In an era of alternative facts, Ballmer finds a hunger for data

Former Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer speaks to The Economic Club of New York in New York City, New York, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar

When former Microsoft Corp chief executive officer Steve Ballmer rolled out a new government data site last month called USAFacts, he worried no one would show up. Instead, so many people have taken an interest he's planning its next expansion. 

”Before we launched, I didn't know if we'd have anybody,” said Ballmer, a spreadsheet devotee who recognises not everyone shares his affection for figures and charts. "Numbers are numbers – some people like them, some people don’t. The concept is both very exciting and a little dry.”