5 word cloud sites, top choices, and why
September 4, 2012
Tagxedo editing screen
On several occasions I have encouraged readers to explore word clouds. They are not the be-all and end-all of visualizations, but they are easy to create and can be thought-provoking. My tool of choice has been Wordle. Today I explored Tagxedo, which is an excellent alternative. One feature it offers is the ability to make clouds in certain shapes. Both sites provide a great deal of flexibility. Below I list several word cloud sites where no login is required (Tagul is a popular option, but it requires an account). I suspect that after trying them all you will end up using either Wordle or Tagxedo.
| Site | Notes |
|---|---|
| Wordle | Lots of control, many features, simplest to use (my opinion) |
| Tagxedo | Shape-based clouds, lots of control, many features, requires Silverlight |
| ABCya! | Lots of options, 2000-word max, no full screen, aimed at kids, uses Flash |
| WordItOut | Some control, all horizontal |
| TagCrowd | Limited features, all horizontal, no full screen |
Where do word clouds come from?
- Text copied from a document
- Syllabus
- Course reading
- Newspaper article
- Campaign speech
- Government document
- Student work (minus personal information)
- A German short story
- Words submitted on a Google Form
- Items associated with a scientific term or concept
- Names associated with a historic event or period
- French words heard at a restaurant or museum
- Topics or themes in a novel
- Elements found in a compound
- Most important election issues
- Impressions of a work of music or art
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