We have all heard that data is the new oil. While a novel metaphor, the value and importance of data to humankind should not surprise anyone. Centuries before the conception and development of the first written language, humans used styli to etch numerals into clay tablets as a record keeping and accounting mechanism. Over time, as language and technologies evolved, the need to record data kept pace. From humble beginnings as a means to track the sale or trade of goods, time keeping and eventually recording scientific discoveries, data evolved to drive the largest corporations in their quest for the top. However, one thing remains the same - humankind's insatiable need to record and preserve data.
We believe that in this history exist thousands of interesting data sets, ripe for visualizing using twenty first century tools. Thus the genesis for this new social experiment - Throwback Thursday. An initiative aimed at engaging the already active Tableau Community in discovering, socializing and visualizing historic data.
Every week, #ThrowbackDataThursday provides a data set for you to explore, along with details on the provenance of the data source. Then, you get your chance to visualize the data. After completing your viz, post it to Twitter with the hashtag #ThrowbackDataThursday and tagging @TThrowbackThurs. Towards the end of the week, the team will comb through the submissions finding the examples that we think best fit the data. These examples will be posted to http://throwback-thursday.com and our Twitter account, @TThrowbackThurs, for community feedback.
So, sit back and let us curate your historic data experience. We hope you enjoy!