Many Eyes

A service that combines information visualization with social software, enabling collaborative visualization by groups of users.

Date Posted: January 23, 2007

Overview Requirements Download FAQs Forum Reviews 1. What can I do in the Many Eyes service? 2. Where does the data in Many Eyes come from? 3. In what format do you expect for your data? 4. Where can I find data to visualize on Many Eyes? 5. Can I delete the data I just uploaded? 6. Can I edit data sets on the site? 7. Why can't I see any of the visualizations? 8. I found an interesting view. How do I link to it in my blog? 9. Can I use one of your visualization applets on my Web site? 10. How do I know that the numbers I'm seeing are accurate? 11. Can I create a private visualization on this site that only I can see? 12. Is it possible to have a version of Many Eyes that operates privately inside my company's firewall? 13. Can I add my own visualization techniques to the site? 14. What support do you have for blind or vision-impaired users? 1. What can I do in the Many Eyes service? You can explore data using your eyes. This site is set up to allow the entire Internet to upload data, visualize it, and talk about their discoveries with other people. Back to top 2. Where does the data in Many Eyes come from? The data sets come from you, the users. Anyone can upload data. Please see the Upload Page for more information. Back to top 3. In what format do you expect for your data? Our visualizations work from simple tables of data. In practice, this means you can upload data by cutting and pasting from Excel spreadsheets or tab- or comma-delimited text files. Please see the format guidelines for further detail. Back to top 4. Where can I find data to visualize on Many Eyes? If you don't have data of your own, you might try various U.S. Government Web sites. The U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Federal Reserve are good starting points. Back to top 5. Can I delete the data I just uploaded? If no one else has commented on it or created a visualization, you can remove the data. If a conversation has started, we prefer that you don't remove the data because it would remove an entire discussion. If it is critical that the data be deleted, please e-mail us. Back to top 6. Can I edit data sets on the site? Currently, you cannot edit data. If you need to correct a mistake, please upload a new version of your file. The reason we do not allow editing is that changes can make other people's comments and bookmarks obsolete. Back to top 7. Why can't I see any of the visualizations? Many Eyes uses Java applet technology. In a few browsers you may need to download Sun's Java Plug-in in order to see the visualizations. Back to top 8. I found an interesting view. How do I link to it in my blog? Under each visualization is the following icon: Click on it, and a pop-up menu will appear with the HTML code for linking to that view. Back to top 9. Can I use one of your visualization applets on my Web site? For now, we prefer that you simply link to this site. One reason is that it lets people have a discussion around a visualization using the bookmarking and forums that we provide. Back to top 10. How do I know that the numbers I'm seeing are accurate? We can't guarantee that anything on the site is accurate, since most of the data is donated by our users. Many users include the source of their data so that you can check it if necessary. If you have questions, each data set has a special forum area for discussion. If you see something that clearly shouldn't be on the site, please click on the Report Bad Data link. Back to top 11. Can I create a private visualization on this site that only I can see? Not yet. If there is enough user interest, we might add access control features in the future. Back to top 12. Is it possible to have a version of Many Eyes that operates privately inside my company's firewall? If you are interested in this possibility, please e-mail us. Back to top 13. Can I add my own visualization techniques to the site? Not now, but we're contemplating adding this capability; we'd be interested in hearing how you might want it to work. Back to top 14. What support do you have for blind or vision-impaired users? By their nature, our visualizations rely on human eyesight. We have been careful to choose color palettes that provide the most information possible to users with common color blindnesses. We also provide all underlying data in a simple text format that is accessible to screenreaders. Back to top