ArcGIS seems like a great way to visualize information as it can take confusing, muddled tables/datasheets and put them on a map. For example, the Grinnell household census fits great on ArcGIS as the datasheet includes addresses and lat-/longitude. ArcGIS also allows for different ways to display data, with different pros and cons. Heat maps seem good for numerical data, such as number of people per household, as then this can be communicated directly on the map without a pop-up box. On the other hand, qualitative data like home-country of immigrants may be better represented with color-coded symbols. Although pop-ups are always an option, to me it seems like the idea would be that a viewer only needs the map plus a key to decode information for maximum efficiency. That said, if one wants to tell a story, go in-depth, or maybe provide biographical detail, then pop-ups may be preferable. Pop-ups may be useful for accessibility. For example, a pop-up could specific the exact numerical numbers a heat map makes ambiguous via its analogue spectrum.
Although ArcGIS does seem pretty expansive, I think I could help someone with the basics of the software. Organizing data under the “Styles” tab seems pretty finicky, and it seems hard to overlap different datapoints on the same geographical point without using a pop-up. I would be interested in learning more about how ArcGIS can be used to map borders/signify a geographic area beyond one point (such as creating a box around an area and then filling it in).