Cryptonomicon via tag cloud

You're looking at a discussion in babbledog. Babbledog collects news that fits your interests; vote on this story and we'll make better recommendations in the future.

 

 

what's happening right now...

Post Post and share your thoughts, questions, movies, pictures, websites, etc.
Cryptonomicon via tag cloud
Two tag cloud posts in a row is a bit much, but I had the idea, so I went with it This is an infographic of the word frequency of the text of the novel Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson It’s a really interesting way to visualize texts (as I’ve pointed out before ) So let’s see if I can start a meme Doesn’t have to be a new book, you can pick one from Project Gutenberg …there certainly are enough good books there
Posted 67 days ago
Responses to this thread:
amanda: I've always wondered why that is (why users cannot understand tag clouds)
Posted 66 days ago

amanda: The size part seems intuitive to me. The different shadings on this particular variation might be confusing since they don't mean anything (or don't obviously connect to anything).
Posted 66 days ago

todd: it's just a jumble of unmotivated words. it hangs out on some web page and takes up a lot of space, but never really makes any sense. when you click on something you rarely get any value out of it.
Posted 66 days ago

todd: moreover, since the orientation and location of the words is purposefully without structure, it is intentionally hard to use. you cannot easily figure out why words are the locations they seem to be and how to find what you might be interested in.
Posted 66 days ago

amanda: I mostly agree in this case. But I think this particular application is more about design than functionality. I like the del.icio.us-style cloud tags. Ordered alphabetically, all words are horizontal and it gives you a clear and quick idea of the composition of the thing you're looking at.
Posted 66 days ago

Chuck: Wow... I think you guys are thinking way too hard. This has nothing to do with interface, and is more about art. You should try it for yourselves at http://wordle.net/​
Posted 66 days ago

todd: chuck: anytime someone says that i'm thinking something through too hard, my reaction is usually that they're not thinking about it hard enough. :-) this is about art. and what's the basis for the art? a tag cloud. and what is a tag cloud? a really, really bad user interface design practice that is confusing and hard to use.

the art is *designed* to evoke reactions based on the idea of tag clouds. so it is totally appropriate for amand and me to talk about our reactions to tag clouds.
Posted 66 days ago

amanda: Chuck - It is more about art! :-) I'm just defending the application of the tag cloud in general and to try to understand why people hate them so much. The wordle clouds aren't really about tag clouds... they're text porn :-)
Posted 66 days ago

jessica: Being able to view an author's works via a tag cloud is a useful way to shed some light on his or her preferred vocabulary. This kind of visualization would be a good way to look at Shakespeare's plays and other works where people like to study the author's words.
Posted 66 days ago

amanda: Jessica : http://www.textarc.org/​
Posted 65 days ago

Send Reply
You will be prompted to register a name or log in before your comment is posted.
help   Sign In OR Register
What's This?
Your current score: ?
SHARE
close
SHARE
close
INVITE
close
WIDGET
close
close

Create a new account:

Required Screen Name:

(a-z, A-Z, 0-9, _, -, or spaces allowed)



 
 
Recommended... so you can sign in again later. Email:

Password:

Password (again):

Sign in with
existing account:

Email:

Password:

Forgot password?
 
close

Don't go, None!

You haven't registered your email or chosen a password, so if
you log out now, you'll never be able to log back in as None.
That means you won't be able to edit your profile, post messages
as None, or otherwise enjoy the privileges that go along with
the great name of None.

Email:

Password:
Password (again):

Upgrade my Account    or    Forget it, logout forever

close

Sign into Babbledog!

Sign In
Email
Password   ( forgot it? )
close