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Tableau Software Drops Its 'Twitter Crowd Favorite' Data Viz Contests (tableau.com)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the things-to-blame-on-China dept.

theodp writes: As part of its 'Iron Viz' data visualization contests that lead up to its annual conferences, Tableau Software ($4.8B market cap) has awarded $500 gift cards to 'Twitter Crowd Favorites', contestants whose data viz draw the most 'votes' (tagged Tweets) on Twitter. But no more. As it expanded Iron Viz eligibility to China, Tableau said it 'just didn't seem fair' to allow popular voting in its worldwide contests since the Chinese government blocks citizens' Twitter use. "As Chinese authors join the contest," the Tableau Public blog explained, "we have to say goodbye to the Twitter Crowd Favorite. Twitter is blocked in mainland China and it wouldn't be fair for our Chinese contestants." And the latest Iron Viz Contest FAQs confirm the change: "Q. I heard there won't be a Crowd Favorite prize, is that true? A. Absolutely true. China is among the new countries who can take part in the Iron Viz, and Twitter doesn't work in mainland China. The usual Twitter Popular Vote just didn't seem fair."
This XKCD comic still has my all-time favorite data visualizations.

2 of 21 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Twitter is blocked in China? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Then why doesn't Twitter offer VPN services to circumvent the blockage?

    Because they don't need to. Anybody in China that needs a VPN already has access to one. But the Chinese have very little interest in Twitter, even though you can fit WAY more info into 140 hanzi than 140 English characters. They have their own services that are superior in many ways.

    Surely it is trivial to get around these stupid firewalls.

    Of course. But you are missing the point. In authoritarian societies, tolerance is seen as weakness. So they have to ban communication forums that they do not control. They don't really care that people work around the bans, because the point is not to block information, but to demonstrate authority.

  2. Re:Twitter is blocked in China? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Interesting

    you're creating a culture of disobedience.

    China has always had a cultural of disobedience. Speaking truth to power is unthinkable, and people are publicly deferential to authority. But at the same time, circumventing the rules is the national sport.

    Guanxi is way more important than the written laws.