I received an e-mail today about a new web service called TagCrowd. Many of you know that Flickr and numerous other sites use tag clouds to generate frequent topics within metadata, especially in the web 2.0 world. Some of you have no idea what at least three of the words in the last sentence mean. That’s OK, too.
The reason this service is different is that it takes user-generated text and creates a tag cloud for you. While the different sizes in the midst of a tag cloud usually triggers an outbreak of obsessive compulsive disorder for me, it’s still a really interesting tool. If nothing else, you can at least see a visual depiction of what you’re communicating.
You could use this for sermons, text on your web site, an e-mail you’re sending, or a thousand other things. I used it on our About page, and here are the results. Make sure to try it out for yourself:
Update: Hmmm. OK. Well, it’s not displaying the helpful different sizes like a tag cloud should. But it looked really neat in our preview screen. Probably a CSS issue–we’ll try to track it down.
(Link via Dave Dorsey)
Gloria
May 18, 2007
Interesting… I think I’ve seen one of those on lastfm. :D
Thanks for keeping us informed and up-to-date, Mr. Cody. :D
Mark Goodyear
May 18, 2007
It’s kind of fun. I’m not sure how useful it is, but it is interesting.
Mean Dean
May 19, 2007
I dunno – there’s a limited utility I find with applications that parse out prepositions, adverbs, adjectives and sometimes even verbs – leaving me with what is sometimes an irrelevant list of nouns barely describing my ideas.
I’d think that if I concisely cobbled together a post, I’d know my own main points better than a piece-o-software.
Your mileage may vary.