Mode updates
A New Way to Learn SQL—and Five Reasons to Start Now
Several years ago, I made the jump from being an Washington, D.C. policy analyst to a data analyst at a San Francisco tech company. Prior to making the transition, I didn't see value in learning SQL. I analyzed data day in and day out, but found little reason to leave Excel.
Learning SQL changed my perspective on the how to analyze data. Here are five of the biggest reasons why, which I've learned apply to all sorts of people who ask questions of data:
Editor’s picks in Mode updates
Are Experienced Founders Better?
January 30, 2014• 7 minute read
What makes a good startup founder? It’s a question asked from all angles, on topics ranging from education to technical literacy to personality types. But one of the most interesting debates centers around founder experience.
Benn Stancil
Co-founder & Chief Analytics Officer
Where Football Players Call Home
January 16, 2014• 3 minute read
An update to this post and a post on college basektball are now available.
Benn Stancil
Co-founder & Chief Analytics Officer
Predictions for Data Analysis in 2014
January 3, 2014• 5 minute read
If one thing is universally true about New Year’s predictions, it’s that they are extrapolations of existing trends. Most published predictions about Big Data in 2014 have to do with enterprise adoption of various technologies because, among other reasons, those trends are more visible. The predictions in this post are a little different. They’re based on experience in the Data Analysis startup community (as opposed to the larger Big Data market), which is a little more hidden, and where some particularly exciting trends are emerging.
Derek Steer
Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer
A Data-Driven Look at the VMAs
September 2, 2013• 5 minute read
For the last several days, the internet has been abuzz about the MTV Video Music Awards. Most of the attention has focused on Miley Cyrus' on-stage antics, leaving some of us longing for a deeper analysis of the actual competition. If Grantland can dedicate 3,000 words to the 33-49 Portland Trail Blazers, don’t we deserve to know, empirically, if #thatPower by will.i.am and the Biebs had better choreography than that in the Pitbull and J-Lo collaboration Live It Up? Is that really too much too ask?
Benn Stancil
Co-founder & Chief Analytics Officer