#13 Tagging, folksomonies & social bookmarking in Del.icio.us

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In the past few weeks, we’ve already explored a few sites, Flicker and LibraryThing to name two, where you will have seen entries tagged. These tags create an association between items that we individually uploaded and items that other users have added. This week, in addition to exploring Technorati tagging (Thing 14), I want you to also take a look at a popular social bookmarking site called Del.icio.us (typed in as http://del.icio.us), but first some more on definitions.

Tagging is an open and informal method of categorising, that allows users to associate keywords with online content (web pages, pictures & posts). Unlike library subject catalogueing, which follows a strict set of guidelines (i.e. Library of Congress subject headings), tagging is completely unstructured and free form, allowing users to create connections between data anyway they want.

Folksonomy is the collaborative way that tags are created and managed, i.e. it is the process of tagging and the collection of tags of into similar groups. Currently there is debate over the definition of folksonomy so see the definitions on wikipedia and vanderwal.net.

Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking manager which allows you to bookmark a web page and add tags to categorise your bookmarks. Many users find that the real power of Del.icio.us is in the social network aspect, which allows you to see how other users have tagged similar links and also discover other websites that may be of interest to you. You can think of it as peering into another users’ filing cabinet, but with this powerful bookmarking tool each user's filing cabinet helps to build an expansive knowledge network.

For this discovery exercise, you are asked to create an account with Del.icio.us, add some of your own bookmarks and learn about this popular bookmarking tool.

Discovery Resources:

• Social Bookmarking in Plain English (3:25 mins) - YouTube video from leelefever
• Otter Group Del.icio.us tutorial (8 min video)
• Us.ef.ul: A beginners guide to Del.icio.us

Discovery Exercise:
1. Create a Del.icio.us account for yourself
2. Bookmark some web pages in Del.icio.us, these can be either of personal interest or to do with work
3. Create a blog post about your experience and thoughts about this tool.

Note: A quick word about the Del.icio.us Buttons. On PCs that have the toolbars locked down, or if the PC is shared, these will install as options in your browser bookmarks. Use the “Post to my Del.icio.us” link to add the current web page to your account (you may need to log in). Use the “My Del.icio.us” link to view your online account.

OPTIONAL: If you’re up to the challenge, explore the site options and try clicking on a bookmark that has also been bookmarked by a lot of other users. Can you see the comments they added about this bookmark or the tags that they used to categorise this reference? You might even want to explore one of Del.icio.us’ recent additions, a network badge.

A final question or food for thought: Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere?

Next up Fot This Week: #14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati