Data analysis without the analysis

Swivel is like fast food for the mind, interesting but empty. Like a lot of Web 2.0 companies, it’s received some buzz but doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of helping one draw anything other than superficial conclusions. The question it leaves you with is, so what?

Explore, Compare, Share, Upload. The feature tour needs one more piece. Analysis. AKA the so what? You can draw some basic comparisons, but no conclusions. That would actually require some in-depth analysis, and just as importantly and understanding of the data. Where did it come from? How was it gathered? Who gathered it? Over what time period? Can bias be measured in the data and how will it affect the outcome?

I enjoyed Freakonomics because the authors didn’t just compare data using basic or advanced statistical analysis, they actually interpreted the results. Maybe that’s where Swivel is headed, but for now it’s a novelty.