The problem is not that infographics are aesthetically pleasing. The term "infographic" has come to be represented with low-content, high-flashiness presentations of data. (There are many good graphics that also convey information. "Infographics" generally do a bad job of the latter.)
Since they're pretty and usually not completely content-less (bad infographics are a great way to spread very few facts over a very large area), they often get a lot of hits on social news sites like Reddit, Digg, and even, sometimes, HN. Because of this, they've become a favorite tool of people trying to do SEO to take advantage of that traffic.
My opinion is a bit more dire. Infographics are on a strange side of the line between statistic and art. While they're clearly meant to be flashy and emotive, they also tend to quite numbers and display data in a way evocative of authority. It feels a lot to me like being a brand parasite, or displaying a police seal in a not-completely-obviously-satirical way and then trying to cover your steps when the police arrest you for impersonation.
I think overall it's a good thing, really, though. I'm not sure there exists a strong brand for "sensational but detailed information that you probably shouldn't trust but instead just think about" but infographics (both the bad and the good, which are still often very pale demonstrations of interesting data) are filling that hole. What I hope is that they eventually teach people to be more skeptical and questioning of information presented to them, regardless of how statistical it seems.
The unfortunate transitory period is a flock of the confidently misled, I suppose.
I agree, it's sad to see posts like this because the medium itself could be used to such great effect, but this effect is blunted by the prevalence of poorly-designed, idiot-driven infographics. As a counter-point to the infographic trend, I think we could all do without the ubiquitous Wall-Of-Text type posts as well. As a happy medium, I would love to see a movement toward the data-rich, visually pleasing style exalted by Edward Tufte (http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/).
Comments
The problem is not that infographics are aesthetically pleasing. The term "infographic" has come to be represented with low-content, high-flashiness presentations of data. (There are many good graphics that also convey information. "Infographics" generally do a bad job of the latter.)
Since they're pretty and usually not completely content-less (bad infographics are a great way to spread very few facts over a very large area), they often get a lot of hits on social news sites like Reddit, Digg, and even, sometimes, HN. Because of this, they've become a favorite tool of people trying to do SEO to take advantage of that traffic.
My opinion is a bit more dire. Infographics are on a strange side of the line between statistic and art. While they're clearly meant to be flashy and emotive, they also tend to quite numbers and display data in a way evocative of authority. It feels a lot to me like being a brand parasite, or displaying a police seal in a not-completely-obviously-satirical way and then trying to cover your steps when the police arrest you for impersonation.
I think overall it's a good thing, really, though. I'm not sure there exists a strong brand for "sensational but detailed information that you probably shouldn't trust but instead just think about" but infographics (both the bad and the good, which are still often very pale demonstrations of interesting data) are filling that hole. What I hope is that they eventually teach people to be more skeptical and questioning of information presented to them, regardless of how statistical it seems.
The unfortunate transitory period is a flock of the confidently misled, I suppose.
I agree, it's sad to see posts like this because the medium itself could be used to such great effect, but this effect is blunted by the prevalence of poorly-designed, idiot-driven infographics. As a counter-point to the infographic trend, I think we could all do without the ubiquitous Wall-Of-Text type posts as well. As a happy medium, I would love to see a movement toward the data-rich, visually pleasing style exalted by Edward Tufte (http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/).