Today, I came across an applet that creates word clouds from simple txt files or rss/atom feeds on websites. Normally, I don't review specific websites here. However, since wordle.net is a truly exceptional program, I want to spread the word.
A new wordle is created in only a few simply steps:
The program will then automatically create a nice word cloud on the basis of this information. The more a word appears in a pasted text, the more it will get weighted. This is a great way to visualize information and this method is widely used in blogs (like this one). Wordle allows to do this with ny kind of text and shows great customization capabilities. An example what can be done with wordle can be seen at worldlcollection.
Also, there are some more options for advanced editing, allowing for pre-defined weighted words and fixed hex colors.
There is only one limitation that I came across so far: no support for ideographic language such as Japanese or Chinese. The creator says:
Below are some examples generated from the tags from this website. It took me less than a minute to create all of these visually astonishing word clouds.
[gallery columns="4" orderby="rand"]
A new wordle is created in only a few simply steps:
- Got to www.wordle.net
- Click on "create"
- Enter either plain text, an internet address leading to a rss or atom powered feed, or the address of a delicious.com user
The program will then automatically create a nice word cloud on the basis of this information. The more a word appears in a pasted text, the more it will get weighted. This is a great way to visualize information and this method is widely used in blogs (like this one). Wordle allows to do this with ny kind of text and shows great customization capabilities. An example what can be done with wordle can be seen at worldlcollection.
Also, there are some more options for advanced editing, allowing for pre-defined weighted words and fixed hex colors.
There is only one limitation that I came across so far: no support for ideographic language such as Japanese or Chinese. The creator says:
"There are two things against Wordle getting ideographic language support. First, ideographic fonts are enormous, and this would cost Wordle a lot of bandwidth. Second, I don't know how to recognize word breaks in those languages. As far as I know, there's no reliable way to detect individual "words" in those languages—which can consist of one or more glyphs—without an enormous database. If anyone wants to guide me to a reliable word-break algorithm for these languages, please do."
Below are some examples generated from the tags from this website. It took me less than a minute to create all of these visually astonishing word clouds.
[gallery columns="4" orderby="rand"]
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