19 of the Best Infographics from 2010

Research can sometimes be a bit of a chore, but when knowledge is wrapped up in charts, cartoons, or even some heart-holding robots, suddenly “information” isn’t such a scary word.

What do Facebook’s 500 million users look like? Who’s suing whom in the mobile world? How does FarmVille stack up against actual farms? These questions and more are answered in the infographics below.

Have a look through the list and let us know which graphics you liked best (or learned the most from) in the comments below.


 

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  • Survey Shows the Internet Would Have Passed Prop 19
    Prop 19, California’s controversial bid to legalize marijuana, lost at the polls on Tuesday, but if that vote had been up to the wider web of Internetusers, Prop 19 would have passed.
  • Social Media’s Impact on the Midterm Elections [INFOGRAPHICS]
    Social media, especially Facebook, had a huge impact on how the U.S. midterm elections were perceived and decided. Here’s a breakdown by the numbers.
  • The State of B2B Social Media Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]
    The vast majority (86%) of B2B businesses use social media for marketing. See how they’re using it, which tools they’re utilizing and what the future holds.
  • The Biggest Brands on Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]
    In the past few years, big brands have started taking social media seriously, and Facebook marketing is a big part of the plan for many companies.
  • What Is the Web Thankful For? [INFOGRAPHIC]
    Thankfulfor.com has put together a (surprisingly long) report that details what things people say they are grateful for having in their lives.
  • How the World Is Using Cellphones [INFOGRAPHIC]
    The infographic illustrates the number of cellphones per capita in various countries, the rate of cellphone adoption in the U.S. over the past decade and the acceptability of certain behaviors regarding cellphone use.
  • Who Will Win the Mashable Awards? [INFOGRAPHIC]
    We’ve broken down a complete list of the finalists by category in one handy (and unicorn filled!) infographic. Make sure you get voting before it’s too late!
  • How Connected Devices and Consoles Compare [INFOGRAPHIC]
    As 2010 draws to a close, we’re finally starting to see new and improved connected devices for bringing streaming content to the living room hit the market.
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    UMapper

    I suppose I have always been a bit of a cartography geek, quick and ready to name some obscure capital at parties...  And I have happily traversed the far reaches of internet mapping, behind my desk, fascinated by the sublime visual perspective and the sheer interactive functionality of Google Earth, Bing Maps 3D, and the myriad of applications within each.

    So, I was very excited last week when I found UMapper, a brand new, open-source map generation platform, which allows you to create fully customized, user-generated overlays out of all of the major web mapping platforms (Bing Maps, Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, CloudMade, Yahoo.), and export your very own embeddable KML files to use in your blogs, websites, etc.

    UMapper also has a really fun “geogame” creator called GeoDart, where you input geographical areas and questions and they will generate a location-based trivia game.  See below for an NYC landmark trivia game:


    Pretty cool!

    Here is a GeoDart game of Countries and Capitals: