Amanda Makulec

Why Dashboards That Deliver Should Be Your Next Read

In the newsletter: 'Why Dashboards That Deliver' by @datarevelations.com @abmakulec.bsky.social and @acotgreave.bsky.social by should be your next read openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/why-dashbo...

#dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVisualization

In a statement around ease of posting and UX: I got a new phone right before and hadn't gotten around to adding the app on my phone! Back now :)

Thanks Jacque!

Read the whole thing. You won’t be surprised, but you should be outraged.

This is disturbing… a single ChatGPT query uses 10x more energy than using a search engine. One 100-word email drafted by ChatGPT-4 uses about a water bottle’s worth of H2O, and enough electricity to power 14 LED lightbulbs for an hour.

This loss the year that @USAID was dismantled feels like an extra gut punch.

Coming up to mother's day, I've been thinking a lot about parenting and the intersections with my work.

So, here are five ways for kids to learn to love data (with book recs, activities, and even a show!) that we've used with our littles. #dataviz

vizresponsibly.substack.com/p/five-ways-...

BILL GATES: “The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one.”

@financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/bdd9...

Me, to my kids when they ask when I'm going to die: "I'll be here for you as long as my body is working."

That's the closest to a promise I can keep since we can't promise forever.

Loss and grief make for some darkness in parenting...

Isn't it? I think minimalism can lead to incredible (and sometimes austere) data viz. Like most good data viz considerations it comes down to your audience and what you need the viz to do (inform, be speedy to read, inspire, alarm...)

"WaPo columnists, they're just like us!"

Since that seems somehow like a totally normal afternoon of outdoor fun to me as a parent of little kids...

A pixelated image with dots and vague shapes of letters

@frank.computer's "Minimalism and the Absurdity of the Data-to-Ink Ratio" will make you chuckle if you're a #dataviz designer, but also challenges us in a good way: how has minimalism become a way for some “intellectuals” in our field to enforce aesthetics as law?

www.frank.computer/blog/2025/04...

Nothing surprises me these days, but the absolute childishness and entitlement of "just say yes!" is painful.

This is one of the worst violations of research ethics I've ever seen. Manipulating people in online communities using deception, without consent, is not "low risk" and, as evidenced by the discourse in this Reddit post, resulted in harm.

Great thread from Sarah, and I have additional thoughts. 🧵

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

First they came for USAID...now the same playbook.

Top researcher quits NIH, citing censorship under RFK Jr. | CNN Dr. Kevin Hall joins The Lead

He wasn’t just censored. They altered his responses to NYT questions on his publication
Egregious.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/h...

@acotgreave.bsky.social likes to say that "Win or learn, you can't lose" and while only one person is leaving with the big trophy, I know that the thousands in that room are leaving inspired. ❤️

Ryan, to think through a totally different perspective in a data set so many have worked with is so fun, along with your creativity and focus on migration.

Kathryn, your cockpit visualizations and use of graphic legends, along with the throwback to dataviz history were so impressive.

Bo, your storytelling abilities are exceptional and I loved the simplicity of your viz and shout outs to the community inspiration.

It was an absolute honor judging #IronViz at #TC25. Each of the contestants did an INCREDIBLE job on their vizzes, and huge congrats to Bo on his win!

#dataviz

Three men and a woman in a selfie at a restaurant

Taking the chart chat offline for the night and only spending a fraction talking about Dashboards that Deliver book things with @acotgreave.bsky.social @datarevelations.com & @jeffshaffer.bsky.social. Can't wait to see so many friendly faces at #TC25!

Thanks for the what-to-do-in-an-earthwyake coaching from this midwesterner. We're prepped for tornadoes.

Magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits San Diego

Being on an upper hotel floor as it starts to shake was not on my #TC25 bucket list.

Selfie of smiling woman in pink.sjort and graphic block print jacket in front of windows with stylized bar chart components.

In San Diego for #TC25 this week! Counting down to IronViz Wednesday and Chart Chat live on Thursday, and looking forward to seeing friends and colleagues this week.

I've got DVS, Chart Chat, and Dashboards that Deliver swag in tow too. Stop me to say hi & I'm happy to share! #dataviz

Using the dots makes the difference between male and female life expectancy so staggeringly apparent! Appreciate the caveat about averages too.

We are destroying the systems and teams who improved screening standards, in private outbreaks, collect data on population health, and more.

MAHA is an ideological joke wrapped in a fear of red food dye.

Colorful sunrise over a lake

A moment of zen at sunrise for the timeline.