I added it to highlight the general areas we've been discussing. The cloud shows all Labels that have been applied to three or more Topics since Joel started the practice over a year ago. The bigger the item and the warmer the color, the more we've covered it in the Blog.
If you roll your cursor over any Label in the cloud, you will see how many Topics link to it. If you click the Label, you'll get the full text and images of all those Topics. (I've retained the old flat listing of all Labels at the bottom of the right-hand column so you can easily access all Labels.)
I think the "cloud" concept is an interesting one that gives an immediate visual idea of what is "hot". The concept can be used to indicate the words we use most often, the most reported news topics, etc.
[Updated 12 MAY] I've changed the layout a bit so a compacted Short List of HOT Comments appears at the very top. Click the colored text to jump to the Topic with that Comment. (I'd like it to jump right to the Comment but I can't get that to work yet.)
Next is a brand new 20 Most Recent Topics (Posts) widget. It lists the Topics in compact form. The little red arrow points to each Topic in turn and, at the top, you see Title, Author, and Date. If you roll your cursor over any Title, the little red arrow jumps to it. NEAT-O! (I got this widget from http://webupd8.blogspot.com/2009/03/blogger-recent-posts-using-ajax.html THANKS!)
Next is a detailed listing of the 20 Most Recent Comments. In the original version of this Topic I complained that the widgets sometimes did not work because the source code was on some remote computer that was busy. Well, the new widget I found has the source code right in my Blog so it is more reliable.
The Archive of All Posts (Topics) appears next. The Topics for the current month are all listed. If you click any of the little triangles (called "twisties") they will rotate and reveal all Topics posted for any given month and any year.
Please let me know if there are other Gadgets and Widgets you'd like to see added to make your experience here more satisfying. I'll add them if I can.
Ira Glickstein
