Great idea and it works perfectly! Thanks for this super tip.

I have not gone over to the PicApp site in a while to look for images. If I hear anything I’ll let you know.

Thanks for everything!
@Ileane

Nice to hear from you again.

You’re right. I guess I can display another search box (using the search widget) right at the bottom of the sidebar. A search box at the bottom of the sidebar or anywhere on the sidebar should complement the search box already built into this theme, located at the top corner of the page. I think I will consider that. On the other hand, I doubt if for purposes of promoting specific posts, that will be the real solution. As I said, no substitute for direct promotion.

With regard to the cloud Widget:

There are two cloud widgets in my widget panel, the category cloud and tag cloud. I am using the tag cloud widget which I re-titled as Tag//Keywords, keywords being recognizable by many of my readers. In my other sites, I re-titled the tag cloud as Tags // Keywords // Topics.

Currently, on the sidebar of my blog, you will note that Plugins, PicApp, Themes, Twitter, Widgets really stand out because I have a concentration of posts focused on those topics or keywords which have been tagged as such.

If someone is looking for a post or article containing certain tags or keywords, the posts tagged with those keywords can easily be displayed by the server. As I see it, tags are effectively like ready-to-use search terms not only within your blog but also outside. This is also the reason why I said that the Tag Cloud can not be a real solution to promoting specific posts.

Incidentally, some weeks ago you mentioned about the messed-up tagging practice used in the PicApp website where I also observed that practically each word in PicApp posts was being used as a tag. Has that been resolved by PicApp yet?

Anyway, my position with regard to the cloud widget (ie, tag cloud, “tagging”) is that tags should be used responsibly. By that, I mean, only tags or keywords or phrases that best describe our post and that will help others in finding those posts should be used. And if we have to impose a limit on ourselves like a maximum number of tags per post, then let us do it.

Our digital world in its present condition is already littered with so much junk. The last thing we want to do is to exacerbate the situation by adding an extra layer of unnecessary information. Your concern that tags “might be hiding the thing that you really want people to see on a given day” is very valid, especially if the tagging system is mis-used and abused.

My two-cents worth. Hope this helps. Again, thanks very much for your thought-provoking questions.

Cheers
Romy

I have a question for you, why don’t you display a search widget? I’m just curious because you know that I try to read every post, so it is not for my benefit.

One last question since we are talking widgets, what is the real purpose of a cloud widget? I don’t use them because I think they are so bizarre looking, and just like you said, they might be hiding the thing that you really want people to see on a given day. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for the post.