If my first week at the Data School New York taught me anything, it is the magnitude of the Tableau Community.
First, let's answer what is community?
The Merriam-Webster definition is "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals."
Two key elements of the Tableau Community are the intersection between like-minded individuals and its strong support system.
Who are the like-minded Individuals?
Tableau spotlights individuals who consistently help others and titles them Tableau Community Leaders. There are different types of leaders such as Tableau Ambassadors and Tableau Visionaries (formerly known as Zen Masters).
Tableau Ambassadors are community leaders who create opportunities for connection, growth, and inspiration. They consist of seven branches: Forums, User Groups, Academic, DataDev, Public, Social and CRM Analytics. Tableau Visionaries demonstrate their mastery while teaching and collaborating with others. Visionaries are nominated by the community and those who serve for 5 terms go on to be Hall of Famers, the highest level of community leaders.
Tableau also has an extensive Tableau Partner Network where companies all over the world share their expertise in Tableau products.
Where can I find support?
There are numbers of ways you can find Tableau support, online and in-person. If you have any questions you can go on the Explore Forums to get answers from the Tableau community.
If you are looking for some feedback on your visualizations, you can post them online on Twitter using different hashtags (such as #DataFam) so people in the community can provide feedback.
If you prefer in-person events, joining a local Tableau User Group would be greatly beneficial in advancing your learning.
Another great way to find Tableau support is from Data Schoolers, like myself. We train to become experts of the program and we write helpful blogs along the way, just like this one. Look out for these blogs as they will surely provide help when having different questions about Tableau. The Information Lab does not just stop at the Data School. There are videos online on YouTube as well as opportunities for free trainings as The Information Lab hosts TTT (Thursday Trainings at Three).
Events
There are yearly conferences where Tableau experts gather together to celebrate the power of data and to get a first glance at product innovations. Tableau hosts their annual Tableau Conference, the industry-leading analytics conference, where the world's largest data visualization competition, The Iron Viz, takes place. Since Tableau is now part of the Salesforce family, the Dreamforce event combines the two communities together in largest software conference in the world. Attending these events helps put you in the room with the industry leaders and innovators, where the opportunities are endless.
How can YOU get involved?
A great way to get started on Tableau is by making a free Tableau Public account and participating in challenges. There are weekly challenges such as Makeover Mondays, hosted by The Information Lab's very own Andy Kriebel, as well as Workout Wednesday, also full contributors that are part of The Information Lab family. Tableau hosts Viz of the Day where different visualizations are featured every weekday. Participating in these challenges will truly jumpstart your Tableau learning and you can find support every step of the way.
I am proud to be part of such an amazing community and I hope to pass on my knowledge to those who may need it.