Visualization
tools can be a huge asset for digital humanists in interpreting data in a way
that allows readers to take large amounts of data and extract important tidbits
from it.  The major fact of
visualization tools, however, is the interpretation.  Not only is data
collected not unbiased or objective, but the interpretation into a visual tool,
whether a simple graph or a complex chart, is subjective.  Thus digital humanists must keep in mind that
the ultimate goal of the humanities is to make visible underlying institutions/power
structures/assumptions, and therefore be aware that their visualization may
hide these factors.

One of the most straightforward and compelling explanations of illegal
immigration I have ever come across was a short infographic put out by
Starbucks.  It explained the challenges
faced by the individual, the complex US immigration system, and the motives
behind entering the US without a visa.  The colorful and simple wording lacked some of
the complexities of the issue, but overall, it conveyed an incredibly confusing
problem into something almost anyone could understand. However, I know not
everyone would agree with my assessment of the infographic; it had a liberal
bias, and sought to put the reader in the individual’s shoes instead of explaining
the laws broken.  I assume Heritage
Foundation or some other conservative group could create an equally colorful
and simple infographic demonizing the group.

For my final project, I will be looking at Pinterest and how it is used
by women.  The most obvious use of visualization
tools will be to copy some of the posts that appear on the site and analyze
them.  But in choosing only a few posts,
I am extremely biasing my research.  I can
also include graphs with statistics like the amount of posting in a certain
category or the ratio of men and women users. 
But as Drucker pointed out, even these simple catagories are complicated
when you look at gender performance and uncertain categories.

I recently had an infographic on my door for the 2012 Olympics. It
grabbed the attention of students and staff; it was quite colorful and had very
interesting graphics, and the facts were even more compelling. The one on my
door was pro-Olympics, but there were many similar that talked about the bias
of the Olympics, or the damage to the environment, or the disruption to the
local population. There is a great spread here.