Your Role as a Supercommunicator

Most citizens realize that since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks security needed to be tightened, but the public is finding that the U.S. government's drastic espionage buildup is impacting their personal liberties. An ongoing debate rages about the role of government on this emotionally charged subject.

For several years now, the media has been abuzz about how much security is too much, not enough, or just right for the nation. In July 2010, Washington Post investigative reporter Dana Priest and columnist William M. Arkin published the product of two years putting together a three-part series detailing what they call an unprecedented buildup of national security. They left no stone unturned in their reporting. Sorting through hundreds of thousands of public records, they identified 45 government agencies and 1,931 private companies that operate in what they call “Top Secret America.”²⁸ Priest says this evolution is something that needs the public's attention. She believes most of us don't understand the magnitude of a national defense program that seems to be taking steroids, nor do we appreciate its potential consequences. “It's the size, the lack of transparency and the cost,” she says, “and if we don't get it right, the consequences are gigantic.”²⁹

Priest wanted to tell the American people about the buildup in a way that would make them comprehend the extent of the situation. As an investigative reporter, her natural tool of the trade is the written word; journalists have always depended on text to explain news to their readers. But Priest knew words alone wouldn't provide a comprehensive picture of a story on this scale. Her readers needed to experience the enormity of the situation to understand why they should be concerned.

Working with a team of dozens, Priest and Arkin developed a multimedia experience that enabled Post readers to see data about the buildup in a way that transcended the written word. A large color wheel helped you explore the relationships between 45 government organizations and the type of work they do in fields like intelligence, the military, homeland security, and weapons technology (http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/network/). An interactive map, following a video introduction, allowed you to enter your geographic location to investigate what kind of security work is being done in your hometown (http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/map/). The Post's use of these digital age features not only connected you to the larger story, but gave you a sense of the complexities of the nation's counterterrorism efforts.

Priest told me her graphic team's efforts “added something to the journalism…something that journalism could not bring to readers.” With big data projects there's just too much data to organize in your head. She sees visualizations as a means to “deepen our journalism and not just make it fun.” The Post put these applications online because the subject is “more graspable when you visualize it.” Additionally, this Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist says the applications developed for “Top Secret America” helped her better comprehend the complexities of this subject so she could do a better job reporting.

The Washington Post's effort to help its readers visualize and experience the data in a new manner gives us a glimpse into our future as communicators. We can expect the role of graphics and applications to continue to expand in all of our communication efforts. Supercommunicator Priest wasn't shy about jumping on the visualization bandwagon. She comprehended the significance of the graphic image and the importance of tools that engage audiences, and acted. She didn't personally develop the applications, but she had a hand in working with her team to develop the tools needed to get the job done. Supercommunicators know that to be effective in today's digital age, they need to understand and embrace a new paradigm. They don't have to build the applications themselves, but they need to be an integral part of the discussion.

A ROLE FOR EVERYONE

How do you see your role evolving as a supercommunicator in the digital age? There are many paths you can take to incorporate multimedia/visualizations/infographics into your business. Minimally, it's important to understand how new digital tools are reshaping the way we communicate. By reading this book, you're well on your way. Being educated about how these tools can add value to your outreach efforts is essential. Keep learning as much as you can about this fascinating field.

Some people working with multimedia and visualizations don't do any of the actual building of the application or design, but collaborate with a team of specialists to produce the desired result. Dana Priest is an example of someone who supervises, but does not create visualizations. She functioned as the team captain or editor-in-chief in coordinating efforts to drive “Top Secret America.”

Conversely, there are plenty of folks who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get busy. Many communicators are choosing to create their own visuals and applications. This model is favored by, but not limited to, Millennials—the generation who grew up using technology at an early age. Surprisingly, many of them don't have IT or design backgrounds, yet they are able to produce quality products. For many younger people, developing applications is like an extension of writing. You just go ahead and do it.

Many of us will fall somewhere between the hands-off executive and the hands-on, do-it-yourselfer. Some easier do-it-yourself applications are within our reach, but many of us will need to outsource larger projects to media and visualization professionals. Since immersing myself in this topic, I've come to appreciate the need for communicators to feel the data. With so many easy graphics programs available, it seems unnecessary at times to hire a designer when you can just use a template to do the job. Also, working hands-on gives you a more tactile experience with the numbers and visuals. This could lead to better communication.

Conversely, I am skeptical of people who don't know how to work with data suddenly having the tools to explain it to others. I learned from studying statistics that there are risks to playing with numbers when you don't fully understand them. As far as graphics go, I agree with John Grimwade that the world is filled with misleading visuals. Too many do-it-yourselfers can lead to a collective communication nightmare.

BE THE GLUE. BE THE EDITOR.

The more complicated the project, the more players will be involved. Someone needs to guide them and coordinate resources. The supercommunicator is the “glue” for a team of computer jockeys, designers, numbers people, and others. As the editor-in-chief, the supercommunicator keeps an eye on the big picture. Make sure that all the tasks being completed by others are ultimately going to produce a product that delivers meaning. Effective multimedia, visualizations, and infographics tell stories. With so many different parties working feverishly to get their jobs done, it's easy for them to lose focus.

Some supercommunicators, however, are highly adept in producing multimedia and visualizations. The NASA hyperwall project described in Chapter 3 was produced by a group of over a dozen people—all of them highly skilled in the art and science of creating visualizations. Horace Mitchell heads up the Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. As director, he oversees the development of the dynamic graphics and videos produced there. He expects his team to be adept in the following areas:

• GOOD SENSE OF DESIGN AND AESTHETICS. Some team members have formal design training.
• SOLID IT SKILLS. All visualizers must be able to run and write sophisticated programs. Some team members come from an IT background.
• EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS/SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE. They must be able to converse with scientists and comprehend the subject matter.
• STRONG ANALYTICAL SKILLS. SVS visualizers must be able to work knowledgeably with data.

The task of finding a dozen people with these skill sets sounds incredibly difficult to me—but somehow Mitchell has succeeded in organizing such a group. Be mindful that there is this level of talent out there—you'll just have to work to find it.

JUST JUMP IN

As I was interviewing people about data visualizations, multimedia, and infographics, I wondered how easy it is for communicators not currently in the digital game to adopt some of these new ways. Surprisingly, I found out that creating visualizations isn't as epically difficult as one might imagine. Sure, the NASA example requires a team of incredibly qualified people, but some tools are easy enough for just about any of us to learn. According to Alberto Cairo of the University of Miami, “Anybody can learn about the visualization business in a couple of months.”

The teach yourself to do visualization theory was popular among many of the professionals with whom I spoke. Liz Danzico, the chair of the Masters of Fine Arts Interaction Design program at the School of Visual Arts in New York, was among the many voices who said students need to “get into the culture, just jump in.” Programs to help you produce visualizations are available online and some are relatively intuitive to learn.

ProPublica's Scott Klein is all about the do-it-yourself model of news applications. He says all of the news apps they produce are developed by journalists—people with liberal arts backgrounds, not IT or design. He says his hires have been highly trainable…able to learn how to work with searchable databases to tell a story. They have a good news and design sense, says Klein. “Teaching them the code is the easy part.” Additionally, ProPublica pays for no specialty software. Everything it uses to create news apps is open source (computer software with a freely available source code).

Formal training in data visualization is still in its infancy. If you're thinking about asking a local college what visualization classes they teach…good luck. Offerings are slim in this new field. The School of Visual Arts, the University of Miami, and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill are options, but most educators I spoke to suggested prospective students start working with data and design by themselves before applying. Part of the challenge is that multidisciplinary nature of visualizations—drawing on design, programming, statistics, and journalism. It's hard to put all of that into a cohesive program.

Alberto Cairo offered me some great advice for individuals wanting to take the next step in this field. But first, let me recommend his book, The Functional Art: An Introduction to Information Graphics and Visualization, as a starting point. His book builds on many of the ideas presented in Supercommunicator and will give you more specific information about what it takes to excel.

Cairo recommends that infographic and visualization enthusiasts do these three things:

1. READ TWO BOOKS AS PRIMERS: Show Me the Numbers by Stephen Few and White Space Is Not Your Enemy by Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen.

2. START READING GRAPHICS CRITICALLY. Pick up newspapers or go online and spend some time analyzing the graphic. Is it just a pretty image? Or does it tell a story? As you advance you'll also begin to see that sometimes data visualizers manipulate data—either on purpose to make a point, or because they are not as comfortable with data as they should be.

3. GET STARTED. Like Danzico advised, “just jump in.” As you learn about information design, start producing graphics of your own. Work in Illustrator and Excel. Take a story that's filled with statistics—lots of numbers—and envision your design. Cairo recommends taking stories from The New Yorker because they often have data-intensive content.