On visualisation and topic maps

Visualisations or information graphics are a powerful resource, not just for social network analysis. I have been alerted (thanks to Stephane Cheikh’s blog) to sixteen awesome data visualisation tools. I need to examine them in more detail, but I am impressed with what’s available.

Similarly, I am reminded of an article I read a couple of months ago, The tao of topic maps from a company called Ontopia.  “Topic maps are a new ISO standard for describing knowledge structures and associating them with information resources.  As such they constitute an enabling technology for knowledge management”.  A selection of topic maps are illustrated in the article.

In March this year, Topic Map 2007 was held in Oslo, Norway.  Check out the presentations and papers from this first internationl topic maps users conference.  The upcoming I-Know conference on the 5th September in Graz, Austria, has a special track on knowledge visualization and knowledge discovery that looks to cover a wide variety of applications.

Visualisation and information graphics are becoming part of a suite of knowledge management tools and applications looking to improve individual, group, and organisational performance.  Whatever visualisation tools are used, however, it is important to remember that quality data and content, in conjunction with sound analysis, are the ingredients for meaningful results.