Georgina Armstrong is a Data Artist with 22Seven’s and will be presenting on Data visualisation as a means to make otherwise boring data exciting and empowering at the Mammoth BI conference on 17 November 2014.
A background in finance and a deep appreciation for creative design saw Georgina earn top spot in her MBA class at the University of Cape Town. She then moved swiftly into the field of marketing metrics where, according to her, the most fun is to be had. She has a talent for making hard data exciting and empowering for everyone around her. She is also a passionate gamer with an impressive mean streak when it comes to multiplayer-online-battle-arena games.
We asked her about Big Data and Business Intelligence:
What is the best piece of advice you can give concerning Big Data and Business Intelligence?
Don’t be frightened! If you’re too busy trying to hide your ignorance to actually play with the data, you’re doomed anyway. Go out and explore.
What in your opinion is the biggest misconception around BI and Big Data?
The most common misconception is that a million rows in an Excel document constitutes “big data”. That’s nowhere near big data, but it’s still plenty of data to have fun with. It doesn’t have to be big data to be valuable data.
Define Big Data and BI in five words or less?
The unfair advantage of knowing.
What has been your career highlight thus far?
I made an interactive data overlay on a fast food menu board, which the team used to optimise the design of the new menu board. It was a great visual tool for understanding the fundamentals of the business.
Why should people attend Mammoth BI?
Because Mammoth BI offers exciting inspiration and some candid myth-busting – the South African data scene needs both.
What is the subject of the presentation you will be delivering?
The truth well told: data visualisation as a tool for making data insights palatable and engaging, and ultimately more useful.
Book your tickets to see Georgina’s less than boring talk here.