Let me start by saying: I am a big fan of @OurWorldInData and follower before Covid - every time I dive into a topic I try to start with OWID, then go on to Wiki or Mit Offenen Karten or books & articles.
So I took the time to sit down and write down 17ish ideas in 6 categories
So I took the time to sit down and write down 17ish ideas in 6 categories
Categories:
1/ Education: A meta education level to OWID
2/ Other Media: Making OWID more accessible
3/ Actionability: Next steps for each article
4/ Process: Insights into how OWID works and how we can support
5/ Random Ideas: Ideas that were left over
6/ Topic Wishes
1/ Education: A meta education level to OWID
2/ Other Media: Making OWID more accessible
3/ Actionability: Next steps for each article
4/ Process: Insights into how OWID works and how we can support
5/ Random Ideas: Ideas that were left over
6/ Topic Wishes
1/ Education: A meta education level to OWID
I think this was already mentioned a few times: With its current articles OWID is teaching its readers how to think about data and how to present a narrative with graphs already implicitly.
How could this be done more directly?
I think this was already mentioned a few times: With its current articles OWID is teaching its readers how to think about data and how to present a narrative with graphs already implicitly.
How could this be done more directly?
- Course:
Ideally this would be a course, but a good start would already be short webinars or blogposts.
Potential curriculum:
- How and where to find data
- Data quality and cleaning
- Interpreting data
- Data visualization
- How to write narratives around data
- Misdirection
Ideally this would be a course, but a good start would already be short webinars or blogposts.
Potential curriculum:
- How and where to find data
- Data quality and cleaning
- Interpreting data
- Data visualization
- How to write narratives around data
- Misdirection
- Workshops:
A shorter version could be a Webinar or Workshop, diving into one topic per time, and explaining how the article is created with the analysis as exercises in real time.
A shorter version could be a Webinar or Workshop, diving into one topic per time, and explaining how the article is created with the analysis as exercises in real time.
The Poor Economics course did this really well, explaining each chapter of the book with short exercises how specific graphs and insights were generated ocw.mit.edu/courses/econom…
- More interactive graphs:
What happens when X changes? Learning happens when we can also interact with the data directly.
OWID already has a few interactive graphs with changes over time, but having more variety here would be interesting.
What happens when X changes? Learning happens when we can also interact with the data directly.
OWID already has a few interactive graphs with changes over time, but having more variety here would be interesting.
i.e.: An article where the reader can switch through 3 different scenarios for the IPCC and see how each graph would be impacted.
Expensive idea, I guess, as each would need more development resources, but perhaps there are some low-hanging interactivity fruit that make sense.
Expensive idea, I guess, as each would need more development resources, but perhaps there are some low-hanging interactivity fruit that make sense.
2/ Other Media: Making OWID more accessible
In order of production difficulty:
- Audio Version of articles
In a world where every written text has a podcast, I am just waiting for my OWID podcast.
In order of production difficulty:
- Audio Version of articles
In a world where every written text has a podcast, I am just waiting for my OWID podcast.
Would both be interested in simple read aloud version of articles and additional content - Interviews with researchers on each topic (thinking In Our Time format here) or behind the scenes notes on the content of each article
- Videos
Graphs are cool, but how about Graphs in Videos? Idea here would be a Mit Offenen Karten style 10min explainer of each article, but explaining an issue with Data, Graphs and Maps.
Graphs are cool, but how about Graphs in Videos? Idea here would be a Mit Offenen Karten style 10min explainer of each article, but explaining an issue with Data, Graphs and Maps.
- Easily shareable visual content: Infographics
There are a lot of designers out there looking for cool side projects. A series of OWID Infographics, summarizing a topic with graphs would be very interesting. Combine that with a format that is easy to download and spread like pdf
There are a lot of designers out there looking for cool side projects. A series of OWID Infographics, summarizing a topic with graphs would be very interesting. Combine that with a format that is easy to download and spread like pdf
3/ Actionability
Sometimes after reading an article I wander back to Google and start my search anew. Concrete next steps would be great:
- Further articles to read
- Data sets to look into
- Research papers to look through
- Open Research Questions
Sometimes after reading an article I wander back to Google and start my search anew. Concrete next steps would be great:
- Further articles to read
- Data sets to look into
- Research papers to look through
- Open Research Questions
2 other steps (that might clash with OWIDs mission)
- Job board: Want to work on this problem? These orgs are hiring
- Activism: What you can do to change this problem - tools to reach out to your IEA representative, for example.
- Job board: Want to work on this problem? These orgs are hiring
- Activism: What you can do to change this problem - tools to reach out to your IEA representative, for example.
4/ Process
- Yearly updates
It would be great if all articles would be updated yearly with data, but I guess this would take many more resources than you currently have. I was just looking at the article for plastic pollution and the data was from 2018ish.
- Yearly updates
It would be great if all articles would be updated yearly with data, but I guess this would take many more resources than you currently have. I was just looking at the article for plastic pollution and the data was from 2018ish.
- What OWID is looking for
Leads me to volunteering: It is hard to understand what OWID is currently looking for, similar to an open-source project you could have a public issue board with good starting issues, data you are looking for, articles that could be updated...
Leads me to volunteering: It is hard to understand what OWID is currently looking for, similar to an open-source project you could have a public issue board with good starting issues, data you are looking for, articles that could be updated...
- Topic Roadmap
What topics are currently being worked on, what is the queue of possible topics. In short a roadmap of what is coming to OWID
What topics are currently being worked on, what is the queue of possible topics. In short a roadmap of what is coming to OWID
- Request a topic page
Combined with this a request a topic page would be great, perhaps with a feature that people could vote for topics and comment, so the most asked for topics and comments would be clear
Combined with this a request a topic page would be great, perhaps with a feature that people could vote for topics and comment, so the most asked for topics and comments would be clear
- Request of articles
Article ideas you had, but don't have the time for, so they could be submitted as Contributed Articles.
Article ideas you had, but don't have the time for, so they could be submitted as Contributed Articles.
5/ Random Ideas
3 Ideas that didn't have a home in the categories above:
- OWID Conference:
Yearly conference where articles written in the year are explained as short talks, and topics covered looked at through different lenses (different speakers, roundtables, etc).
3 Ideas that didn't have a home in the categories above:
- OWID Conference:
Yearly conference where articles written in the year are explained as short talks, and topics covered looked at through different lenses (different speakers, roundtables, etc).
- Languages
I often forward OWID, but sometimes need to explain it to non-english speakers. Different language versions for each article would be great, translation could be crowdsourced.
I often forward OWID, but sometimes need to explain it to non-english speakers. Different language versions for each article would be great, translation could be crowdsourced.
- "Public" Insights from the data
Sometimes I stumble upon takes from OWID data on twitter and blogs - for example
Sometimes I stumble upon takes from OWID data on twitter and blogs - for example
https://twitter.com/redouad/status/1447582619621806080, it would be great to have a curated site where these are collected (or people could submit those, so we would have more insights per topic)
- OWID APIs
Easily access the databases with open APIs, could be organized around a OWID hackathon - perhaps start with 3 cleaned databases on 3 topics - with some clear ideas.
Easily access the databases with open APIs, could be organized around a OWID hackathon - perhaps start with 3 cleaned databases on 3 topics - with some clear ideas.
6/ Topic Wishes
Last but not least: Personally I would wish for more econ topics, especially on the business side.
I know not the "World's biggest problems" but the current issues with the supply chain have shown that a data-driven explainer article on some topics would be great
Last but not least: Personally I would wish for more econ topics, especially on the business side.
I know not the "World's biggest problems" but the current issues with the supply chain have shown that a data-driven explainer article on some topics would be great
Possible directions to explore:
- Industries
- Value chains
- Breakdown of the Fortune 1000
- Industries
- Value chains
- Breakdown of the Fortune 1000
17ish ideas in 6 categories that @OurWorldInData could work on, pinging:
@MaxCRoser
@_HannahRitchie
@EOrtizOspina
@redouad
@lucasrodesg
@mlbrgl
@salonium
@DanyX23
@erniedesigns
@larsyencken
@charliegiattino
@diana_beltekian
What do you all think?
@MaxCRoser
@_HannahRitchie
@EOrtizOspina
@redouad
@lucasrodesg
@mlbrgl
@salonium
@DanyX23
@erniedesigns
@larsyencken
@charliegiattino
@diana_beltekian
What do you all think?
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