How To Create Your Own Word Clouds

If you are starting to learn about social media, you will no doubt have come across the word tags - a key word or term that you can use to help you sort and classify content. You might even have seen some people with tag clouds on their blogs.

Well thanks to Sinead Cochrane I’ve just come across a really cool tool called Wordle that helps you create ‘word clouds’ from text that you provide. It’s a free resource and you can use the image that Wordle creates however you like.

You can create your own Wordle word cloud from words you type in or from entering your blog domain name.

Here’s one I created entering in some words that relate to PodCamp Ireland.

So how might you use your Wordle word cloud. Here are a few ideas:

• Add your Wordle tag cloud to your website or blog side bar to depict what subjects you cover
• Create your own T-shirts for a live event or event your work team
• Develop a Wordle tag cloud with all the names of the people who come to your next family get together (I might just do that for PodCamp Ireland 2008 so make sure that you get registered soon!)
• Use your word cloud on business cards and correspondence cards
• Feature your word cloud on the front of your workshop materials for the next training course you deliver
• Use your Wordle on your book cover for that next best selling book you are writing
• Depict your expertise with Wordle and create a Wordle CV as Robin Blandford has done
• You may take a Wordle, put it on your book cover, your t-shirt, your campaign poster, what have you. You may get rich off it. Just tell people how you made the image, or, if you’re using one from the gallery, where you got it.

The only request of the developers of Wordle is that they ask tat you make sure that you tell people how you made your Wordle tag cloud image.

Take a look at what the Wordle word clouds of Irish bloggers Elly and Sinead have created.

What ideas do you have for your Wordle word cloud?