1. Graph Visualization
options and latest developments
London Neo4j meetup at Skills Matter, Feb 27, 2013
By @Linkurious - contact@linkurio.us

2. Linkurious startup: a few words about us
• Jean Villedieu, CMO Linkurious
• Sébastien Heymann, CEO Linkurious
• Romain Yon, CTO Linkurious (is coding tonight)
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3. Example of graph
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4. Graphs are in our DNA
• Gephi, the leading graph analysis and exploration solution
• Democratizing network thinking
• Linkurious
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5. The best way to store and access the data of a
connected world
• Graphs are “everywhere”: conceptual view on data
• Neo4j and graph databases offer a fast and intuitive way to use data
• Social networks, recommendation engines, networked systems…
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6. Visualization is key to understanding graphs
• Verify data
• Check algorithm
• View information in context
• Build a visual representation
• Understand relationships
• Discover information
• Find patterns
• Illustrate and communicate data
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7. Global approach vs Centred approach
Card, Shneiderman (Using Vision to Think, 1999) Van Ham, Perer (2009)
1. Overview first, 1. Search,
2. Zoom and filter, 2. Show Context,
3. Details-on-demand. 3. Expand on Demand.
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8. Play now: which tool for which approach?
Cytoscape, D3.js,
Gephi, GraphViz, KeyLines,
Linkurious, MentionMap,
Neo4j server web interface,
Neoclipse, NodeXL, Palantir,
Sigma.js, SocialAction,
Wikisway, WikiWeb...
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16. WikiWeb

17. Toolkits
D3.js

18. Summary: which tool for which approach?
Cytoscape, GraphViz, Linkurious, MentionMap,
Gephi, GraphInsight, GUESS, Neo4j server web interface,
NodeXL, SocialAction, Tulip, Neoclipse, Wikisway, WikiWeb
UCINET
Global approach Centred approach
+ Toolkits to build your own App: D3.js, KeyLines, Sigma.js
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19. Global approach vs Centred approach
Great for: Great for:
Identifying communities and Investigating entities
global properties
Finding correlations properties / Exploring local context
structure
Communicating « wow » effect Communicating insights
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20. Global approach vs Centred approach
Issues: Issues:
Difficult to learn (data mining + CS + Users must know what to search
design skills)
Poor statistical insights
Poor insights with large graphs (bias due to hidden information)
Highly sensitive to graph
Orientation is difficult
incompleteness (<5% missing data
=> important bias)
Hardware limits (goodbye mobile!)
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21. Global approach vs Centred approach
Use it for: Use it for:
Analysis at the global scale. Database browsing to quickly
find information.
Make hypotheses or try to
confirm statistical properties. Analysis of local views.
Graphs of size < 50k nodes. Graphs of any size.
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22. 3 applications of the centred approach

23. Use case 1: fraud detection
Automatic outlier detection over time (Seb's Ph.D.)
Visualization of outlier-centred graphs
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24. Use case 2: visual recommendation
Yasiv.com
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25. Use case 3: (telco) impact analysis
Network: millions of routers and machines
Local impact of a router failure in network services?
Entypo pictograms by Daniel Bruce — www.entypo.com
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27. Linkurious: visualize graph data easily
• A tool to visualize any graph database
• Graph search made easy
• Approach : search, show context, expand on demand
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28. Linkurious competitors
Locked to a specific use case:
MentionMap => Twitter mentions
Palantir => for Palantir customers only
TheAdvisor => scientific papers recommendation
Wikiways => TechCrunch Database
Wikiweb => Wikipedia browsing
Limited browsing features:
Neoclipse, Neo4j web admin
Toolkits (require to code): D3.js, KeyLines, Sigma.js
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29. Live demo
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30. Questions?
@Linkurious
contact@linkurio.us