Cool Graphic Online

Check out this cool graphic on The Economist magazine website.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/01/comparing_us_states_countries

It compares American states to other countries with similar populations and similarly sized economies (measured by GDP).

Vermont has the nation's smallest economy. It is the size of Yemen.

California's is the size of Italy. If it were a country it would be one the world's ten largest economies!

Everyone knows that the United States has a large economy (by far the word's largest), but it's weird to think of the fact that it is larger than the aggregate economy of 50 different countries.

Besides helping the reader conceptualize economy and populations sizes in new ways, the graph is very interactive.

You can click on the individual states for more details.

There is also a similar graph for Chinese, Indian and Brazilian states or provinces. I like the layout of the international graphics better because the graphs are on the side of, rather than below, the map.

Enjoy!

USA Today Trip on Monday

Class, a reminder: We'll be meeting with editors at USA Today at 10:55 a.m. next Monday, in lieu of class. We'll likely stay till 12:30, for a tour and chat with social media editors and others. You'll need to car pool. I can comfortably fit three additional bodies into my car, and will be coming and going from campus. (Four would be a squish, but I'll do it if necessary.) Since I need to beat the rest of you there, I'll likely leave the building no later than 9:30 a.m. Let me know if you'd like to ride with me. For the rest of you, I'll start a thread on our blog so you can arrange carpools. Normally, it takes about an hour and 15 minutes in rush hour to get there, and about 45 minutes in non-rush hour to return. The address is:
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, Va. 22108
The main switchboard is phone: 703-854-3400.
I put driving directions, from google, on our Blackboard site.

Note: Just before you get to the building, you'll see a guard's shack on your right. You need to pull up to it, and tell the guard (or the intercom button) your name. I'm emailing over all your names today. Tell them you're with the group from UMD, and you're meeting with staffers Desair Brown Shaw and Mary Hartney. You'll be directed to a parking lot and/or garage adjacent to the building. We'll meet in the lobby no later than 10:55 a.m. I will give you a sheet of questions to answer afterward, as a class assignment. Please take a deep look at the site before Monday, so you can ask good questions.

If you need to carpool, please put a note into comments below to make arrangements with classmates.

Commission in EU Turns Spotlight on Facebook over Privacy Concerns

A battle is brewing in the European Union over privacy concerns with Facebook.

The Telegraph reports on the European Commission's concerns over the social media giant's use of users' personal info by advertisers.

Have you personally found the targeted ads on Facebook off-putting?