The thing I like about cloud tags is that they combine the actual number of times someone has used a tag but they display it visually. It’s like the brand positioning of a blog. Taking a quick glance at a cloud tag allows you to get a sense of the content in seconds. Talk about speed reading! The cloud at the right shows the tags from this blog as read by Technorati.
I think Tagcloud may be the best place to generate a Tag Cloud, but the site is in the midst of changing servers. Check back later. I used ZoomCloud to generate the cloud tag at the right under the MyBlogLog readers. The thing I like about ZoomClouds is that it is self generating, unlike Technorati where I place tags into Technorati to say what each blog is about whereas ZoomCloud is more real.
Did you read the book by Malcolm Gladwell called Blink? That’s what a tag cloud gives you. Communication in the blink of an eye. That is what a brand should do for your product, service or company. Help communicate the promise in the blink of an eye.
One site that really brought this home is the State of the Union speeches by all the presidents. In seconds, you get the sense of what the country was focusing on in just a blink.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice post. You’ll want to update the zoomcloud link within your post to http://www.zoomclouds.com. Your link misses the last “s.”
Alvin:
Thanks! I fixed it. Hey you’ve got a great blog going at tmbrandingcap.com
I liked your thinking about branding and Tag Clouds. I’ve been thinking along similar lines myself:
http://smoothspan.wordpress.com/2007/08/13/what%e2%80%99s-shape-is-your-mission-statement-tag-clouds-for-marketing-and-meaning%e2%80%a6/
Cheers!
Bob Warfield