[bengotow]

Maybe you thought it'd be an infographic? This is totally a valid visualization as far as I'm concerned. It packages and communicates data visually that would otherwise be difficult to see. It doesn't abstract up from the data with summary graphics, but it uses a time axis to give you a deeper understanding of the nature of the data. It even uses balloons, which I think may be the author suggesting a "bubble". So look, it even communicates a message.

[Disclaimer: not a VIS guy]