A Comparison of Image Rankings

Oftentimes we search for a keyword on Google Images or tag on Flickr photos just searching for a simple representative photo of that word, like "baby" or "cheese." But often we're confronted with seemingly irrelevant photos, due to the inconsistency of web users in labeling or tagging images.

As an experiment to see if one can get better rankings through games, I've made "PhotoMunchrs" (modeled off the familiar "Number Munchers"). PhotoMunchrs is given a list of words, randomly picks one, and then searches for photos tagged with that word in flickr. PhotoMunchrs currently randomly picks a search sort ("relevance", "date-added","interestingness",etc.) to get the greatest variety of options for a particular word. When someone playing the game munches a correct photo for a word, the information for that photo and the munch rank (e.g. "7" is the top rank, for the first photo munched in a level). On this page, I show the results of comparing the photos with the highest munch rank to the photos returned by flickr's relevance search for each word. If a photo is very visually representative of a word, it will probably be munched quickly and often.

Currently PhotoMunchrs is using the "200 Most Picturable Words" wordlist, since those should theoretically be the easiest words to correctly identify pictures of. I will add more wordsets as players increase. Obviously this ranking method is dependent on gameplay occuring. The more gameplay, the better the munch ranking should become. If you have suggestions for gameplay or wordlist improvements, please contact me.

If you want to try out the data, use this query:
http://imagine-it.org/flickr/getwordranking.php?word=word_here
This will return XML with the results sorted by rank (best to worst) with corresponding flickr photo information. Information on making image URLS from the information can be found here.

WORD	BEST RANKED PHOTO FROM PHOTOMUNCHRS	BEST RANKED PHOTO FROM FLICKR RELEVANCE SEARCH
ANGLE	click word to show	click word to show
ANT	click word to show	click word to show
APPLE	click word to show	click word to show
ARCH	click word to show	click word to show
ARM	click word to show	click word to show
ARMY	click word to show	click word to show
BABY	click word to show	click word to show
BAG	click word to show	click word to show
BALL	click word to show	click word to show
BAND	click word to show	click word to show
BASIN	click word to show	click word to show
BASKET	click word to show	click word to show
BATH	click word to show	click word to show
BED	click word to show	click word to show
BEE	click word to show	click word to show
BELL	click word to show	click word to show
BERRY	click word to show	click word to show
BIRD	click word to show	click word to show
BLADE	click word to show	click word to show
BOARD	click word to show	click word to show
BOAT	click word to show	click word to show
BONE	click word to show	click word to show
BOOK	click word to show	click word to show
BOOT	click word to show	click word to show
BOTTLE	click word to show	click word to show
BOX	click word to show	click word to show
BOY	click word to show	click word to show
BRAIN	click word to show	click word to show
BRAKE	click word to show	click word to show
BRANCH	click word to show	click word to show
BRICK	click word to show	click word to show
BRIDGE	click word to show	click word to show
BRUSH	click word to show	click word to show
BUCKET	click word to show	click word to show
BULB	click word to show	click word to show
BUTTON	click word to show	click word to show
CAKE	click word to show	click word to show
CAMERA	click word to show	click word to show
CARD	click word to show	click word to show
CART	click word to show	click word to show
CARRIAGE	click word to show	click word to show
CAT	click word to show	click word to show
CHAIN	click word to show	click word to show
CHEESE	click word to show	click word to show
CHEST	click word to show	click word to show
CHIN	click word to show	click word to show
CHURCH	click word to show	click word to show
CIRCLE	click word to show	click word to show
CLOCK	click word to show	click word to show
CLOUD	click word to show	click word to show
COAT	click word to show	click word to show
COLLAR	click word to show	click word to show
COMB	click word to show	click word to show
CORD	click word to show	click word to show
COW	click word to show	click word to show
CUP	click word to show	click word to show
CURTAIN	click word to show	click word to show
CUSHION	click word to show	click word to show
DOG	click word to show	click word to show
DOOR	click word to show	click word to show
DRAIN	click word to show	click word to show
DRAWER	click word to show	click word to show
DRESS	click word to show	click word to show
DROP	click word to show	click word to show
EAR	click word to show	click word to show
EGG	click word to show	click word to show
ENGINE	click word to show	click word to show
EYE	click word to show	click word to show
FACE	click word to show	click word to show
FARM	click word to show	click word to show
FEATHER	click word to show	click word to show
FINGER	click word to show	click word to show
FISH	click word to show	click word to show
FLAG	click word to show	click word to show
FLOOR	click word to show	click word to show
FLY	click word to show	click word to show
FOOT	click word to show	click word to show
FORK	click word to show	click word to show
FOWL	click word to show	click word to show
FRAME	click word to show	click word to show
GARDEN	click word to show	click word to show
GIRL	click word to show	click word to show
GLOVE	click word to show	click word to show
GOAT	click word to show	click word to show
GUN	click word to show	click word to show
HAIR	click word to show	click word to show
HAMMER	click word to show	click word to show
HAND	click word to show	click word to show
HAT	click word to show	click word to show
HEAD	click word to show	click word to show
HEART	click word to show	click word to show
HOOK	click word to show	click word to show
HORN	click word to show	click word to show
HORSE	click word to show	click word to show
HOSPITAL	click word to show	click word to show
HOUSE	click word to show	click word to show
ISLAND	click word to show	click word to show
JEWEL	click word to show	click word to show
KETTLE	click word to show	click word to show
KEY	click word to show	click word to show
KNEE	click word to show	click word to show
KNIFE	click word to show	click word to show
KNOT	click word to show	click word to show
LEAF	click word to show	click word to show
LEG	click word to show	click word to show
LIBRARY	click word to show	click word to show
LINE	click word to show	click word to show
LIP	click word to show	click word to show
LOCK	click word to show	click word to show
MAP	click word to show	click word to show
MATCH	click word to show	click word to show
MONKEY	click word to show	click word to show
MOON	click word to show	click word to show
MOUTH	click word to show	click word to show
MUSCLE	click word to show	click word to show
NAIL	click word to show	click word to show
NECK	click word to show	click word to show
NEEDLE	click word to show	click word to show
NERVE	click word to show	click word to show
NET	click word to show	click word to show
NOSE	click word to show	click word to show
NUT	click word to show	click word to show
OFFICE	click word to show	click word to show
ORANGE	click word to show	click word to show
OVEN	click word to show	click word to show
PARCEL	click word to show	click word to show
PEN	click word to show	click word to show
PENCIL	click word to show	click word to show
PICTURE	click word to show	click word to show
PIG	click word to show	click word to show
PIN	click word to show	click word to show
PIPE	click word to show	click word to show
PLANE	click word to show	click word to show
PLATE	click word to show	click word to show
PLOW	click word to show	click word to show
POCKET	click word to show	click word to show
POT	click word to show	click word to show
POTATO	click word to show	click word to show
PRISON	click word to show	click word to show
PUMP	click word to show	click word to show
RAIL	click word to show	click word to show
RAT	click word to show	click word to show
RECEIPT	click word to show	click word to show
RING	click word to show	click word to show
ROD	click word to show	click word to show
ROOF	click word to show	click word to show
ROOT	click word to show	click word to show
SAIL	click word to show	click word to show
SCHOOL	click word to show	click word to show
SCISSORS	click word to show	click word to show
SCREW	click word to show	click word to show
SEED	click word to show	click word to show
SHEEP	click word to show	click word to show
SHELF	click word to show	click word to show
SHIP	click word to show	click word to show
SHIRT	click word to show	click word to show
SHOE	click word to show	click word to show
SKIN	click word to show	click word to show
SKIRT	click word to show	click word to show
SNAKE	click word to show	click word to show
SOCK	click word to show	click word to show
SPADE	click word to show	click word to show
SPONGE	click word to show	click word to show
SPOON	click word to show	click word to show
SPRING	click word to show	click word to show
SQUARE	click word to show	click word to show
STAMP	click word to show	click word to show
STAR	click word to show	click word to show
STATION	click word to show	click word to show
STEM	click word to show	click word to show
STICK	click word to show	click word to show
STOCKING	click word to show	click word to show
STOMACH	click word to show	click word to show
STORE	click word to show	click word to show
STREET	click word to show	click word to show
SUN	click word to show	click word to show
TABLE	click word to show	click word to show
TAIL	click word to show	click word to show
THREAD	click word to show	click word to show
THROAT	click word to show	click word to show
THUMB	click word to show	click word to show
TICKET	click word to show	click word to show
TOE	click word to show	click word to show
TONGUE	click word to show	click word to show
TOOTH	click word to show	click word to show
TOWN	click word to show	click word to show
TRAIN	click word to show	click word to show
TRAY	click word to show	click word to show
TREE	click word to show	click word to show
TROUSERS	click word to show	click word to show
UMBRELLA	click word to show	click word to show
WALL	click word to show	click word to show
WATCH	click word to show	click word to show
WHEEL	click word to show	click word to show
WHIP	click word to show	click word to show
WHISTLE	click word to show	click word to show
WINDOW	click word to show	click word to show
WING	click word to show	click word to show
WIRE	click word to show	click word to show
WORM	click word to show	click word to show