Ten years later—What Tableau Public means to our community and the world

Tableau Public launched in 2010 with the purpose of making data social and to ignite a new movement on the web. It was a bold new effort to offer a free online product that anyone could use to drive compelling conversations around data—making data online fun, useful, and beautiful. Ten years later, Tableau Public's 1.5+ million authors are continuing that revolution of democratizing data and changing the way people see and understand data globally, one gorgeous visualization at a time.

With over 3.7 million vizzes, Tableau Public features the most extensive gallery of data visualizations on the web. It has been incredible to experience this platform's growth over the past decade, seeing our Tableau Community come together in the name of data visualizations and innovation year after year. These data rockstars are truly an extraordinary group of people and personalities.

So, in celebration of this ten-year milestone, we’ve asked a few Tableau Public Ambassadors to help us take a trip down memory lane by reflecting on their own experiences, the role Tableau Public has played, and advice for newcomers:

Lindsay Betzendahl

Tableau Public has transformed from a place to save visualizations created with the Public application to a place to connect with others: through following authors and Viz of the Day, favoriting visualizations, searching for visualization types, building a portfolio of personal vizzes, downloading vizzes to learn from others, and even exploring visualizations and editing on the web. I imagine that Tableau Public will continue to help people learn and grow in this space while also shining a light on underrepresented organizations, industries, and demographics as we continue to provide opportunities for all.

Tableau Public launched in 2010 with the purpose of making data social and to ignite a new movement on the web. It was a bold new effort to offer a free online product that anyone could use to drive compelling conversations around data—making data online fun, useful, and beautiful. Ten years later, Tableau Public's 1.5+ million authors are continuing that revolution of democratizing data and changing the way people see and understand data globally, one gorgeous visualization at a time.

With over 3.7 million vizzes, Tableau Public features the most extensive gallery of data visualizations on the web. It has been incredible to experience this platform's growth over the past decade, seeing our Tableau Community come together in the name of data visualizations and innovation year after year. These data rockstars are truly an extraordinary group of people and personalities.

So, in celebration of this ten-year milestone, we’ve asked a few Tableau Public Ambassadors to help us take a trip down memory lane by reflecting on their own experiences, the role Tableau Public has played, and advice for newcomers:

Lindsay Betzendahl

Tableau Public has transformed from a place to save visualizations created with the Public application to a place to connect with others: through following authors and Viz of the Day, favoriting visualizations, searching for visualization types, building a portfolio of personal vizzes, downloading vizzes to learn from others, and even exploring visualizations and editing on the web. I imagine that Tableau Public will continue to help people learn and grow in this space while also shining a light on underrepresented organizations, industries, and demographics as we continue to provide opportunities for all.

Judit Bekker

Tableau Public was a turning point in my career in more ways than one. At my previous jobs, I always got comments that I'm too 'anything'. Too loud, too colorful, too fast, too thorough, too creative, too nerdy, too enthusiastic, or too uninterested. They weren't wrong, though. I'm all of those at the same time. With Tableau Public, I have the chance to show my work as I imagine it without anyone telling me that this should be red and that should be green. If I were to give someone just starting advice, it would be the same thing that my parents taught me: just get it out there and don't ever feel ashamed of or be anxious about the things you love and create!

Candra McRae

Tableau Public substantially reduces entry barriers to learn in one of the most in-demand industries: data. You no longer need an enterprise to make a 6-figure investment to give you access to a leading tool for you to learn. All you need is an internet connection to get started, learn, and grow. That, combined that with the free training that Tableau offers— you could be a Jedi in no time and change your professional trajectory. You just need the desire, the time, and the data to make magic and learn how to make data sing.

Lorna Brown

Tableau Public has always been at the heart of my personal and professional development. Without the ability to express my public visualizations, I wouldn't have gotten the jobs I have in the past. It is also a great place for me to showcase the tableau tips that I publish. Without this platform, it would be difficult to share visualizations that you create for fun, and that's where Tableau Public comes alive. Tableau Public is an amazing platform that keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see what happens in the future.

Brian Moore

Unlike the real world, you're not limited by best practices or organizational standards in Tableau Public. Push yourself to try something new in each viz. Build something weird and different and beautiful, something you could never get away with at work. You can learn so much through experimenting with Tableau. It’s allowed me to really experiment with Tableau outside of the confines of the workplace, and in doing that, I’ve learned so much that I can bring back to my daily work. It also serves as a gateway to this incredible community, which has given me a tremendous amount of support, inspiration, and feedback, all of which have helped me grow even more.

Ken Flerlage

A Tableau Public profile is the absolute best resume anyone could ever have. For me, it was a way to learn Tableau and advance my career—and it absolutely did that! Over time, it has evolved to be my favorite hobby, a place to share, a place to inspire, and a place to be inspired. My career and my personal life have forever been transformed by the simple existence of this free software package.

Marc Reid

Tableau Public is significant in terms of its size and scope, being [I believe] the largest online repository of data visualizations. As a teaching aid, helping people learn more about data visualization and how to create them, Tableau Public has had a huge impact. My advice would be to practice as much as possible. Many community projects can help give structure and support to that practice, such as #MakeoverMonday, #WorkoutWednesday, #IronQuest, etc. Some of them focus on developing your design style, while others focus more on learning a specific feature or technique. A combination of these projects will help you learn the tools faster and, of course, help you get to know more people in the community.

We appreciate these incredible Tableau Public authors and Ambassadors for taking the time to share their thoughts and experiences with us. And we want to thank our fantastic community for continuing to wow us with your ingenious and inspiring content. We’ll continue our celebration and reflection on the past viz-tastic ten years during the next episode of If Data Could Talk on December 10th at 9 AM PST. Mark your calendar and be sure to tune in on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

And remember, with over 1.5 million Tableau Public authors, the opportunities for viz-spiration are endless. Follow our Tableau Public Ambassadors and check out our Featured Authors page to see what fellow data enthusiasts from around the world are creating in Tableau.