I’ve launched a lot of web projects in my career, but none of them have come close to the excitement of this evenings whirlwind. For the 2006 elections our little group called World Online at the Lawrence Journal-World launched a live view of the local and state citizens fulfilling their democratic roles as citizens.
At 7pm CST we flipped the switch, waiting patiently while live data feeds poured in from Associated Press, Kansas Secretary of State and Douglas County. I’ve done Flash projects before and normally you working with static of semi-dynamic data but I’ve never semi-blindly uploaded files that would soon be feed information from places I’d never seen before and viewed by literally thousands of people instantaneously. As soon as data poured in changes had to be made, graphics added, inconsistencies spotted. The rush was amazing.
!http://media.domaki.com/www/election_map.jpg
This map (http://www2.ljworld.com/elections/2006/nov/07/races/state_treasurer/) shows voter turn out and candidate totals across Douglas County in Kansas. What’s amazing is the story data can tell just by being represented in a simple fashion using basic design principles.
Tonight was a thrill and it wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication that our team has towards delivering data to its audience. I’m already excited for 2008!