The NYTimes has rightfully been making a name for itself in the world of infographics. Many of their economic and sporting graphs have been sublime. But have they gone overboard? I only ask because this chart which is supposed to outline how the European teams started the World Cup poorly, but have now come on [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Fun'
My own personal Don Norman hell
April 14th, 2010 · Comments Off · Fun, Usability
One of my clients is in a building which is highly securitized (if you will). To enter most doors you need need a card key. To exit these doors you press a button to unlock the door. When multiple doors are close together this can cause some problems. Here we see the card key reader [...]
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“… a true combinatorial prediction market …”
March 5th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Fun, Prediction Markets
Yahoo scientist David Pennock proudly presents his new baby, Predictalot. Despite the ridiculousness of the name (lets hope they don’t get a lot of Spamalot), it is quite different than any other prediction market I’ve seen out there. As Dr. Pennock describes on his blog post introducing Predicalot: Predictalot is a true combinatorial prediction market [...]
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You, the experience good
September 13th, 2009 · Comments Off · Fun, Market Definitions, Other Markets
I have written before about experience goods (as opposed to search goods) and the impact of these concepts on the ecommerce user experience, but quite frankly it never occurred to me to think of people as experience goods. But that has been corrected thanks to a new paper about online dating (Frost, Jeana H., Zoe [...]
Ouch! Red pins hurt! (And sometimes contain no useful information)
April 27th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Fun, Healthcare Markets, Information Design, Prediction Markets
Navigate to the latest prediction market, a “health market” this time, from the Iowa Electronic Market, and one see this: Ouch! Oh, wait. The text lamely explains the graphic. “Each marker represents a location containing current or former health market participants.” Phew. Well, I’m happy to hear that. But now, what the hell can I [...]
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Finally, the corporate color palette
April 20th, 2009 · Comments Off · Fun
I’ve been watching the color palettes that are coming out of Kuler. This one caught my eye. Title: Corporate Blew (Thanks andreas.frank1976)
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Buy low … go race a horse
April 13th, 2009 · Comments Off · Auction Markets, Fun, Other Markets
From the FT: “Prices just fell off a cliff,” says Dina Astell of the Racehorse Owners Association. “Trainers who used to get credit from their banks stopped getting credit.” Now all eyes are on the sale of two year olds, hosted by Tattersalls, to be held tomorrow and Wednesday. It uses the old English coinage [...]
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Buy low … get engaged
April 9th, 2009 · Comments Off · Commodities, Fun
Diamonds, it seems, can once again be a girl’s best friend … even if your personal wealth hasn’t been growing by leaps and bounds. The FT reports that diamond prices have fallen by over 30% in the past year. Pick yourself up a couple extra carats … I mean carrots (Thanks deviantART)
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Truism of the day: Data is faster than news
March 13th, 2009 · Comments Off · Fun, Information Design, Information Markets
I’m always amused by the mismatch that sometimes occurs between people’s ability to process, write and report the news, and the ability of raw data to communicate it that much faster. Here’s a simple example: Perhaps the headline will be true — again — by the end of the day. ~alex
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Play the game. Guess where are we now? Desperation? Panic? Capitulation?
March 12th, 2009 · Comments Off · Financial Markets, Fun, Information Design
My apologies, dear readers, for the infrequent postings of late, but I’ve been a bit reoccupied with other matters. Hopefully I’ll be able to post more starting in April. ~alex
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