What can you learn from attending the Tableau Public User Group?

Tableau Public has revolutionized the way we visualize data, enabling data analysts to create and share powerful, interactive visualizations in just a few clicks with drag-and-drop ease. But behind our free data visualization platform are the people who power it—a vibrant community of data enthusiasts and a thriving network of groups filled with non-stop creativity and knowledge where members gather formally and informally to exchange insights, learn new techniques, and connect with like-minded individuals.

In this blog post, I focus on one of the newer groups formally doing this and interview Tableau User Group Ambassador (TUG) Eric A Howard about why he decided to start this new user group.

The Tableau Public User Group is a monthly virtual meeting for anyone interested in improving their data skills and learning from others. It delves into the How behind the "Art of the Possible". Tableau Public is chocked full of beautiful data visualizations and some of the best are awarded Viz of the Day. This User Group focuses on recognizing these authors and giving them a platform to share their data viz development skills. In addition, it highlights what it takes to achieve Viz of the Day on Tableau Public.

For me the main benefit is inspiration. I’ve also learned about features in Tableau and data prep tools that I'm not familiar with and typically don’t use for work. Tools that are available for data modeling and graphics design that help make visually stunning vizzes. That exposure to new ways of using Tableau and data tools helps me become a better analytics developer.

In the past six months, we’ve featured business dashboards, artistic visualizations, poster-style vizzes, infographics, and a Tableau Public author who has a viz with over a million views on Tableau Public. We’ve had visualizations by Tableau Ambassadors, Visionaries, prolific creators, and occasional Tableau Public authors. All have been interesting! Our March meeting was Data + Movies themed and our meeting in July will be focused on Iron Viz.

As TUG’s go, we’re still a small. I hope more Tableau Public Authors will join us live or watch our recordings on YouTube. We strive for globally diverse authors to present their Viz of the Day and we plan to continue and expand that. In June, we will interview all the 2024 IronViz contestants, discuss their Iron Viz entries, and learn more about their creative process!

Meetings happen approximately once a month. You can view all past and upcoming meetings on the Tableau Public User Group page. This virtual meeting is for anyone eager to learn from other’s experiences and gain insights into building data visualizations on Tableau Public. You can also see a full list of Tableau User Groups meeting virtually and in your area by visiting the TUG homepage.