Author | Lightnews

Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · 2d

More data! More! More! Big! Yattabytes! Well, maybe not. Who's out there defending the value of small data? On the latest episode of the Analytics Power Hour, we sat down with @joedom.bsky.social to do just that! analyticshour.io/2025/10/28/2...

#283: Good Things (Can) Come in Small Datasets with Joe Domaleski

Does size matter? When it comes to datasets, the conventional wisdom seems to be a resounding, "Yes!" But what about small datasets? Small- and mid-sized businesses and nonprofits, especially, often h...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · 3d

Some newly found details about why that already thin “return” line on Minard’s famous visualization of Napoleon’s march to/from Russia got even thinner: www.scientificamerican.com/article/anci...

Napoleon’s Army Defeat Linked to Unexpected Pathogens, DNA Study Shows

Disease-causing bacteria that have been recently discovered in the teeth of Napoleonic soldiers may have spurred the massive infantry’s demise during its retreat from Russia

www.scientificamerican.com

Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · 16d

The latest episode of the Analytics Power Hour podcast brought Chris Dalla Riva on to discuss how he listened to every #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 going back to 1958 to create a rich dataset. The parallels to the day-to-day work of the modern analyst were many! analyticshour.io/2025/10/14/2...

#282: Using (and Creating!) Data to Understand Pop Culture with Chris Dalla Riva

Data does not just magically spring into existence. Someone, somewhere, has to decide what data gets created and the rules for its creation. We would claim that this often starts as a pretty simple ex...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Sep 30

“Stop giving me tables. Give me the 'so what'.” On the latest episode of the Analytics Power Hour podcast, Flybuys CEO Anna Lee shares a CEO-level view of what makes analytics teams succeed, from productive curiosity to informed pragmatism. analyticshour.io/2025/09/30/2...

#281: Analytics: The View from the Corner Office with Anna Lee

From spreadsheets to strategy: what does data look like from the CEO’s chair? For this episode, we sat down with Anna Lee, CEO of Flybuys and former CFO/COO of THE ICONIC, to get her view on data-led ...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Sep 21

Do you know how old you are, your gender, and how much you tend to know lyrics for popular songs? Even if you don’t, this Sunday read from Walt Hickey is a fun one: open.substack.com/pub/numlock/...

Numlock Sunday: What song does everybody know?

Introducing your future national anthem.

open.substack.com

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Sep 16

What is a dashboard? According to @acotgreave.bsky.social and his co-authors, “A dashboard is a visual display of data used to monitor conditions and/or facilitate understanding." Whether or not you're already triggered, this podcast episode is worth a listen! analyticshour.io/2025/09/16/2...

#280: Dashboards Must Die! Long Live Dashboards! with Andy Cotgreave

If you didn’t have a visceral reaction to the title for this episode, then you are almost certainly not in our target audience. There are few more certain ways to get a room full of analytics folk fir...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Sep 2

Some people see Life as just a series of interconnected processes. I'm married to one of those people. That may be how she got name-checked on this episode. Like it or not, processes underpin many aspects of the analyst's job, and that made for a useful discussion! analyticshour.io/2025/09/02/2...

#279 – The Process(es) of Analytics (We Have Thoughts)

What is "process" in analytics? On the one hand, it can be seen as a detailed sequence of minutia by which anything that needs to be repeated in the world of analytics gets carried out in a structured...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Aug 27

Something of a #showerthought: in 30 years, a bunch of middle-aged folks will be listening to and experiencing Taylor Swift nostalgically in the same way that I'm listening to Fleetwood Mac, CCR, Heart, and James Taylor now.

Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Aug 19

AI is changing the world! AI is going to replace analysts! Wait a minute. A LANGUAGE model is going to crunch numbers in a reliable AND useful way? Hmmm... The latest episode of the Analytics Power Hour podcast with guest Juliana Jackson thought this through. analyticshour.io/2025/08/19/2...

#278: Is AI Good at Data Analysis? That's the Wrong Question! with Juliana Jackson

Imagine a world where business users simply fire up their analytics AI tool, ask for some insights, and get a clear and accurate response in return. That’s the dream, isn’t it? Is it just around the c...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Aug 6

Fun and useful exploration of specific challenges of drawing district maps as the theme for today's Numlock News—@oliviawalch.bsky.social takes a day while @walthickey.bsky.social is on vacation. www.numlock.com/p/numlock-ne...

Numlock News: August 6, 2025 • Gerrymander, Coin Flips, Sampling

By Olivia Walch

www.numlock.com

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Aug 5

The latest episode of the Analytics Power Hour podcast was a discussion about ANOVA with @chelseaparlett.bsky.social . Don't worry. She hasn't changed her position that it's linear models all the way down! It was a fun and useful chat! analyticshour.io/2025/08/05/2...

#277: ANOVA? I Hardly Know Ya'! with Chelsea Parlett-Pelleriti

Did you know that, upon closer inspection, many a statistical test will reveal that "it’s just a linear model" (#IJALM)? That wound up being a key point that our go-to statistician, Chelsea Parlett-Pe...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 31

Very useful explanation of the role of priors (and the challenges therein) when using a Bayesian approach with MMMs. The trick is to think really hard up front, ensure that thinking is consistent and reasonable, and then...keep thinking. 😀 getrecast.com/what-are-pri...

What Are Priors in MMM – And Why They’re Difficult to Get Right (But You Need To) - Recast

Priors prevent bad MMM outputs. Here’s why they matter, why they’re hard to set, and how Recast builds them right.

getrecast.com

Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 30

Luckily, I have no aspirations to *win*. The races I've done are more social than anything else for me. Plus, an arbitrary way to set some sort of target.

Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 29

I remember sitting down next to him at the first morning session at Superweek years ago and finding out he’d done a 12K run already.

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 29

Awesome!

Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 29

2-pronged: 1) run a race every month in 2025 (5K min.; so far only one has been that short), 2) half-marathon in October (w/ no walking).

I've only been injury-free for a couple of months, so it's the latter that's the tricky one: can I successfully train without reinjury?

a puppy is playing with a green frisbee on the grass .

ALT: a puppy is playing with a green frisbee on the grass .

media.tenor.com

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 29

Must've been confusion triggered during my long-hair phase? 👩‍🦰

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 29

Kinda' fun. The Strava #measure group has hit 20 members. All activities, global membership. @lukascech.bsky.social is a beast... www.strava.com/clubs/measure

London, England, United Kingdom | measure

A loose and unaffiliated companion to #measure Slack, perhaps? Honestly... there was next to no thought put into the creation of this Strava group, which perfectly aligns with both the career and ph...

www.strava.com

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 22

LOL. Well... some bits seem worth repeating? 😜

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 22

BI tools are much-maligned. Is that because THEY SHOULD BE or because THEY'RE TRYING TO MEET IMPOSSIBLE EXPECTATIONS‽ The latest episode of the Analytics Power Hour podcast tackled that question. analyticshour.io/2025/07/22/2...

#276: BI is Dead! Long Live BI! With Colin Zima

Product managers for BI platforms have it easy. They "just" need to have the dev team build a tool that gives all types of users access to all of the data they should be allowed to see in a way that i...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 19

Wow! Big loss for WaPo! I'm looking forward to what you tackle next!

Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jul 8

Judging by the those green banners on LinkedIn, the latest episode of the Analytics Power Hour is worth a listen! Even if you're not actively on the market right now, chances are you will be some time in the next few years! analyticshour.io/2025/07/08/2...

#275: The Modern Data…Job Search with Albert Bellamy

It’s a process few people genuinely enjoy, but it’s one which we all find ourselves going through periodically in our careers: landing a new job. We grabbed MajorData himself, Albert Bellamy, for a wi...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jun 27

"AI will free workers up to do higher-value work" is an abstract idea based on a vague notion that vast swaths of the workforce are spending significant portions of their time doing pseudo-mindless repetitive drudgery & all they need is "time" to do more and deeper thought work. I'm not buying it.

a man says i 'm a little skeptical while wearing earrings

ALT: a man says i 'm a little skeptical while wearing earrings

media.tenor.com

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jun 24

The latest episode of the Analytics Power Hour podcast was a deep dive into synthetic data with special guest Winston Li. The discussion was all about this sci-fi sounding data, how it's made, where it shines, and where it falls short! analyticshour.io/2025/06/24/2...

#274: Real Talk About Synthetic Data with Winston Li

Synthetic data: it's a fascinating topic that sounds like science fiction but is rapidly becoming a practical tool in the data landscape. From machine learning applications to safeguarding privacy, sy...

analyticshour.io

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Tim Wilson @tgwilson.bsky.social · Jun 23

Yikes!

(Of course, living in a suburb in middle America, I'm also trying to think of the last time I saw a physical newspaper on someone's driveway, so I'm now distracted by the concept of a "WaPo delivery driver", regardless of how traffic infraction-y they were!

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