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Ben Kates (he/him)

@benkates.com
52 followers 90 following 81 posts

Data Product Engineering and Data Visualization - benkates.com - formerly at the Urban Institute

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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 07/07/2025
Earlier this spring, my team at the Urban Institute was impacted by layoffs due to federal revenue cuts. While I’m searching for my next role, I’m excited to share my final project: the Education-to-Workforce Framework Data Tool. apps.urban.org/features/edu...
Dashboard containing a map and visualizations on the left
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 03/07/2025
New case study up on my redesigned website! Full process of building a custom #datavisualization tool: brainstorming and prototyping to refining the UX through cross-functional teamwork and creative problem-solving! Inspired by @alv9n.com's great project walkthroughs!
benkates.com
Ben Kates - Case Study: Getting a Good Job Depends More on Race and Gender than Education
Ben is a data-focused technologist based in Philadelphia, PA creating custom data experiences for clients across industries.
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Reposted by Ben Kates (he/him)
Mitchell Thorson @mitchellthorson.com · 15/05/2025
This week, @urbaninstitute.bsky.social launched the Education-to-Workforce Framework data tool. This was one of the more complex @svelte.dev apps we've built, and @benkates.com led the way on development and made something really cool with this one. apps.urban.org/features/edu...
Screenshot of a series of data visualizations. There are three metrics displayed: Share of students in grade 3 who meet grade-level standards in math, and in language arts, as well as the share of students in grade 8 who meet grade-level standards in math. For each metric, there is a line chart showing the trend from 2013 through 2020 for Cook County, Illinois, the state of Illinois, and the U.S. as a nation.A choropleth map showing the share of students in grade 3 who meet grade-level standards in math by county in the mid-Western United States. Cook county Illinois is highlighted.
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 20/11/2024
If you're in the #philly area - come nerd out about #dataviz!
meetup.com
December Data Visualization Meetup, Wed, Dec 4, 2024, 5:30 PM | Meetup
Our next meetup is December 4th at Cesium. Hosted by Ben Garvey and Ben Kates. Doors open at 5:30 and talks begin at 6PM. **Location** Cesium 400 Market St Philadelphia, P
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 20/11/2024
Same! The options for detail (compact, stacked, details, list) are very welcome. Plus reminders show up in the individual day too? So good!
Calendar screenshot with reminders at top
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 16/05/2024
Attention @datawrapper power users! I built a @raycastapp extension just for YOU! This extension allows you to view, search, open, and duplicate your Datawrapper #datavisualization anywhere on your Mac! Check it out and let me know what you think! www.raycast.com/benkates/datawrapper
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 13/07/2021
I've been working on my first complex @d3visualization project for the last month and I have to say the #rstats data manipulation skills I've developed work so well with the "custom" aspect of custom viz! Very fun!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 29/03/2021
Has anyone come across an #rstats package that converts SQL parameters into structured data? ie: select * from suez_canal where boat_name = 'Ever Given' and stuck = 'T' would result in a dataframe with a row: select * from suez_canal | boat_name = 'Ever Given' | stuck = 'T'
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 12/02/2021
I’ve been on clubhouse for 20 minutes. I’ve never been to sxsw talks but I imagine this is exactly what it’s like
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 04/12/2020
I am completely mesmerized by the @Apple homepage this holiday season...love the rotating tech!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 25/11/2020
#immersiveanalytics is the future! Here's a roundup of some of our research into the space! #datastorytelling #AugmentedReality x.com/CompassRed/status/13316374802…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 23/09/2020
I love online music communities, especially on Twitch. New infographic on the rise of virtual music appreciation this year, built in #GoogleDataStudio! datastudio.google.com/reporting/411…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 21/08/2020
Had a #recentgrad reach out and ask how necessary certifications are for getting that first analyst job. I said understanding of the analyst role + portfolio > certifications, what do you think? #data #rstats #Tableau #GoogleAnalytics
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 03/08/2020
Well I now have an excuse to share my love of mechanical keyboards, thank you @sharlagelfand for creating such a fun #rstats package! Got pretty close recreating mine in ggplot! Frame: Filco Majestouch 2 w/ Silent Red Cherry MX Switches Keycaps: Jessica GMK Plum from Massdrop t.co/qsoixvJDaR
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 24/05/2020
Just spent a little while digging into this tool - a really impressive "big" #rstats #shiny project. Aside from showing very important data from multiple sources, the frontend/UX is unique and makes use of multiple packages to tie everything together really nicely. Great work! t.co/31kz...
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 02/05/2020
Excellent overview video of new #GoogleMaps in #GoogleDataStudio from @RiccardoMuti and Tech Writer Rick! youtu.be/msMJaF-7rhI
youtu.be
Visualize your data using Google Maps and Data Studio
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 10/04/2020
Excited to share a #GoogleDataStudio report focused on #selfcare during the #COVID19 pandemic. Hope everyone is doing their best to take good care of themselves and others! Medium: t.co/C8xwNqdgMR Report: t.co/exr9cC5Y5o #infographic #selfcare @GoogleTrends
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 06/04/2020
I've been looking at a lot of #GoogleTrends recently and was surprised to see such a drop in interest for the "Vegetarianism" topic in the US
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 28/02/2020
Excited about this one! A @googleanalytics click heatmap viz in #GoogleDataStudio - thanks to @PatStrickler for the original post! Medium Post: t.co/YfoTnlmrI6 DS Report: t.co/QZ3Lvaf3UV Shoutout @mourner for putting together the JavaScript library #simpleheat!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 10/02/2020
How do @DrexelUniv, @Penn and @TempleUniv stack up against each other in #socialmedia engagement? Learn more in the new post below! Medium Post: t.co/dz6xE0m2fP #GoogleDataStudio Report: t.co/IL6z49Pagu
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 06/02/2020
Thanks for the opportunity + CCG @Lebow for hosting! My deck from last night can be found below, lots of #GoogleDataStudio links and examples inside! docs.google.com/presentation/d/16-m… x.com/bengarvey/status/122520123019…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 24/01/2020
Woah! "Extract theme from image" in #GoogleDataStudio! This is awesome, new? cc: @Helpfullee @wissi_analytics
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 23/01/2020
Before @googleanalytics there was @urchinbiz! Fascinating read from Scott Crosby - great to understand the roots of a tool you use everyday! urchin.biz/urchin-software-corp-89a…
urchin.biz
Urchin Software Corp.
The unlikely origin story of Google Analytics, 1996–2005-ish
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 17/01/2020
New post! Learn how to create a custom Google Analytics #rshiny application using #deckgl + @Mapbox (source code + app template included) Thanks to @HoloMarkeD for all of the #rstats GA 📦 development! medium.com/compassred-data-blog/goo…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 25/12/2019
Some very charty gifts this season!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 23/12/2019
Played around with some data sonification this weekend using #tonejs - more so another proof of concept! #DataStudioDevs
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 17/12/2019
Really excited/honored to be speaking about #DataStudio and the potential around custom viz! x.com/bengarvey/status/120675421712…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 13/12/2019
Looks like if you add "/appview" to the end of a #DataStudio report URL you get a fullscreen experience, is this new @Helpfullee @wissi_analytics ?
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 12/12/2019
Question for the #rstats community: why am I getting significantly higher memory usage in my #shiny app when using unique() vs. distinct() on a large df? 🤔
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 03/12/2019
I've been having a lot of fun diving into #DataStudio Community Visualizations! I shared some of my learnings so far, excited to continue on this journey! Medium Post: t.co/oGdxFTnolE Data Studio Viz: t.co/DSJvLSTAgG #DataStudioDevs
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 23/11/2019
I'm preparing a talk for a business analytics student group and listening back on the "analytics advice for the recent grad" episode of @AnalyticsHour (ep 18) - realized that's the first appearance of @tgwilson's "rock, flag and..." signoff - 110 episodes later and still going 😂
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 10/11/2019
Finally got around to going through the #DataStudioDevs Codelab! I can see custom data manipulation/calculation in JavaScript also being a use case! Thanks for all of your efforts @y3l2n and team, very exciting stuff. codelabs.developers.google.com/code…
codelabs.developers.google.com
Create Custom Visualizations in Looker Studio  |  Google Codelabs
In this codelab, you’ll learn how to create a custom visualization that you can use in a Looker Studio report.
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 30/10/2019
Great #phillydataviz meetup tonight on creative coding. One highlight was @willstall showing some #GLSL examples, his work is impressive and inspiring!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 19/10/2019
Having a great time at my first #bcphilly, definitely won't be my last. This talk on how people feel when consuming data and the associated variables was very very interesting, thanks @jmc_lbi!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 09/10/2019
Learned so much about how to build a #networkgraph in #rstats tonight, thanks for hosting! x.com/RLadiesPhilly/status/11817096…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 14/08/2019
I used the @EmojiMashupBot as a data source for #MakeoverMonday! Read more: medium.com/compassred-data-blog/mak…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 29/07/2019
#MakeoverMonday looking at the most liked emojis used by my favorite Twitter bot @EmojiMashupBot - this is just a first pass, more to come!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 24/07/2019
Wow x.com/variable_io/status/1153625660…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 22/07/2019
#MakeoverMonday text analysis of the #podcast titles saved in my @pocketcasts library! 32% contain the word "data", listed some of my favorites!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 21/07/2019
Love this #tedtalk, innovating on architectural project constraints, from @BjarkeIngels youtu.be/ieSV8-isy3M
youtu.be
Floating cities, the LEGO House and other architectural forms of the future | Bjarke Ingels
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 15/07/2019
#MakeoverMonday using some #TidyTuesday UFO data from a few weeks back. I wouldn't be surprised to see this spike in 2019 given all of the #Area51 talk!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 12/07/2019
Awesome color pallete creation tool for #dataviz from @lyftdesignteam www.colorbox.io
colorbox.io
ColorBox
Create amazing color sets superfast.
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 12/06/2019
I attended #datajawn in 2015 when my analyst career was just starting. 4 years later I'm so happy to be here with the organizing sponsor @CompassRed!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 30/05/2019
Excited to be a part of this growing team! x.com/CompassRed/status/11340859611…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 17/05/2019
Put a hyperlink on an image (or anything) in #GoogleDataStudio by filling a textbox with pipe characters and setting opacity to 0%! One use case is clicking a thumbnail to go to another page in the report, cc: @googleanalytics
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 05/03/2019
I'm seeing this now, amazing work - thank you #DataStudio team! @googleanalytics x.com/Helpfullee/status/11022213571…
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 01/10/2018
Hidden news in this @googleanalytics #DataStudio video, calculated metrics in blended data sources! Huge!! youtu.be/UU5L6-k_L3g
youtu.be
Data Blending in Data Studio
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 29/04/2018
I am super glad we took a #roadtrip to attend #MeasureCampCbus!! Really appreciative of the event and connections made! Thank you all!
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 28/04/2018
Going to be going over the work described in my post on Data Studio visual reporting in the second time slot at #MeasureCampCbus Fairfield room! www.linkedin.com/pulse/creating-vis…
linkedin.com
Creating a Visual Merchandise Report in Google Data Studio
Although technically still in beta, Google Data Studio is a powerful tool for easy dashboard creation. The IMAGE function in Data Studio can take your reports to the next level by adding a visual layer.
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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · 09/03/2018
Really appreciative of the positive feedback and engagement on this post, hoping it enables some great visual reporting for Data Studio users! x.com/googleanalytics/status/972188…
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