The Mobile Reading Data Exchange (MRDX) is a collaboration between TASCHA, the Tableau Foundation, Worldreader, and the UW DataLab. At its core this project is about using big data analysis and visualization to unlock stories about mobile reading patterns across the globe. Approximately 6 million people, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and India, have used the Worldreader mobile reading application to access a selection of more than 30,000 titles available in 100 languages. Each time a user interacts with the application, Worldreader collects information about these interactions – such as how many pages they have read, how many times they have visited a book, or what genres they tend to read. TASCHA is collaborating with Worldreader to analyze the resulting dataset in order to better understand digital reading patterns in the Global South. TASCHA has also used the project to explore exciting new computational methods and data visualization strategies.
