(The day after this post appeared, Wordle came back online. It’s unclear what exactly is going on)

Wordle, the great web app that lets you create “word clouds” out of any document or webpage, has gone off-line until “further notice.” Thanks to Steven Anderson for the tip.

Luckily, there are alternatives.

Check out Shelly Terrell’s 12 Word Cloud Resources, Tips, & Tools for info on those sites and ideas on how to use them effectively in the classroom.

In addition, Marisa Constantinides has another great post with word cloud examples.

Phil Bradley also has a nice post comparing alternatives.

Usually, great Web 2.0 applications don’t go down until I rate them number one in a “The Best…” list — that tends to be sort of a “kiss of death.” And I haven’t even composed a Best Word Cloud list, yet.

Seriously, though, I do hope Wordle can find a way to get back online.