Google Fusion Tables

Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 3:30 am

For some internet marketers, acquiring massive amounts of data is a necessary step to launching their next great product or idea. The acquisition and organization of this data can be a very time-consuming undertaking, so time-saving shortcuts are always appreciated. In Google Labs a new development called Google Fusion Tables can be used to expedite the data-sorting process.

Google Fusion Tables takes data stored in the cloud and manages it while focusing on its collaborative aspects such as data integration from multiple sources. Fusion Tables also allows groups to discuss the data, visualize the data, edit the data, and even publish the data in an easy way.

Most data systems are based on SQL queries, but Fusion Table is not. For those that don’t know SQL, this new Fusion table is unbelievably convenient. You upload your data using the Fusion Table into the great cloud and then you have the option of either keeping your data private, sharing the data with your collaborators, or making your data public for world consumption. Should you find yourself working with sensitive data, you can choose to filter or hide data from your team or you can let your collaborators have full access to the data.

When you or your collaborators edit the data it will be updated automatically so that everyone remains on the same page. You can even discuss data and Google Fusion can keep save these conversations so that the progression of the data is documented.

Google Fusion Conversation

If you need to export the data and its correlating sets, you can export it from the cloud into a basic CSV file.

Google Fusion Tables is best suited for combining data from multiple sources because it utilizes refined forms of join capabilities.

Fusion Tables - Multiple Sources

There are many tools to filter and aggregate your data in a dynamic way. For instance, you can arrange it to show on Google Maps or other kinds Google Visualization API.

Google Fusion Labs - Visualization Possibility

This is a free tool, but it is still in its beginning stages so expect inevitable changes. In order to utilize Google Fusion Tables, all you need is a Google/Gmail account. It is still in the Labs phase so feel free to experiment with it and give Google your feedback about this new feature.