Every month, we highlight the inspiring work being done in Observable by creators in our supportive user community. We also provide development updates, showcase new features, and share opportunities to connect with — and learn from — each other.

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To wrap up 2022, we recognize extraordinary members of our community; those engaged and supportive people who have gone above and beyond to foster a sense of community and help everyone makes sense of the world with data, together.

We would also like to acknowledge all of our wonderful Observable Ambassadors who have given their time and talent to help us spread awareness for the Observable platform. Thank you!

<a href="https://observablehq.com/blog/community-recognition-2022" class="button"> Read more here</a>

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Team Koi Pond emerged as the winners of Observable's first ever Data Jam. From UC Irvine, the team is made up of Dylan Green, Nora (Tasneem) Khokhar, and Naol Tulu.

Koi Pond excelled in data analysis, storytelling, appropriate context-setting, and presenting their work.

<a href="https://observablehq.com/blog/observable-data-jam-winners-team-koi-pond-collaborates-tow" class="button"> Read more here</a>

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To speed up your data work, here's where we share a helpful Observable tip - that you may not have been aware of.

<img width="90%" src="http://cdn.mcauto-images-production.sendgrid.net/9512743694f5796e/63839e7a-658f-4650-afd6-3f9b3d19e2f5/5000x2826.png">

Did you know that dragging a file near the Files Pane of an Observable notebook auto-opens the Files Pane? Then, you can drop your file there!

It's a simple way to attach data to your notebook.

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## Community Spotlight

[<img width="80%" src="http://cdn.mcauto-images-production.sendgrid.net/9512743694f5796e/f8994c16-ce7c-4423-aea5-f0a0d39a5335/1458x1622.png">](https://observablehq.com/@karimdouieb/us-house-election-2022?&utm_source=newsletter&utm_source=newsletter)

Take a look at the amazing notebooks the Observable community has created this month!

- [A better U.S. house election results map?](https://observablehq.com/@karimdouieb/us-house-election-2022?&utm_source=newsletter) by KDO

- [Visualizing Blackouts at Home in Kyiv](https://observablehq.com/@mourner/blackouts?&utm_source=newsletter) by Volodymyr Agafonkin

- [World Cup 2022 - Simulating the Knockout Stage](https://observablehq.com/d/59983b7b42983aae?&utm_source=newsletter) by russelllim22

- [Flowers and Tracks: A visual and cartographic exploration](https://observablehq.com/d/40db58f3f4cb226f?&utm_source=newsletter) by Cham Mamador

View more [featured creators](https://observablehq.com/featured-creators?&utm_source=newsletter) and [trending notebooks](https://observablehq.com/trending?&utm_source=newsletter).

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## Join us on Slack and Mastodon

- **Join The Observable Slack**

We launched the Observable [Community Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/observable-community/shared_invite/zt-1icwex7uf-ovIAS0PcuJ~ZgBToSyUs8w) as another way to connect with one another and the Observable team to ask questions, get product information, and learn what other data practitioners are creating. Join us [here](https://join.slack.com/t/observable-community/shared_invite/zt-1icwex7uf-ovIAS0PcuJ~ZgBToSyUs8w).

- **Follow Observable on Mastodon**

We've joined the vis.social DataViz community on Mastodon. You can [follow us here](https://vis.social/@observablehq).

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## Updates from our Community Feedback Repo

🙏 We are thankful for a community that cares and takes time to submit issues on our [community feedback repository](https://github.com/observablehq/feedback). Here are some key feature requests and bug fixes that we recently closed:

- **Database-pane bug fixes: Tables in attached SQLite databases now listed alphabetically, deleted attachments not listed**

<br> A bug that was causing tables in SQLite databases to appear out of alphabetical order in the database pane is fixed. Now it is easier to find that table you are looking for. Another bug that was causing deleted file attachments to continue being listed in the database pane has also been fixed. Thanks @saneef for flagging these! [[#512](https://github.com/observablehq/feedback/issues/512), [#507](https://github.com/observablehq/feedback/issues/507)]

- **SQL and Data table views now available in iframe embeds**

<br> We hinted at this feature update in last month's newsletter, but thought it deserves a separate mention here because of the additional user submitted issues it resolves. Thank you @mwhitaker and @gustavorps for submitting this feature request! [[#468](https://github.com/observablehq/feedback/issues/468), [#504](https://github.com/observablehq/feedback/issues/504)]

- **Personal templates now available for Pro users**

<br> Pro users can now create personal templates that are available for selection when creating new notebooks. This feature was previously only available for Pro teams and has now been added for Pro users as well. Thanks @triptych for requesting this feature! [[#248](https://github.com/observablehq/feedback/issues/248)]

<a href="https://github.com/observablehq/feedback" class="button">Visit our feedback repository</a>

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## Upcoming Events & Learning Opportunities 📅

<br />

| <a href="https://www.meetup.com/observablehq/events/"><img height=20px; width=53px; src="http://cdn.mcauto-images-production.sendgrid.net/9512743694f5796e/98f78b4e-fe91-4e6c-9717-3210d6e35914/750x284.png" alt="Observable Meetup Icon"></a> | When | Topic |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| [Join Us](https://www.meetup.com/observablehq/events/289610071/) | Jan. 12 | Educators Network: Looking Ahead|

| [Join Us](https://www.meetup.com/observablehq/events/290337181/) | Jan. 18 | The State of Data Visualization in 2023|

| [Join Us](https://www.meetup.com/observablehq/events/290336520/) | Jan. 25 | Working in Observable Teams Q&A|

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## Observable is Hiring!

We are currently looking to fill a variety of roles including Principal Engineer, Sales Development Representative, Senior Software Engineer and more. Please help us spread the word!

<a href="https://observablehq.com/about?&utm_source=newsletter#jobs" class="button">Check out jobs at Observable</a>