Quiver & Quill

I did
Originally uploaded by VonCanon.

There are two types of data: persuasive and directional. When someone makes a statement like, “people over 50 aren’t on the internet,” that’s when it takes persuasive data to politely prove otherwise. Here are three good examples of persuasive data:

24% of Gen Y Read Blogs
Is Old Media’s Influence Really Declining?
50 Million users of RSS don’t know what it is

I often use persuasive data to substantiate my perspective. However, data seldom changes someone’s opinion. People’s experiences, and your ability to present new ideas that relate to what’s familiar to them, form their opinions. Persuasive data can be boring and unreliable. It often confirms what you already know…and you can find a statistic for almost anything.

I prefer directional data: facts and observations that inform decisions rather than impress or persuade people. What causes people in online communities to talk to each, what copywriting evokes action, how real people use social networks: this is that data the most interests me.

Persuasive data always answers the question of “what’s happening?”
Directional data always answers the questions “what should we do.”
And I’m all about the “do.”

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