http://www.joelamantia.com/ideas/tag-clouds-a-new-user-interface experience design, emerging media, business and technology Sat, 06 Aug 2011 18:46:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 http://www.joelamantia.com/ideas/tag-clouds-a-new-user-interface/comment-page-1#comment-76 joe Thu, 18 May 2006 18:47:16 +0000 http://www.joelamantia.com/wp_test/?p=115#comment-76 Thanks Emanuele! I've enjoyed several of your pieces on tag clouds as well - you've identified an important area to work on. Do you think tag sets are really flat? I think they have complex shapes across many dimensions. I also think that ordinary hierarchical ways of understanding tag sets makes them seem flat by ignoring the other types of structure (networks: spokes and nodes) that give tag sets their shape. What's challenging about all this is that the tag clouds we have now are just beginning to figure out how to show these shapes or structures. It's similar to the state of botany / biology before Hooke and others refined the microscope to make it possible to literally see the cells: the natural philiosphers used to guess at the structures and contents... Does this fit with the way you see semantic structures emerging from tag sets? How does our understanding of tag sets need to change, so the tag sets we create do contain structure? Thanks Emanuele! I’ve enjoyed several of your pieces on tag clouds as well — you’ve identified an important area to work on.
Do you think tag sets are really flat? I think they have complex shapes across many dimensions. I also think that ordinary hierarchical ways of understanding tag sets makes them seem flat by ignoring the other types of structure (networks: spokes and nodes) that give tag sets their shape.
What’s challenging about all this is that the tag clouds we have now are just beginning to figure out how to show these shapes or structures. It’s similar to the state of botany / biology before Hooke and others refined the microscope to make it possible to literally see the cells: the natural philiosphers used to guess at the structures and contents…
Does this fit with the way you see semantic structures emerging from tag sets? How does our understanding of tag sets need to change, so the tag sets we create do contain structure?

]]> http://www.joelamantia.com/ideas/tag-clouds-a-new-user-interface/comment-page-1#comment-75 Emanuele Mon, 15 May 2006 17:06:31 +0000 http://www.joelamantia.com/wp_test/?p=115#comment-75 Hi Joe. I'm continuing to appreciate your posts on the visual evolution of tag clouds. Your metaphors and insights are really useful. I'm working on a different side of the problem, trying to put the accent on the sematic evolution of tag clouds: not only a matter of colors/layout/information design but also a problem of inherent structure extrapolated from flat tag sets. I'm sure these two dimensions will work together to provide a new metabrowsing experience for end-users. This experience will have the benefit of maximizing findability, serendity and mental model creation. Cheers, Emanuele Hi Joe. I’m continuing to appreciate your posts on the visual evolution of tag clouds.
Your metaphors and insights are really useful. I’m working on a different side of the problem, trying to put the accent on the sematic evolution of tag clouds: not only a matter of colors/layout/information design but also a problem of inherent structure extrapolated from flat tag sets.
I’m sure these two dimensions will work together to provide a new metabrowsing experience for end-users. This experience will have the benefit of maximizing findability, serendity and mental model creation.
Cheers,
Emanuele

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