Introduction - No viz, just talk.

I'll start with this, I have never blogged before, I'm not a great writer, I have only two years of experience in Data visualization, and (Most importantly) this is one of the scariest things I have ever done.

So why in the world am I doing this? 

Because I am scared, I'm not a great writer, and I only have two years of experience in Data Visualization. This blog is an opportunity for me to overcome those things. To share with people my adventure, what I have learned along the way, and what I will learn in the future. And, hopefully, will help others in their journey.

What will this blog be about?

As the title suggests, it will be about "Growing up Data". Well, what does that mean? In a nutshell, I'm young in my career as a Data Analyst and as a Tableau user. I'm still "fresh" to this world. And even though I have learned a lot so far, I still have so much more to learn. To Grow.

So each week I will post a new blog centering around one of these three topics. All of which are dedicated to showing the steps it took to get to the final product.

1. Bad to Great : Dashboard Design

[A series dedicated showing my design failures, the feedback I received, the changes/iterations I made, and what I learned along the way]

2. Tableau Tips and Tricks

[Various Tableau Tips and Tricks, why I wrote/needed them, improvements I've made, and what I learned from the process]

3. Random thoughts on the world of Data Visualization, Tableau and the Community

[Just random thoughts on Tableau features (And what features I wish we had), Interesting articles/debates on data visualization and what's trending across the Community]

This blog will be an open book. Have a suggested on how to improve something, share it. The whole point is to show the learning process, so ALL criticism and feedback is encouraged!

I'm scared as hell to start this, and have no idea how it will go, but that's ok. I'm excited for where this journey might bring me.

Regards,
Rody Zakovich

Final note, and a work of thanks.......

Tableau Zen Master, Chris Love, recently did a Periscope titled "Failure is an option" http://bit.ly/1PhQu60. In this video he discussed the idea that we, as a Tableau Community, should be more open to sharing our failures. To discuss why we failed, what changes/iterations we made, and what we ultimately learned from the experience.

This idea really resonated with me, and inspired me to start doing this.

Thank you Chris, I appreciate all that you do!