visualization and graphic design

I came across an article on socialmediatrader.com called "Ten Amazing Visualizations of Social Networks". It seems that this concept of tracking information on social media websites is sparking interest in the graphic design world. Look at these images of visualization tools, they're very artfully designed. It's almost like creating new ways to graph information. Since a standard bar graph or pie chart wouldn't hold up to the a mass of information that social networking sites provide, people have created these new, beautiful ways to chart pieces of information. My personal favorite is the IRC Arcs.

http://socialmediatrader.com/10-amazing-visualizations-of-social-networks/