PeerIndex Blog

COUNTDOWN STARTS WITH A LITTLE MAKEOVER

There is a good chance you have not noticed what has been going on at PeerIndex Headquarters recently. We have had our heads down working on improving data collection, enhancing the maths, extending our index, and (from our view at least) bringing out a brilliant new design. But do not worry – you will just feel like it works better all of a sudden; that more elements of the interface are active, and that the meaning of everything is clearer.

We are omitting everything that is unnecessary about the interface you see today, and making the information it gives you clearer and more friendly. We have been working on a physical rebrand of the site for some weeks, and it is due for implementation very soon.

To begin with, we have given you a new Dashboard. This will now be the same as the profile page and feature two very simple pieces of information: Your topics, and your influence. Previously, the first data visualisation you would see on our website was a complicated spider-radius graph which did not communicate much about online activity within our eight benchmark topics (see image).You will now see your activity in the form of a donut chart, which is segmented from a circle (representing 100% of your activity) into how much you talk about each topic. We are still keeping those benchmark topics for now, but each one will now be colour-coded across the site so that it is easier to see what you’re interested in.

You will keep your topical PeerIndex score. This is calculated based on your perceived influence in a particular topic.

You may also notice that the right hand sidebar is gone. This is because our users found it incredibly annoying and it did not serve much real purpose.

Unlike the spider radius graph this chart is representative of your relative activity rather than how you fare in the world, and therefore gives you a better idea of what your personal PeerIndex profile is. We found the donut chart to be useful for other statistics as well—

…like our business cards. In the spirit of our data-driven ethos, we gathered information from each PeerIndexer about their job. If their whole job were a donut, how would it be split into portions?

Everyone could enter up to eight categories of their own choice, and rate how much time they spent on each one. You can see how they are all unique, and each provides an insight into that person’s life. We have done the same thing for job specs, so when you access our careers page you will find job specs laid out in this format. It is evident how much of each skill you would need to match each role.

The entire site re-skin is only a short time away now, so you will notice a huge difference in the way you use PeerIndex very soon. Watch this space!

Until then we would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. How do you use PeerIndex now and how would you like to be able to use it in the future?

Tweet your suggestions with the tag #newPI.

— Natalie Rooke & Chris Waring
Design Team