Tagging is an open and informal method of categorizing that allows users to associate keywords with online content (web pages, pictures & posts). A tag is just a keyword or term, and tagging is the process of assigning or associating them to something. Unlike library subject cataloging, which follows a strict set of guidelines (i.e., MeSH or Library of Congress Subject Headings), tagging is completely unstructured and freeform, allowing users to create connections between data anyway they want.
Thomas Vander Wal is credited with coining the term “folksonomy” in 2004. He has described it as “tagging that works.” According to Vander Wal, folksonomy is “the result of personal free tagging of information and objects (anything with a URL) for one’s own retrieval. The tagging is done in a social environment (shared and open to others). The act of tagging is done by the person consuming the information. The value in this external tagging is derived from people using their own vocabulary and adding explicit meaning, which may come from inferred understanding of the information/object as well. The people are not so much categorizing as providing a means to connect items and to provide their meaning in their own understanding.”
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Before we explore Technorati and LibraryThing tagging, we want to first take a look at a popular social bookmarking site called del.icio.us.
del.icio.us is a social bookmarking manager which allows you to bookmark a web page and add tags to categorize your bookmarks. Becker Library uses del.icio.us to manage some of the subject resource guides, such as the Bioinformatics Guides:
- Becker Microarray Resources
- Becker Research Resources
Many users find that the real power of del.icio.us is in its social network aspect, which allows you to see how other users have tagged similar links and also discover other web sites that may be of interest to you. You can think of it as peering into another user’s filing cabinet, but with this powerful bookmarking tool each user’s filing cabinet helps to build an expansive knowledge network.
For this exercise, you are asked to take a look at del.icio.us and learn about this popular bookmarking tool.
Resources:
- del.icio.us Help
- “Social Bookmarking in Plain English” (3:25) (from Common Craft)
- “Learning 2.0 and del.icio.us” tutorial (produced by the Otter Group)
- “Inside//Out: del.icio.us” video (from Matt Dickman, Techno/Marketer)
- “Several Habits of wildly successful del.icio.us users”
- Folksonomy (Wikipedia)
- “Folksonomy Coinage and Definition” (vanderwal.net)
- “Folksonomy Definition and Wikipedia” (vanderwal.net)
Exercise:
- View this 9 minute del.icio.us tutorial (produced by the Otter Group) to get a good overview of its features.
- Or, view this 8 minute video “Inside//Out: del.icio.us” video (from Matt Dickman, Techno/Marketer)
- Take a look at the Bioinformatics resource guides on del.icio.us. Explore the site, change your view (use the “tag options” on the right side of the page). What visual clue does del.icio.us use to indicate what tags are used most or what resources are bookmarked by the most users?
- Create a blog post about your exploration of del.icio.us and your thoughts about this application. Can you see its potential for sharing resources? Or, do you think it’s more useful for an individual’s personal use? Can you think of ways that Becker Library could use del.icio.us or other social bookmarking applications to provide service to our patrons?
Optional Exercise:
- Create a del.icio.us account for yourself and discover how this bookmarking tool can replace your traditional browser bookmark or favorites list.
- Add the del.icio.us button to your browser’s toolbar. Instructions are available for Internet Explorer and Firefox.
