the art of skywriting - the demise of the tag cloud

The Art of Skywriting -The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Gary Barber @tuna

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Tag Clouds, part of our community

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?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

⋯ until they started to disappear

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Law & Order - Special UX Unit

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who or What is Causing this?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

The Investigation

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Its 2005⋯ and Flickr Steps forward

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Popularised by Delicious & Technorati

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

By 2007, even Retail Loved Tag Clouds

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

1) Size represents the number of times a tag is applied to a single item

Profiles of the Clouds.

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

1) Size represents the number of times a tag is applied to a single item

Profiles of the Clouds.

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Profiles of the Clouds.

2) Size represents the number of items to which the tag has been applied or used.

5

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Profiles of the Clouds.

2) Size represents the number of items to which the tag has been applied or used.

5

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

3) Tags are used for the categorisation of content items, the big tags mean more items in a category

Profiles of the Clouds.

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

3) Tags are used for the categorisation of content items, the big tags mean more items in a category

Profiles of the Clouds.

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Visualisation of Word Frequencies

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Presentation of Audience Organisation

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Alternative Navigational Aid

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Visualize of Semantic Categorisation

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Visualize of Semantic Categorisation

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Tag Clouds had made it.

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Tag Clouds had made it.

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Tag Clouds had made it.

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

...Maybe not?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

...Maybe not?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Trends and Appearance - Maybe?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Still the Tag Clouds met their Demise

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

The Prosecution

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Only 7% of Community Tagged in 2006

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Only 7% of Community Tagged in 2006

Suspect No. 1

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

So Easy to get the Wrong Idea

11

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

So Easy to get the Wrong Idea

11

Suspect No. 2

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

We Assume Users Understand

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

We Assume Users Understand

Suspect No. 3

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Research - Weighting is just the Design

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Research - Weighting is just the Design

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Research - Weighting is just the Design

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Suspect No. 4

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Accessibility Issues

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Accessibility Issues

Suspect No. 5

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

User Frustration = Search is Easier

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

User Frustration = Search is Easier

Suspect No. 6

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

No Help - Displaying Tags Alphabetically

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

No Help - Displaying Tags Alphabetically

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Research Indicates:

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Research Indicates:

• Large tags attract attention

• People scan for tags

• Centre tags attract attention

• Upper left quadrant gets more attention

• Suboptimal support for searching for specifics

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

6 Suspects for these Terrible Murders

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

The Defense

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

There has been no Murder⋯

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Tag Clouds are Hiding in Plain Sight

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Removed from their Home Pages

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Removed from their Home Pages

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

⋯or Shuffled off to the Fringes

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

⋯or Shuffled off to the Fringes

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Tag Cloud Secondary to Site Maps

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Tag Cloud Secondary to Site Maps

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Tag Cloud Secondary to Site Maps

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Arrival of the Auto Generators

17

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Arrival of the Auto Generators

17

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Index Clouds

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Button Clouds

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Button Clouds

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Combine Tag Clouds with Search

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Combine Tag Clouds with Search

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Combine Tag Clouds with Search

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Text Clouds

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Text Clouds

• Uses popular search keyword terms into a Tag Cloud

• Has same display and usability issues

• Information base larger with better weighted distribution

• Open to trending

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Topical Grouping

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Topical Grouping

• Take a topic of interest

• Display Tag Cloud for that topic of related and subtopics

• Increase information findability on small population tags

• Increase serendipitous find

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

There is No Murder

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

The Verdict

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

The Community

?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

The Community

The Users?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

The Community

The Users

The Designers

?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

The Community

The Users

The DesignersThe Search Engines

?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

The Community

The Users

The DesignersThe Search Engines

Our Differences

?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

The Community

The Users

The DesignersThe Search Engines

Our Differences

People with Accessibility Issues

?

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Who is to Blame

WE ARE GUILTY

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Is There a Future

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Is There a Future

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• Index or Button Clouds

• Combine with Search

• Overcome Accessibility Issues

• Explanation of the Tag Cloud

• Text Clouds

• Topical Grouping

Questions

@tuna

manwithnoblog.com

The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud

Thank You

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The Art of Skywriting - The Demise of the Tag Cloud