CQ Economy Tracker

A massive data visualization tool that lets users find out how the U.S. economy is performing, including breakouts on jobs, house prices, inflation and income. The visualization was designed & developed by the editorial multimedia team of CQ-Roll Call Group, the premier political news and information provider covering congress.

The data is collected from government and non-government sources; the interactive shows all historical data and is updated live as new data is released. It also features a glossary with sources and descriptions of the data and the data is available for download in Excel format. We think it's the first interactive tool of its kind to pair up this much national and regional/state data side-by-side. It's hooked up to a database and was built in Flash. All of the components, including the graphing and mapping portions, were custom built and are fully reusable APIs.

via cqeconomytracker.cq.com
(click above link to play with this interactive tool)

Note: If you read this via Email or Feed-reader click above link to play with this interactive tool.

Who Are America's Illegal Immigrants?

Illegal immigration is much more complicated issue than the usual dichotomy of "Illegal immigrants are destroying our country" versus "Illegal immigrants play a vital role in our economy." Before we even embark on the discussion, we need to know who we're talking about. How many illegal immigrants are there, where are they from, and how do they fit in to the economy?

via awesome.good.is

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The New Opportunity For Sharing

Technology is connecting individuals to information, other people, and physical things in ever-more efficient and intelligent ways. It’s changing how we consume, socialize, mobilize— ultimately, how
we live and function together as a society. In a global economy where the means of production are becoming increasingly decentralized, where access is more practical than ownership, what do the
successful businesses of the future need to know?
  • What’s changed about our psychology of sharing?
  • Is money the only, or even the most valuable, currency anymore?
  • How can Web, mobile and real-time technologies continue to fuel sharing?
  • What are the opportunity spaces for business owners & future sharing entrepreneurs?
This page was excerpted from the full report of The New Sharing Economy study (a collaboration between Latitude and Shareable Magazine).

via www.flickr.com

Note: If you read this via Email or Feed-reader click Permalink below to Download the report here (PDF) (Size: 16 MB)

Coffee’s Place In The Global Economy

We don’t technically need coffee to survive, yet this popular pick-me-up fuels not only our daily energy levels, but the global economy as well. The coffee industry thrives in countries like Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia: the world’s leading coffee exporters. In the United States alone, we consume more than 66 billion cups of coffee per year. Some of us love our java so much, in fact, that we even observe a national coffee holiday, September 29.  For more facts on the economy of coffee in the U.S. and around the world.

via www.mint.com

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The Patent Lawsuit Economy

Patent trolls have become a huge problem clogging up the legal system with frivolous lawsuits and forcing good companies to defend their innovations. On the flip side, large companies often bully past smaller companies with legitimate patents because they can. Is there a middle ground that protects the little guy while making sure the big guys aren't taken for an unnecessary ride?

via www.focus.com

Published on Power of Data Visualization. Note: If you read this via Email or Feed-reader click Permalink below to download bigger image.

Where Is the Silver?

We’re in the heat of a gold rush, but not all that glitters is gold: some of it is silver. And like that of most precious metals these days, the price of silver has been on the rise: up nearly 17% in the past month alone and currently at its  highest since 1980. In this interactive infographic, we look at the world’s top producers of silver. On the "Graph View," meanwhile you can see how global production and the price of silver have changed in the past century.

via www.mint.com
(click the above link to see an interactive map)

Published on Power of Data Visualization. Note: If you read this via Email or Feed-reader click Permalink below to download bigger image.