Spreadsheet Day 2013

Happy Spreadsheet Day! Yes, October 17th is Spreadsheet Day, in honour of the date that VisiCalc was first shipped, way back in 1979.

I might be the only person who celebrates, but spreadsheets do need some love, and it’s a good excuse to leave work early.

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Top 5 Spreadsheet Articles for 2013

To mark this auspicious occasion, here are five of my favourite spreadsheet articles from the past year.

I post a few links each week in my Excel newsletter, and these 5 articles show the broad range of things you can do in a spreadsheet, and why you should be careful while working in one!

Here they are, in no particular order:

  1. In his Not Just Numbers blog, Glen Feechan offers his Ten Principles for Excel Good Practice. You’ll find some sound advice in this list, and check the comments too.
  2. See a few creative uses for Excel on Microsoft’s Excel team blog. One of the examples — the Think Maths website — lets you create art in Excel. Just upload a small photo, and they’ll send you an Excel workbook with each pixel in a separate cell.
  3. One of the early spreadsheet programs was Trapeze, and Andrew Wulf talks about developing it, and other programs, in his blog post: How I Did Agile Long Before It Was A Thing
  4. Over at the Daily Dose of Excel blog, there’s an interesting discussion on How to Be Great at Excel. Read Dick Kusleika’s short article, and add your opinion in the comments section.
  5. The BBC listed five embarrassing spreadsheet snafus, including oversold Olympic tickets, and a cut and paste error that cost $24 million.

What are Your Favourites?

If you have a favourite article from the past year, please share a link in the comments below, and mention why you like the article.

Now get back to your Spreadsheet Day celebrations!
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