Charts Bin – Statistics in Graphical Form, Easy
Statisticians, number crunchers, computer scientists, and similar folks all know that numbers are king. Putting together statistics and crunching numbers on data are what make information useful on many levels. The problem is, unless you’re a dedicated numbers person, these numbers aren’t just useless; they’re boring.
ChartsBin.com is all about making charts out of those numbers. Using standard data file types (CSV, XLS, SQL), the site creates graphical charts to match the data set. So if you have the numbers on oil extraction by country, world-wide, ChartsBin will create a map with color codes indicating the number of barrels, gallons, whatever.
The web-based software tool is open source and uses several common platforms and plugins, including jQuery, Google Visualization, Open Flash Charts 2, and others. It’s still a beta offering with many updates to come. Currently, users can only view the current data sets, but the ability to submit your own data and download public data sets will be available.
Popular charts currently on the site include one that shows the average age of virginity loss, by country, number of Nobel Peace Prize winners by country, adherents to major religions of the world, etc.
While the app shows a lot of promise, it is currently just a beta with no way to test it for yourself or input your own data for chart making. ChartsBin does seem to have a good foundation and could become a useful tool. For now, it’s just a curiosity with some interesting graphical presentations of social and economic data sets.
