I really enjoy data visualization.  I am a visual person and love the patterns and beauty that can be found in many of them.  Data visualization refers to a visual interpretation using graphics, animation - just about any multimedia tool - to present and summarize complex, multi-dimensional data.   They are frequently called maps (although few are actual geographical maps) and display data and their relationship to each other.

I recently discovered that there are many data visualization tools and examples out there that are very fun to explore.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Newsmap

This map takes all the headlines from Google news and maps it out on a heat map.  It’s color-coded based on the topic, and sized according to how many related articles there are.  

We Feel Fine

These guys track emotions across the internet and map them into a series of what they call movements.  Open the applet and browse each one.  

Twittervision

This shows a map of the world and tweets as they happen.  It’s great for a laugh, as you see these tweets completely out of context.  

Visual Thesaurus

This is probably my favorite.  Look up a word and it will show you graphically how other words relate to it.  

LivePlasma

If you’re a movie or music lover, you’ll spend a lot of time on this site.  Pick a movie, director, artist or actor.  You’ll get a grouping of related songs, movies or artists that are similar to help you find other movies or musicians that you also might like.  Keep clicking around to find more related items.