitch or a hashtag.

7. Good infographics are not so easy to make.

Even though the above mentioned programs are quite handy, they cannot compere with professionally designed ones. Therefore, I would still recomend to get yourselves introduced to the basics of picture editing.

FURTHER content visualisation 

If you want to take the visualisation to the next level, it is might be worth trying to create video.
To say the truth, I was not at all familiar with any video editors (except for the Movie Maker). 
However, I was a huge fun and frequent user of Instagram, so after they introduced the 'video option' it was my first expereince in fim making.

Later on, I discovered Vine and it was absolutely surprising how 7 seconds can make you a star or help creating successful marketing strategy .

But the service I want to share with you today is VideoScribe. If you have always wanted to create a video like this, this video editing software will be extremely useful. What it does, it makes this 'hand drawn stories' in a few minutes, so I really enjoyed the 7 days trial free version that I have installed. If this is something you would use for your content marketing, it might be worth buying though.