As part of their mission to connect women in tech with one another, contribute to the tech world, and inspire a deeper impact within the company and various communities. Comcast NBCUniversial TECHWomen invited students at Agnes Scott College, regardless of major, to a hands on Data Storytelling workshop. There, at the Comcast headquarters we were introduced to Tableau. A data analytics platform that’s being called the “gold standard” when it comes to visual analytics.
The event was the first workshop type of event that TECHWomen has ever done with a college, and I’m so excited they chose the innovative students at Agnes Scott College to be part of Comcast’s own innovative strategy.
Going into Comcast headquarters we were all brimming with excitement and curiosity about what we would be doing for the day. Most of us had little to no experience with Tableau. I, for one, had no idea what Tableau even was.
I didn’t go to the workshop because I am a data person. I very much do not excel when it comes to any type of math, hence the creative writing major. I went because I need to know data analytics anyway. Especially since I’m interested in possibly pursuing marketing and advertising straight after college.
Data “Storytelling”
Data Storytelling those were the words that drew me to this workshop in the first place. I love stories, in every form, and it made sense to me to figure out this relatively new field of storytelling with data.
So when we sat down to go through how to use a data set to create things such as bar graphs, line graphs, scattered plots, gantt charts, and stacked area charts, I put my undivided attention into how a story can be created from data. What the data said about the company or what were the external issues effecting the data, such as was the product impacted by the outside world, are all questions that can be answered or considered with data storytelling.
Something that stuck with me the most during the workshop is how needed data analytics is in the business world.
It’s no longer enough to send all tech/data related questions to the IT crew. Being a modern business person means knowing the data and knowing the applications.
You don’t have to build Rome, but you do have to understand how they built it.
This is not just smart business, it is basically a requirement for modern businesses in a world that is technologically changing as quick as a snap of the fingers. To keep up you have to constantly be learning and relearning the ever changing ropes.
And I for one, have always loved learning.
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