This week, I decided to choose an idea for a data driven story. I came up with two ideas. One was to talk about music and trends. I could find connections between music streaming platforms and types of music listened to on each. I would explore more about how each platform works and how they market towards their target audience. The second one was to research overpopulation and its effects on human health. We already know overpopulation is a problem, but how does this effect us? I could make connections between geography and location and see if that plays a role. I can also look at underpopulation because that can have its own negative effects as well.
I decided to choose the overpopulation topic. There are many things that came into consideration when choosing this idea. This includes communication, change, knowledge, persuasion, and more. Overpopulation is a topic that is not very talked about. Even underpopulation- something you wouldn’t associate as negative. I wanted to choose a topic that would really allow people to understand and see something they may not have known about before. Educating a group of people can expand their awareness of topics going on in the world.
This can relate to a data driven story done on the Cholera outbreak. It’s something that may not effect everyone, but is definitely an important topic to be made aware of as it can one day affect them. The first step is to make quantitative comparisons. This deep fundamental question allows you to compare your data with something. For example, I can easily find the population rates, but this doesn’t mean much unless it is compared to something. This could be geography, or human health. Comparing your quantitative numbers with something else gives your story much more meaning.
As you can see, putting the cholera outbreak in perspective of where it occurred really allowed them to understand what may have been causing this disease. It helped them reach conclusions to stop the outbreak by finding the root of the cause.
I want to include aesthetics in my story that engages the reader. Something similar to a hybrid print format would be the most useful.
My target audience is those under 75, or those who may be affected by this in the future. Like this example, the viewer is enticed by the images and is also free to read it in whatever order they wish. This gives them freedom to browse the information they want and allows them to fully engage with the information provided.
My overall goal is to make people aware of a situation they may not know about. Bringing awareness to certain things can allow for change. If no one knows about a topic, how can they help find a solution. I want viewers to engage in my story and allow them to understand they severity of the situation in some areas.
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