Wordle is an amazing website that lets you create word clouds easily from any list of words or better yet, from the URL of any blog, blog feed, website, web page so long as they have an Atom or RSS feed. Cutting and pasting in text works too. Or enter a del.icio.us user name to get tags. The software allows for colour and colour combinations, layout, fonts and the ability to remove common words if desired.
Wordle is the brainchild of Jonathan Feinberg who works for IMB Research, a remarkable employer who allowed him to use code and develop the core algorithms on company time. The result is a wonderful series of “wordles†in the gallery. The Trendhunter.com website's current wordle is shown as with a shorter version using just a select group of words. Other people have saved wordles about their getting married, a brightly coloured version of a NY Times review on traffic and even the breaking news from CNN on a particular day.
Thomas Hank also used Wordle to compare recent political speeches by Obama and Cain - the top of the paired Wordle is Obama's, with Cain's at the bottom. The possibilities are endless!
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Word Cloud Creation
- An emerging trend where users can easily create word clouds from any list of words or the URL of a website, blog, or web page.
- Customizable Word Clouds
- A trend in word cloud software that allows users to customize the layout, colors, fonts, and remove common words.
- Word Clouds for Analysis
- A growing trend of using word clouds to compare, analyze, and visualize text-based data such as speeches, reviews, news articles, and more.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Software Development
- The software development industry can explore opportunities to create user-friendly word cloud software with advanced customization options.
- Data Analytics
- The data analytics industry can leverage the trend of word clouds for text-based analysis and develop tools to extract insights from word cloud visualizations.
- Content Marketing
- The content marketing industry can utilize word clouds as a visual content format to engage audiences and communicate key messages in a visually appealing way.
