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A few top sites are showing their feelings about SOPA, the bill in Congress that would dramatically hurt innovation online:

I agree with them. If you do, too, here's how to take action.

P.S. If you're in New York today, join the New York Tech Meetup for a protest in midtown.

Some friends came by my office recently and commented on my monitor, a 10-or-so year-old Samsung SyncMaster, shown below in the photo of my desk:

I hadn't thought much of the monitor for years, since it just - works. When I'm looking at the screen, I'm thinking about the bits flying around inside, not the plastic chassis holding the screen.

My friends were amazed that a "technology guru" would be using such an old piece of equipment. And it's true, this monitor is old enough that it's almost retro-cool at this point. But I'm using it with no irony - the thing works!

That got me to thinking: there's a particular pleasure to using what you have, without having to change. I suppose I'll get a newer monitor at some point, whenever this one dies, but in the meantime I'm happy to have a piece of equipment that I don't have to think about much. That's the point of technology, isn't it? To be a tool that we can use for some purpose, without having to think about the tool itself.

Of course this runs counter to the dominant theme of the technology industry - buy more, and buy often. Count this "guru" as caring less about what's new and more about what works. (If it happens to be new and works better than what came before, then I'll be the first to add my praise.)

The photo above shows another way of working with what you have: not just working with it but turning it into a strength. The "B" sign on the left shows the New York City health rating, which every restaurant is required to display in their entrance. This particular restaurant got a "B" - a middling rating that restaurant owners aren't too happy to receive.

You can see what the restaurant did: they copied the same font, size, style, and color of the "B" rating into two more pages, showing an "A" and an "R". And there you have the most creative sign for a BAR in New York City.

Finally, there are some cases when it's not enough to work with what you have - it's time to change. Take a look at the photo below, of my local post office's kiosk where I was trying to buy stamps:

I read and re-read this menu of options: where are the regular stamps? I've bought from this kiosk before, and there's always something called "stamps." The only mention of stamps here is to buy one of "different value" (which had me thinking, different from what?).. I didn't want Express Mail, or some holiday baubles (whatever those are - Christmas tree ornaments, perhaps?), or Priority Mail, or "different value."

My best guess was the 1st class stamp, which mentioned that it could go international as well. Turns out that was too expensive, around a dollar.

It took me some time but I finally figured out where the normal stamps were hiding out. I can't be the only customer who was confused (though perhaps you figured it out already). It's obvious that the postal service should make some changes here.

Here's to a 2012 knowing when to hold on to what we have, when to use it creatively, and when we really should make a change. Happy holidays!

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The explosion of data in our daily lives has recently made information visualization a highly sought-after skill. (I think "graphing" would be a better word. Such a long phrase - "information visualization" - makes me wonder what George Carlin would have said about it.)

Most of the infographics I see are sleek, colorful, digital designs that are oriented more towards visual pop than to imparting any kind of understanding. Which is a shame, since the entire purpose of a chart or graph is to impart understanding. Whether it's pretty to look at is a nice-to-have, secondary matter.

With this in mind I was happy to come across Chris Fahey's flowchart for rye, bourbon, and scotch whisky (originally posted on Twitter), below:

Notice how Fahey is able to distill a chapter's worth of material into a single page. You can compare and contrast the three drinks by glancing quickly around the drawing. In other words: You're learning! Here understanding is imparted more effectively, more efficiently, than even a well-worded written description would have done. In short, this is what infographics should be used for - imparting understanding in a way that the written word can not.

It's no coincidence that this great example of infographic design was created totally independently of any digital device. Hand, pen, and paper were the only tools necessary. Let this be a lesson that "information visualization" does not require a computer. In fact, it might be a better discipline to force oneself not to use a computer.

Next time you see a sleek and beautiful digital infographic, try to look beyond the visual excitement and ask yourself: what am I really learning?

3 truths of info visualization:

1. The entire purpose of a chart or graph is to impart understanding.

2. Infographics should be used in cases where they impart understanding better than the written word.

3. "Information visualization" does not require a computer. It might even be better created without any digital tools at all.

(Thanks again to Chris Fahey, on Twitter at @chrisfahey. I'm at @markhurst.)

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