Tableau Software Drops Its 'Twitter Crowd Favorite' Data Viz Contests

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.

Terrible form

[jon3k]

So you punish everyone else because China blocks twitter? That's a horrible decision.

Re: Terrible form

[Anonymous Coward]

It's easier than admitting that viz contest winners could be / was gamed by voting from fake twitter accounts.

Re:

[Calydor]

They're really just showing the stupidity of all these "Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, message us on SnapChat, send us pictures on Instagram and send us an SMS to win!" contests companies are running. If you want to run a contest, run it in-house instead of trying to get your current users to inadvertently advertise you to all of their friends.

Re:

[jon3k]

I don't disagree with you, but we're assuming China (or some other country) hasn't blocked that site as well.

Re:

[Calydor]

But then what's the problem?

This is because the site has gotten a bunch of Chinese authors. They wouldn't get Chinese authors if China was blocking the site - or at least could point to the block and say "Your problem!"

Re:Twitter is blocked in China?

[ShanghaiBill]

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.

Re:

[drinkypoo]

They don't really care that people work around the bans, because the point is not to block information, but to demonstrate authority.

Okay, but that's ass-backwards. When you create an unreasonable law that people regularly disobey, you're creating a culture of disobedience. People become used to disrespecting the law in this way. Rules of command: Be consistent, and never give an order that will not be followed, because it undermines your authority.

Re:

[fustakrakich]

That's the cool thing about authority. Without followers, it doesn't exist. Imagine the power of just turning your back. It's the followers that are your enemy, not the 'leaders'.

Re:Twitter is blocked in China?

[ShanghaiBill]

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 [wikipedia.org] is way more important than the written laws.

Re:

[Desler]

You act as if authoritarian governments are supposed to be rational and logical. That's the flaw in your logic.

turd polishing

[jm007]

not sure what the *real* reason is, but it sure isn't what they're saying

this type of PR where is everything is always rosy and noble is one of the most obvious signs of turd polishing

Who's to blame?

[briancox2]

WTF. If China abuses its citizens it is somehow incumbent upon US companies to compensate.

Is this the new standard of globalization. Reducing everyone to the lost common denominator?

News for nerds

[manu0601]

I am the only one with the feeling that this summary is designed so that it leaks bits of information only to readers that already know about the story?

Being fair

[gsslay]

"Here at the Olympics Committee we've notice that many countries don't have snow. So, to be fair, we have canceled the Winter Olympics."

"Here at Tableau we've noticed that many of our Chinese customers do not live in the United States. So, to be fair, we have canceled our 2017 conference in Las Vegas."

So China gets to make the rules for everyone?

[sabbede]

They're saying that they won't use Twitter because the Chinese Communist Party won't allow it. I say that's all the more reason to use it. They don't make the rules for the entire world, they shouldn't even be making rules in China. A de facto dictatorship shouldn't be able to enforce it's will within Western Democracies.

Double down on the contest (I don't know how that would work), so the Chinese authors get pissed off at the Party and demand change.

Yeah....ok...

[OfMiceAndMenus]

Or how about instead we just say "Fuck China" and do things as we normally would?

This essentially transforms China's bullshit political maneuvers into international terrorism, allowing their beliefs and will to pain and threaten other societies.