31:T448,**How did you come across Observable?**
One year ago, I did some online courses on dataviz. One was on D3. That was the moment when I discovered Observable and I immediately fell in love with it, because it was (an it is!) so great. First, it’s something that you can run in your browser. Second, it’s responsive; it is live. Third, it is something that you can share with your colleagues and your friends. Even more important than all of that: there is a very, very, very open community here. I really like to talk with other folks in the community, on the forum, or on social channels like Twitter. It's great because they are experts, and yet still they help you even with the most basic questions you have about Observable. This is so important when you come from a very different environment. Indeed, data and visualization are huge contexts with very different skill sets. Imagine to discover Observable without a JavaScript background, you probably say: _“Whoa, what is this?”_. But you don't have to worry! The Observable community is here ready to help you. 32:T597,**When you first started in Observable, did Observable Plot exist yet?**
No. I was working with D3. **What was your response to Observable Plot?**
When I started to understand how things work with Observable Plot, it was incredible because I realized you can do, say, 80% of the things that you normally do when you build charts with D3, but with just a few lines of code. And it is really interesting because it is a kind of declarative approach to the data visualization. So even if you are not an expert of D3 or JavaScript, you can build on the fly a huge amount of different charts. And that's great. Now I'm trying to get more in-depth with Observable Plot. I’m making interactive charts and dashboards that are composed of different interconnected plots, and that are reactive with respect to one another. It is something that is not explicitly supported right now. So I’m wrapping my head around how to do this. **That sounds interesting. So you are trying something new with Observable Plot?**
Yes. With the help of the community, of course. I had several chats with [Fil](https://observablehq.com/@fil). I needed some help to get started. And that's the reason why I love the community. It is a very great resource that you can use... and you can be part of it! So just to be clear: you can use Observable Plot to easily explore data to understand and to discover new things. So it's great. 33:T415,**What are the top reasons you use Observable?**
First, there is zero to do at the top. You don't have to install anything except, of course, your browser. It’s great because you have a very powerful run time in your browser. Second, you can fetch data directly in a notebook. So Observable has definitely helped with data access issues. Third, you can share the output of an Observable notebook in, for example, a completely different project. Or you can export both the run time or just an iFrame that you can embed somewhere else. For example, in your personal webpage. And the reactiveness. The way the cells are executed in respect to their connections. This reactiveness is great because you can easily reproduce work without worrying about the order of execution, because it is implicit in the notebook structure. It’s something that, for example, is not available in Jupyter out-of-the-box. So if a user starts messing with the execution order of the cells in Jupyter, sometimes things can break. Not so with Observable. 34:T422,**What are some of your favorite notebooks that you've created, or that you're currently working on? **
I made a very simple but nice library for [visualizing data as a flower](https://observablehq.com/@floatingpurr/reusable-flower-plot?collection=@floatingpurr/reusable-elements). This is something I built in Observable. This is great because I immediately see the result of my code without building a bundle, without having a local set up. So it's something that you can immediately understand and have instant feedback about what you are coding. It’s a library that’s been used by a couple of students to share their research results. **How did you learn that students had started using (forked) a notebook you created, to help them in their own work?** They just wrote me an email to ask me if they could use my code. Of course I said, "Yes, feel free!" And they built an [Observable notebook](https://observablehq.com/@jwu2018/depression_lexical_category_vizzes) with their results, using mine to get started. So that's nice. :)35:T4ed,**What are some of your favorite notebooks by other users? Who inspires you in the world of data visualization?** A lot, really! I can't cite them all. To drop a couple of pointers, I can say that [Plot](https://observablehq.com/@observablehq/plot?collection=@observablehq/plot) and [D3 walkthroughs ](https://observablehq.com/@d3/learn-d3?collection=@d3/learn-d3)are so cool! This masterpiece by [Tom MacWright](https://observablehq.com/@tmcw) explains how the [Enigma machinery actually works](https://observablehq.com/@tmcw/enigma-machine). Moreover, I really like [this notebook](https://observablehq.com/@dbridges/visualizing-seasonal-daylight) about the visualization of seasonal daylight. It's a great job technically, and I really like the reason why it has been created: > "I developed this tool to help my children interactively investigate how the Earth's tilt changes the length of day for different locations" (Dan Bridges, _the author of such a notebook_) I'm a dad too. So I really like the idea that I can use Observable to explain something to my children. Okay, my children are really young. So right now isn't the right time, but definitely in the future. Oh, btw, I've to go: it looks like someone needs to change his diaper :) Ciao! 36:[{"id":"9e23f1531b05e0e805cf17c575ef43ceb895131279c765e48b7cb35f00fb63471167701fa7022fd17bcd27c3134e7dde287c9ab9bddab13b8c8eed3c9108a778","href":"https://static.observableusercontent.com/files/9e23f1531b05e0e805cf17c575ef43ceb895131279c765e48b7cb35f00fb63471167701fa7022fd17bcd27c3134e7dde287c9ab9bddab13b8c8eed3c9108a778","name":"Andrea_3.mp4","type":"video/mp4","lastModified":1660149617071.455,"size":604741},{"id":"e3f342bb62fc8d1e756f59750022523d2fdb7182bdde5b0a0247aa6fb8a735fe29f4a22a4965133784560f041415d208844a01af1c50e3853bd78bdb3e8cad80","href":"https://static.observableusercontent.com/files/e3f342bb62fc8d1e756f59750022523d2fdb7182bdde5b0a0247aa6fb8a735fe29f4a22a4965133784560f041415d208844a01af1c50e3853bd78bdb3e8cad80","name":"Andrea - Twitter + in notebook.png","type":"image/png","lastModified":1660149617071.455,"size":137219}] 2f:{"title":"Ambassador Spotlight: Andrea Mignone, Software Engineer and Data Architect","cells":[{"id":0,"value":"# Ambassador Spotlight: Andrea Mignone, Software Engineer and Data Architect\n","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":143,"value":"

","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"html"},{"id":210,"value":"---\n\nAt the heart of Observable is the community. The people who make up our community create, collaborate, connect, and influence with data. The purpose of the Observable Ambassador program is to partner with community members who are actively using Observable. \n\nLearn more about the [Observable Ambassador program here](https://observablehq.com/@observablehq/ambassador-overview). \n\n**Previous Ambassador Stories:** \n[Maxene Graze](https://observablehq.com/@observablehq/ambassador-maxene-graze?collection=%40observablehq%2Fobservable-blog) \n\n---","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":212,"value":"In July 2022, [Andrea Mignone, PhD,](https://observablehq.com/@floatingpurr) was kind enough to share his story with the Observable team. We learned a bit more about his background and interests, as well as how he's used Observable. \n\nFirst, some quick facts.\n\n**Ambassador since:** March, 2022
\n\n**Languages and Tools:** Python, JavaScript
\n\n**Uses Observable for:** Personal research, fun
\n\n**Why Observable?**: _\"Observable is a useful tool for so many reasons. First, there is zero to do at the top - nothing to download. Second, it's simple to connect data directly in a notebook, a huge help with data access issues. Third, you can share the output of an Observable notebook, or embed as an iFrame somewhere else. Last, the reactiveness. It's great because you can easily reproduce work without worrying about the order of execution, because it's built into the notebook structure.\"_
","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":44,"value":"**Andrea, thanks for taking the time to share your story! Can you talk a bit about your background and your interests?**
\nI'm a Software & Data Engineer. I have a PhD in a mixed topic at the intersection of Biology and Computer Science. My doctorate is in Complex Systems for Life Science. So I explore a lot of solutions to tackle the complexity of biological data.\n\nBefore that I was an Engineer, a kind of Computer Scientist. I'm also a data geek, of course, as are all the people playing in Observable. : )\n\nI do love side gigs focusing on open data. So I like to build data visualizations for fields from telco, transportation science to biology, to - unfortunately - coronavirus. \n\nI like to define myself as a Pythonista, because this is my main expertise. But I'm currently moving to JavaScript for many tasks (and for Observable, of course!). Moreover, I usually deal with backend stuff: databases and APIs.","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":223,"value":"**How did you get started in dataviz?**
\nI got started in data visualization in my very first job, when I worked as a Computer Scientist for a transportation company. A very different background, a very different field, than what I do now. But I'd say that my love for dataviz started then.\n\nI had to visualize how buses and vehicles move on the ground. Then, with that data, I created and shared dashboards with stakeholders, to help them understand, for example, if a route is okay or what are the problems. I made similar dashboards to show also traffic patterns at particular times of the day.","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":227,"value":"**What tools were you using then?**
\nBack then, about 10 years ago, I was using Python a lot. MatPlotLib is one of the main libraries for Python charting. And of course, I used a lot of Jupyter notebooks. That was my first exposure to a notebook environment. \n\nAt the time, I also built with JavaScript, but with pre-cooked JavaScript libraries, like Google Charts. Such libraries were based on SVG. Probably also on D3. It is something that is quite easy to tinker with, even for backend folks who are not very familiar with JavaScript. And at that time, I wasn't as familiar with JavaScript. \n","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":229,"value":"**Tell me about the data you work with now.**
\nThe data I work with is in the fields of Telco, Transportation Science, Biology, and a lot of Epidemiology in the last two years. ","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":231,"value":"**Where do you find your data?**
\nI usually find data on open data portals, or I scrape data when necessary. \n\nSometimes, to get the information I need, I reverse engineer a website where there’s just a map, for example, with data that is not directly accessible in, say, a CSV. It’s not a common way to get these pieces of information. But without alternatives, that’s what I do.","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":233,"value":"**What skills that you have now, did you wish you had when you were just starting out, in your Transportation-related role?**
\nWhen I was a Computer Scientist in transportation science, I would have been more productive with the skills that I have right now: JavaScript, Observable Plot, D3. \n\nI’ve been working with D3 and Observable Plot for one year now. So I'm a beginner. I'm understanding better those tools and building new skills. Sometimes it's not an easy process, because it's not my nine to five job, unfortunately. For great interactive data visualization in Observable (and beyond), it’s all about mastering JavaScript. The same holds for D3 and for Observable Plot.","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":249,"value":"

\n \n

Visualizations from Andrea's Notebook.

\n","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"html"},{"id":247,"value":"$31","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":245,"value":"$32","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":243,"value":"$33","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":292,"value":"**Are there ideas that you are currently testing on Observable?**
\n\nYes. I have several projects that I haven't yet released. \n\nI'm building their main visualizations on Observable, and I'm testing them on Observable. I'll share them on my personal website soon. ","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":288,"value":"**Are there other tools that you use in conjunction with Observable?**
\nNo, not really. Because observable is quite comprehensive. \n\nYou can do literally anything starting from basic data exploration and data refinement, to, of course, data visualization. If I have to mention a few tools just to be polite, I'll say Microsoft Excel or OpenRefine, but they're not tools that I use very often now. ","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":259,"value":"$34","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":283,"value":"**What other notebooks of yours do you recommend that people check out?**\n\nA few more I really like are:\n- My [Observable FTW](https://observablehq.com/@floatingpurr/observable-twitter-2021). \n- This notebook on [how to get and visualize Twitter data](https://observablehq.com/@floatingpurr/twitter-starter). \n- Oh, and also this [Observable 101 tutorial for the Italian community](https://observablehq.com/@floatingpurr/observable-101?collection=@floatingpurr/observable-101). \n","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":261,"value":"$35","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md"},{"id":310,"value":"banner(\n \"Interested in learning more about collaborating with data?\",\n \"Sign up for free\",\n \"https://observablehq.com/product?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nba_data_jam&utm_source=observablehq.com\"\n)","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":304,"value":"import { banner } from \"@observablehq/brand-assets\"","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":307,"value":"import { buttonCTA } from \"@observablehq/buttons\"","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"}],"files":"$W36","stdlib":"1","titling":"auto"}