Due to the widespread popularity of the last post, here are some other examples of interesting online tools.

The Moodographer is a tool that tracks the frequency of moods expressed in LiveJournal blogs over time. So if we assume that LiveJournal bloggers are some type of representative group, we can get a clue to an aggragate "mood" for this group. For examples of how this is useful, explore the site, or click "continue reading" below for and example I clipped from their site. More features are being added, and hopefully, they will eventually give the tool a retrospective control option. Also interesting is their moodtracker, which testafies to the tool's level of accuracy.

Theyrule.net allows you to explore the web of fat cat business people and large corporations that rule the world. I especially like the feature that makes the figures fatter according to the number of boards they sit on. If you are looking for a starting point, try Walmart, Home Depot, or Dow Chemical. Warning: you might have to update your flash player.

These history of spam graphs are not interactive, but it is interesting anyway.

A personal favorite of mine is the history of sampling project. Try clicking on the dots to reveal the connections between albums. Does this reveal the interests of the artists, or connections in the structure of the sound, or both?

This isn't really history, but historians like to get together as much as the next guys and we can do this online through virual communities. The one I am familliar with is the Habbo Hotel. I know a group of internationals who "meet" for a kind of small group in a guest room there.

And finally, The Visual Thesaurus is a neat little visual application. Unfortunately, it is a subscription service, but you can try the demo. Type in the word "cool" and then roll your mouse over the lines and dots to explore the connections.

Click "continue reading" below for the example of the moodographer.