[IxDA Discuss] Tag Cloud Definition

Sat Feb 3 10:21:45 PST 2007

Clouds are simple and possibly fun to gaze upon, however they are not easily
rendered to scan for useful info - hence users prefer more ordered lists to
look for the relevant information.

How about this solution to improve "cloud" scanning:

1. Present the tags as an alphabetic list of 7-15 (depending on available
screen space) most popular tags. The list is ordered vertically. Provide
option to show more tags, if there are any.
2. Indicate tag popularity via font saturation (I would advocate using plain
grayscale from about 30% to 100% black or blue color).
  2a. Provide numeric index of tag popularity (I think percentage would
work: for a picture of zebra playing xylophone the numeric index of
popularity could be - zebra (24), xylophone (3) or whatever other number the
users choose.
3. Provide an option to reorder tags by frequency/freshness etc.
4. Since tag clouds is exploratory tool, it should be presented as such,
and should be placed in the secondary area of the screen (the definition of
the "secondary" depends on design).

 - it is easier to scan items rendered in the same font face/size.
 - saturation difference in conjunction with the numeric index should be an
indicator obvious enough to indicate to user that black is more
important/exciting/strong color than gray.

--
Oleh Kovalchuke
Interaction Design is Design of Time
http://www.tangospring.com/IxDtopicWhatIsInteractionDesign.htm

On 1/24/07, Susie Robson <Susie.Robson at mathworks.com> wrote:
>
> I did some research on tags last year. Our original idea was that the
> tag cloud would be the first thing people see and they would work from
> that.
>
> The convention "seems" to be that the list is alphabetical as you
> mentioned with the fonts varying in sizes based on "how tagged" it was.
>
> My research, however, determined that while users thought the tag cloud
> was interesting, they had no interest in working from it and probably
> wouldn't use it very often.
>
> So, we kept the cloud but made it an option that they could use. We
> added the option to see the list of tags alphabetically but all one
> font, or they could toggle over to see the cloud view. Users were
> unanimous that they preferred the long list over the cloud. And, it
> became clear that the tags should be at least secondary to everything
> else -- they should be used to enhance the site, not be the primary way
> to navigate.
>
> Once we realized this we redesigned our site so they had the option to
> see the tags but not have them be the main way to navigate, our testing
> went much, much better. Tagging still exists, adding tags, viewing tags,
> viewing other people's tags, etc. but it all complements everything
> else.
>
> I believe Jared Spool's company (User Interface Engineering--I think
> Josh Porter did a lot of the work [if I have his name right??]) had
> similar findings. I'm sure they have info on their site www.uie.com.
>
> FYI
> Susie
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: discuss-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com
> [mailto:discuss-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of
> Noemi Selisker
> Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:30 PM
> To: Thomas Vander Wal
> Cc: discuss at ixda.org
> Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tag Cloud Definition
>
> In my opinion, a tag cloud's primary purpose isn't a navigational one.
>
> Primarily, it's a visual representation of the 'buzz' on the site and
> secondly a tool for navigation. Any given user comes to the site, sees
> the tag cloud and immediately knows what is the most popular/least
> popular/middle-of-road popular items on the site based on the font size
> (this is in reference to an alpha-listed, popular tag cloud--various
> other types of TC exist). Which is why sites with tag clouds usually
> always have more conventional forms of searching/navigating thru the
> site, i.e. index browse, search form etc. And the tag cloud isn't placed
> in a primary position on the page.
>
> Let me clarify my original question:
>
> We've made the decision to implement a tag cloud feature onto a site. No
> rethinking necessary in this respect. In researching how MOST tag clouds
> are designed, I haven't gotten a clear answer as to how the logic is
> usually organized.
>
> Sites such as Flickr and Webpress with tag clouds 'seem' to order tags
> A-Z with those most occurring tags appearing in larger font sizes. The
> curious thing is that there are no tags starting with the letters x, y,
> or z. I find it really difficult to believe that in the whole of sites
> likes these, there isn't one single tag out there which begins with the
> letters x, y, or z.
>
> What is the conventional logic for tag clouds? Does one exist?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Noemi Selisker
> Web Business Analyst
> McGovern & Associates
> +64 9 307 3435
>
>
> You may want to do good user testing on tag cloud visualizations as
> they often break the process with people trying to find information.
> When tag clouds are used for navigation for a site or section  of a
> site/tool (as opposed to a collective understanding of terms related
> to a single object) users often do not find what they are seeking as
> they are often distracted by the visually strong weighted items.
>
> Occasionally (but not often) the people using a site will actual find
> benefit of tag clouds with out them distracting them from
> accomplishing a task.
>
> You really want to test before implementing.
>
> All the best,
> Thomas
>
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