Infomagnet is a privately owned company based in the United Kingdom. We provide tools and services to help "extract useful information from a sea of data". We have a network of contributors, staff and programmers in the UK, France, Russia, Romania, Sweden, Finland and the USA.
Our view of today: With the spread of broadband services and the pace of developments we have seen over the past ten years, it is easy to forget that the internet is still in its early infancy. Many people are still unaware that the very process of finding information on the internet has been commercialised and politicised. But this should come as no surprise - as a communication medium, the internet allows people to find each other, their products and their ideas. Getting one's name broadcast to the masses, as in the real world, requires money or manipulation.
Our vision for tomorrow: Beyond text and pictures, beyond audio and TV, we are just starting to see the emergence of a truly interactive web. Print and broadcast media will learn much from the games industry, providing us with immersive environments alongside traditional radio, print and TV. At the same time, the internet is being divided by politics and industry into channels, not all of which will be accessible to all people at all times. More channels, more technologies, more data - finding information on the web will be a valuable skill that requires training and the right tools.
"Global-i" is an example that demonstrates several aspects of
our design philosophy. By showing information graphically and within a
meaningful context one is able to spot trends more easily.
Trend spotting is a task at which people are inherently better than machines - so we designed a system that makes the most of both human and computer attributes.
Global-i is a whole-brain application combining the reaction to visual information and predictive qualities of the right-brain together with left-brain numerical and analytical qualities. Global-i interacts more like a game than a financial analysis application - for good reason. The speed and rate of user interactions while game playing far exceeds those of financial trading applications. The environments of games are often more complex, yet players are able to use more of their brain and consequently take in information at a greater rate and make informed decisions more rapidly.
This view shows GDP growth of all countries for 2003. The earth can be rotated and inspected and displays can be changed to see information in the most appropriate form. Colours, cone sizes and cone colours all represent the same information in different formats - each has a use in finding useful information quickly. Gain a better understanding of the world. Try it out.