OK, I admit it. I’ve always been a bit of an information-geek.
When I was much younger, I worked part-time in a library…and got a real kick out of knowing where to find the scoop on any subject. I could spend hours browsing through books, digger deeper and deeper into subjects.
I think the whole concept of a hierarchical system used for organization, “The Dewey Decimal” system was just brilliant in its design — logical yet easy to grasp. Of course, filing library books away by number for $3.00/hour didn’t make me an “information specialist”, but the concept of imposing order on vast universe of facts stuck with me. I delighted in knowing that whatever was on my mind, it was likely that someone else thought about it too, and there might be something written down for me to read and ruminate over.
Even though I was comfortable with the written word, I liked the idea of verbally communicating with other people even more. Laying awake at night in suburban NJ, I’d listen to the radio for hours on end. Whether it was some obscure program on NPR or Love Songs on WPIX, I often felt the dj was broadcasting just for me. Sometimes I’d picture myself sitting in a studio, lights really low, talking about people and the ways in which we are connected.
So, I got a degree in Communications — with a special focus on Broadcasting. And, I worked in radio — at the SUNY Oswego student college station (WOCR), at a country station in Syracuse (WSEN), and eventually in New York as a Shadow Traffic reporter on WCBS-AM as well as other NY area stations. At the time, it was a real thrill. Millions of people traveling to and fro….and for those few hours on my shift each week, I knew that many were tuning in just to find out what the road conditions were like. (Even more fun, people I hadn’t spoken to in years would call because they heard me on the radio.)
The offices, located in a medium sized office building in Rutherford, NJ were unlike any other office space I’d ever been in. Early in the morning, arriving for a shift that started at 5:00am, you could see the faint eerie blue glow of the screens from across the parking lot. The main room was large with small stations for each announcer along the perimeter — kind of like being on a big oval ship. The lights were always low, so that you could read the blue screens with neon text easily. However, the coolest thing about the job wasn’t the technology or the announcing, it was the challenging task of providing an informative yet entertaining interpretation of the news screens.
Traffic producers sat in the middle of the office, surrounded by telephones, televisions, and computer screens. They were busy making phone calls and entering traffic information for all the roads in a kind of funky shorthand — for example, “3c acc blk LL GWB” for 3 car accident blocking the left lane on the George Washington Bridge. Some announcers would read the traffic reports almost literally, but I liked to jazz things up a bit by injecting a little bit of personality in the interpretation…saying things like “they are kissing chrome on the Garden State Parkway”. The trick was coming up with something new and interesting, yet not too flippant — knowing that at any second, the screen could flicker and the information could change as you were reporting it!
My love for radio and data really came together while working at the Radio Advertising Bureau. There, my job as a research assistant was to pull together materials that helped position radio as a reach and frequency medium for advertisers. I was fortunate to be a co-host voice for the RAB’s monthly marketing cassette tapes…..actually recording skits, tips and stories for distribution to all members.
Over time, I shifted from announcing to a career which was centered around information — the collection, interpretation and presentation of facts and figures. I worked for a consumer survey company, market research firms that used various sources of data combined with modeling and GIS (geographic information services), and a database company known industry-wide for its address cleansing software. I became facinated by the ability to take various points of data and turn it into actionable information. Even more exciting was presenting the results and watching businesses grow because of efforts made by our team.
In 1997 I founded Catenate — (Latin: to link in a series or chain), so that I could use my knowledge in a consulting role. For the past eight years, I’ve had some great projects with companies like John Hancock, Performance Bicycle, Hewlett-Packard, and Borders Books. And, just this past year, we started The Catosphere – an online demographic data and mapping service.
This blog will hopefully mature like a fine wine….it will get better as it ages. (It better!) I envision this as a place for a free exchange of ideas that celebrates all the types of data that are collected, manipulated, distributed, and presented. From survey data and research panels to points…aggregation methods to maps, methodology, technology, and technique.
In other words, let’s talk data….
