Mary Ellen Bates BatesInfo.com Sept 30, 2014 Turning Information Into Insights
Turning Information Into Insights
Jan 25, 2015
It’s no longer enough to retrieve information. Regardless of your searching skills, you need to prove your value in this Google-dominated search world. What sets you apart from “the run of the mill I can enter words in a search box”? What do you offer that others don’t? How can you better relate your talent as an information professional to the goals of your employer, your management, and your clients? This presentation will cause you to rethink how you can turn information into insights, thus increasing your value in your workplace.
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Mary Ellen Bates
BatesInfo.com
Sept 30, 2014
Turning Information IntoInsights
QUICK POLL
How much value do you / the infocenter add for your organization?
• Not much value
• Some value
• A lot of value
• I don’t know2@mebs
ARE we adding value?
Do info pros add“a lot of value”?
Info pros:55% say yesExecs:34% say yes
3@mebs
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%
Info pros Execs
Execs’ top 5 info pain points
Info overload
Filtering through retrieved info
Relevancy of infoUp-to-date info
Timeliness of info
4@mebs
We need insight, not just data
5@mebs
ARE we adding value?
Biggest disconnects:Decision-ready informationRelationship mindsetCommunication of valueProactively ID info needs
6@mebs
ft.com/sla
7
Finding the data to mine
8@mebs
Look for open data, visuals
National government datadata.gov, data.gc.ca, data.gov.uk ...
Royalty-free imagesusa.gov/Topics/Graphics.shtml
Global data sourcesEurostat, World Bank, UN, etc
9@mebs
Google Public Data Explorer
Explore relationships130+ public data setsYou select the data you want chartedBYOData
google.com/publicdata
10@mebs
BYOD: BUILD Your Own Data
Search set countsCount mentions of topic over time{topic} AND 2014{topic} AND 2013{topic} AND 2012
11@mebs
BYOD: BUILD Your Own Data
Google Auto-CompleteWhat are lots of people thinking?Monitor your org’s reputationHow can you respond?
12@mebs
13@mebs
Google Trends
Frequency of search queries over timeNarrow by country or local areaAlso news reference points
google.com/trends
@mebs14
@mebs15
How would you answer this?
Show me how people’s use of theword energy changes over time
@mebs16
“energy” searches 2014
17@mebs
“energy” searches 2007
18@mebs
@mebs 19
2014 2007
duke energy energy drink
kinetic energy solar energy
xcel energy progress energy
solar energy energy star
energy drink wind energy
potential energy duke energy
renewable energy
Creating visibly valuableresults
20@mebs
“We remember 10% of what wehear, 65% of what we readand 80% of what we see.”
21@mebs
How much do we retain?
22@mebs
Pull out what's noteworthy
23 23
Create a time line
The history of turducken
24@mebs
Which is easier to take in?
@mebs25
or this?
@mebs26
Some basic tricks
27@mebs
PowerPoint
Customize the slide design, layoutView Slide MasterAdd a footerAdd a logo
Make the font larger, more readable
@mebs28
PowerPoint
Insert shapes, lines, etc.Insert Shapes (or SmartArt)
29@mebs
Excel
Create chartsRows are X axis; columns are Y axisHighlight data and series titlesInsert Column/Line/Bar/etc.
30@mebs
31@mebs
Chart responsibly
K.I.S.S. – no 3-D
What do you want to show?Change over time: columns, linesRanking: columnsParts of a whole: columns, not pie
32@mebs
Word
Tables of contentsUse heading format for each ToC entryReferences Table of Contents
Navigational hyperlinksUse Heading format for target locationInsert Hyperlink Place in this doc
33@mebs
34@mebs
Be brave!
Try new stuff!
35@mebs
Reluctant-entrepreneur.com
@mebs 36
You can reach me at
+1 303 772 7095BatesInfo.com, Reluctant-Entrepreneur.com
Twitter: @mebs
LinkedIn: maryellenbates
Facebook: maryellenbates
Google +: +maryellenbates37@mebs
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