Are Tag Clouds Useful?

I would have to say Tag Clouds can have some value. They allow the user to find information at a glance by clicking the keywords “tags” in the list. Think of Tag Clouds as a search feature with the results already present and organized.

Tag Clouds can come in a few forms. There are some that are arranged according popularity of a certain keyword or they can be arranged alphabetically. Another characteristic of a Tag Cloud is the variable weight assigned to each tag.

Tags that are popular, meaning the tag is associated with more entries or a certain topic/link that is viewed/clicked more, will have a larger, bolder style applied to it. Whereas tags with fewer associations will have less of a visual impact.

This is important to Users and Admins alike because it helps show what tags are used more and or clicked more. It can give you a quick reference as to where people are going and what they may be more interested in.

Sites like del.icio.us use the Tag Cloud to help users locate links they may have in their list by clicking on associated keywords.