December 2013 Summaries

The Torque maps feature has been updated to include cumulative visualizations, allowing users to explore temporal data by playing, pausing, and replaying animated data. This enhancement was demonstrated using a dataset on the establishment of US Post Offices in the 19th Century, revealing stories about westward expansion and notable events such as the gold rush. The map can be created using CartoDB, requiring only a few steps, including creating an animated map with Torque, enabling cumulative visualizations, and customizing the visualization wizard.

CartoDB makes it easy to create maps from Excel spreadsheets, allowing users to visually represent their data in rows and columns, apply formulas and pivot tables, and make quick fixes with just a few clicks. By simply dragging and dropping the spreadsheet into CartoDB or using its Sync tables feature, users can transform their data into beautiful and interactive maps without requiring extensive technical knowledge.