Zappos’ real-time sales map

Zappos, the successful on-line shoe retailer, has introduced a new feature that displays real-time sales of their products on a map with location based on shipping destination.  You can watch flip-flop, sandal, and sneaker sales pop-up all over the country.  It’s an interesting feature.  I guess the point is to inspire people to buy products by seeing where they are being purchased.  No information about the customer is displayed, just the product sold and the general location to which it is being shipped.   It also doesn’t seem like you can zoom-in to a location, so customer privacy is not an issue.  It’s kind of fun to watch the arrival process of new orders and their geographic dispersion.  [via FlowingData]

Flowing Data – Nirvana for Data Visualization Geeks

Flowing Data is a blog devoted to data visualization, I know this sounds totally nerdy but I think anyone will develop a new appreciation for how information is represented by reading through their most popular posts.  Combining statistics, animations, slick graphic design, and the web, the examples shown on Flowing Data represent true works of art that also provide deeper understanding.  Some that I recommend are the growth of Target visualization,  17 ways to represent Twitter relationships, and the mapping of scientific knowledge (see example below).

Image From FlowingData.com, original created by eigenfactor.org.