The #DataFam on Twitter
The community I just talked about? They’re mostly on Twitter. It’s actually a pretty big thing. If you want to really connect with the community, make new friends, expand your network, and be able to talk and share ideas with Tableau users, ranging from newbies to experts, make a data Twitter.
A month into my internship, which was also a month into using Tableau, my coworker suggested that I get a “data Twitter”. I laughed at him because it sounded like the nerdiest thing ever and why would I make a twitter account to follow data topics? He kept bugging me about it and saying it was really amazing so I finally caved and made a twitter with a “data handle” (@vizzingbrocks) (like vizzing rocks but my last name is Brock. Yeah, nerd.) I expected never to use it again, but when I posted my first tweet which was a MakeoverMonday viz, I started getting people following me and commenting on my post welcoming me to this thing called the #DataFam.
I’ve never looked back.
Just because of connecting with the community on twitter I’ve met so many fantastic members of the community, been able to ask questions and make friends with so many users who really know the software. Being surrounded by a community that is so selfless and constantly uplifts and supports the members is one of a kind. The #DataFam really is that. It’s one big family. Every Friday people will tweet out their #TableauFF which stands for Tableau Follow Friday and they’ll pick a new member on Tableau Public/Twitter and encourage people to follow them.
Twitter is an easy way to stay connected with the tons of information out there. It’s way easier to participate in projects, get involved, join user groups, connect with members, get advice, and get hype about data! (Yes, I’m that nerd now.)
Here’s an example of the responses I got when I tweeted out asking for resources to start learning SQL. Within the day I had people retweeting me for exposure and commenting with their advice:
Where else can you find that level of care and response?
One of the great things about joining the community on Twitter is that you can DM anyone to ask questions. When I first joined Twitter I saw all these amazing people making incredible visualizations and I was intimidated to talk to anyone. But then I started asking some questions and starting some discussions and trust me, everyone on there will give you so much time for your questions, it’s incredible. I’ve made a lot of friends this way and I will never regret making that twitter account!
As a student, this is the best networking advice I could give you if you want to learn more about data analytics or Tableau.
Get on Twitter, make a Public profile, message me @vizzingbrocks and I’ll introduce you around!
Written by: Maria Brock