Last winter, San Francisco techies flew through the industrial doors of Quid to begin a night of networking and data visualization.
As the food and drinks flowed, attendees networked and looked forward to the speaker series following the cocktail hour, featuring Joey Hobbs of Quid, Mikko Jarvenpaa of Infogram and Alex Salkever of Silk.co.
Find a tech speaker series near you on Tech in Motion's list of upcoming events.
One Tech in Motion member, Robert, who is a customer success manager from SF, said he was “excited for the panel to start and learn more about data visualization”.
As members began to fill the space they made their way through tea sandwiches and vegetable platters as well as the beer and wine bar. Guests mingled over the latest in data news and common interests. One member mentioned that she “wasn’t expecting so many people” and that it was “encouraging to see so many tech people in one place.” The crowd still quieted down easily in anticipation of the tech talk from the three tech experts of the night.
First on the microphone was Alex Salkever from Silk.co. Alex showed Tech in Motion how members can use Silk to take data and turn it into rich, interactive visuals that are easier to comprehend and can be helpful in business. He stressed the importance of communicating efficiently through visuals and using them to improve business strategy.
Next up was Mikko Jarvenpaa from Infogram. Mikko showed how Infogram’s product can assist anyone in making infographics for their personal and business uses. He also emphasized how prominent infographs are becoming amongst Internet searches and in business plans.
Last on the stage was Joey Hobbs from Quid. He brought up an interactive analytical map that showed different relationships between data visualization companies. This map could compare information between two companies, such as funding, to help formulate better business decisions. He dove deep into the technical side of data visualization and wowed the audience with his expertise on the matter.
Upon finishing the talks members were given twenty minutes to do a Q&A with the speakers. Questions were flying until the very end of the session and continued after the official presentation time was over. All three speakers were greeted with curious members that wanted to know just one more thing about data visualization. Greg, a member from SF, explained “although it’s not what I’ve done in my background, I enjoyed hearing about data visualization.”
Interested in getting in sponsoring a Tech in Motion event in your city? Get more info here.
As the night came to a close members finished up last drinks and closed conversations with the exchange of business cards. They chatted about the speakers, what they learned and how they’d use data visualization in the future. The last members cleared Quid’s large doors around 9 p.m. with a group of people that had met that night. Attend San Fran's next Tech in Motion event by joining the chapter there.