Tagging & Social Bookmarking

Home , Social bookmarking, Tag (metadata)

Chapter X6

agging is another commonality of Web 2.0 tools. that tag. In my personal tag cloud at Flickr, the tags JAKE, Social bookmarking extends tagging and organiza CHARLIE, and MICHIGAN are all very large because of Ttion into the realm of SNS, with tags, feeds, and RSS the large number of pictures I have taken of my dogs in subscriptions included. A useful definition of the technol Michigan (see figure 16). ogies highlighted in this chapter comes from librarian and Libraries are using tagging in variety of ways. Many blogger Ellyssa Kroski, who’ll be publishing a guide to 2.0 library blogs feature tags as a means of organizing infor tools with Neal Schuman in 2007. mation. The librarians at Williamsburg Regional Library In “The Hive Mind: Folksonomies and User-Based tag posts in their blog, Blogging for a Good Book (see Tagging,” Kroski writes: chapter 2), to help users discover books that might inter est them. In her article about the service, librarian Jessica Unlike social-networking sites such as LinkedIn Zellers described the usefulness of tagging: and Friendster, which concentrate on develop ing relationships, social sites such as del.icio The tags are a wonderful boon to readers’ advi .us, 43Things and Flickr focus their attention sory. They expand upon the plot summaries that on organizing data. Users organize their own or typically constitute the bulk of book reviews. other’s data in the public sphere and the social, The tags tell at a glance whether a particular or community, aspects arise from there as users book is strong in the any or all of the six big 1

September–October 2007 share and seek out like-minded individuals. appeal characteristics (language, story, charac ter, setting, tone, and pace). If a review is tagged Tagging is the assignment of a keyword or phrase to with ‘setting,’ the book is strong in setting; if a bit of digital data: a blog post, a Flickr photo, a video, a it is not tagged with setting, it is understood Web site. Groups of tags created by the users of a certain that the book is not remarkable in that particu collection of data are called “folksonomies.” That means lar appeal. Other useful tags include genre and simply that the tags are a collection of words assigned reading interest (i.e., Fantasy, Women’s Fiction, by folks—everyday people, not librarians consulting their and Nonfiction), form (i.e., short stories, graphic subject headings guides. novels, audiobooks, and music), age level (i.e., www.techsource.ala.org www.techsource.ala.org The site Technorati tracks tags for blog posts, videos, children’s and young adult), and individual rec and photos. Looking up a tag on Technorati can be a use ommendations (i.e., Jessica’s Picks).2 ful way to see online coverage of a topic or an event, such as the American Library Association conference. A search The University of Pennsylvania library developed its on the tag ALA2007 yields numerous blog posts covering own tagging system called “PennTags.” The About page the event, many images, and some videos as well. describes the tool: Groups of tags can be displayed as lists or as a visual representation called a “tag cloud.” The size of the words PennTags is a social bookmarking tool for locat

Library Technology ReportsLibrary Technology in the tag cloud reflects the number of items that carry ing, organizing, and sharing your favorite online

58 Library Technology Reports www.techsource.ala.org September–October 2007 9 5

- 5 4 Another library that uses del.icio.us is the Nashville Del.icio.us allows users to subscribe to feeds of vari Fred Stutzman, a doctoral student and blogging Del.icio.us is populated by many brilliant minds, as almost Its find! to hard too simply are they but anonymous blogging is del.icio.us on everyone if but ago, years few a sense made have might It ly. it doesn’t anymore. Del.icio.us can improve the social aspects of the service without becoming another social network; the idea that adding so cial to del.icio.us is somehow a negative is com will it and well, added be can Social bunk. pletely time It’s for popular. more del.icio.us even make the of editorship. del.icio.us to realize value can look for what others have linked to and de others’ browse just particularor taga by scribed collections of links. Libraries & del.icio.us allows tool The The Missouri 17). River figure Regional (see Library page uses links de.licio.us Reference to a create The computer. to add the or Web any from edit librarians updated is dynamically with page each change. display includes 18) figure (see Web” “Teen NPL’s Library. Public ous tags, to display a list of tagged sites on other tag a customized cloud. and to display pages, Web expert on social tools, posted recently about del.icio.us. Stutzman writes, “When we firsttransportable, started rss of notionthesocial, del.icio.us, in links bookmarking able bookmarks was a great concept. It remains a great concept, and del.icio.us’ growth is evidence of the strat egy’s value. Del.icio.us’ UI also appealed to many—it was does Stutzman usable.” eminently and down stripped fast, go on to argue for improved features that highlight the he sees in thevalue tool editorship:

text keywords) and/or by and/or textkeywords) - 3 cess the links from any computer since they are no longer only stored locally. As you add each opportunitythe given are you del.icio.us, to page to add descriptive keywords, or tags to the link. You tag.category or by data your organizes This del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site. What that What site. bookmarking social a is del.icio.us in link Webpage a saving of instead that is means your “Favorites” (IE) or “Bookmarks” (Firefox) folder for future use, you it save to your del.icio ac can then you being that benefit The page. .us Other innovative uses of tagging in libraries surely specific preferences. PennTagsspecific can preferences. also be used collaboratively, because it acts as a repository of the varied interests and academic pursuits of theand can community, findhelp top you Penn online favorite own your to related users and ics resources. collect and maintain URLs, links to journal arti cles, in and Franklin, our records online catalog and VCat, our online video catalog. Once these resources are compiled, you can organize them tagsassigning by (free grouping them into projects, according to your resources. Members of the Penn Community can Community thePenn of Members resources. Kroski writesKroski further Mind” essay: in her “Hive log as a tag cloud as well as a cloud of the top searches on the catalog time. at any Del.icio.us point toward the future of classificationtogether—mashing systems systems create will where librarians and users up our foundational skills with the collective mind. John (see chapter 3) a SOPAC features taggingBlyberg’s func theof the library allows display cata SOPAC tion well. as Figure 16 Figure at Flickr. tag cloud Michael’s 6

0 Library Technology Reports www.techsource.ala.org September–October 2007 Nashville Figure 18 .icio.us as well for three important reasons: .icio.us aswell for important three Flickr to display a badge of photos. They opted to use del including tools, 2.0 of number a using Website teen the cloudonourTeen tag we Web couldputthe page.” Then del.icio.us. in websites teen recommended the put NPL of “Wesite. of the teen part creating that decided to process referencethe JennyEllis, detailed sites. librarian, a del.icio.us feed to display recommendedother Webteen MRRL’s ReferenceLinksDatabase. Figure 17 li ad e NL olau Kl Co developed Cook Kyle colleague NPL her and Ellis P ublic Library’s Teen Web 6

tagging them for ouraccount. them tagging by us to sites good suggest could They ticipate. del.icio.uscanpar with teens It alsomeansthat account. Nashpubya the to in log they as long as computer, any from links delete or add can password and access to single this account. Staff the have librarians teen the All Web. Teen the of part over control direct some staff Teen gives the Del.icio.us participation. invites it First,

Library Technology Reports www.techsource.ala.org September–October 2007 1 6

folksonomies - 53, no. 3 (July/

mind - hive - Viriginia Viriginia Libraries value.html 12, 2007). (accessed July - or - tagging 12, 2007). (accessed July - mail interview by the 3, 2007. July author, - based - delicious - in - user - http://tags.library.upenn.edu Scriblio http://about.scriblio.net Technorati www.technorati.com 25 Social Bookmarking Sites Top www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-bookmarking.html Resources Cloud District LibraryAnn Arbor Tag www.aadl.org/sopac/tagcloud Book Blogging for a Good http://bfgb.wordpress.com Del.icio.us http://del.icio.us The Hive Mind http://infotangle.blogsome.com/2005/12/07/the-hive -mind-folksonomies-and-user-based-tagging Missouri River Regional Library Reference Links Page www.mrrl.org/services/refer/links PennTags holes and Value Value of Editorship,” Unit http://chimprawk.blogspot.com/2007/05/structural Sturctures, May 10, 2007, - Ellis, e Jenny Ibid. Ibid. Ellyssa Ellyssa Kroski, “The Hive Mind: Folksonomies http://infotangle and 2006, User 7, Feb. InfoTangle, Tagging,” Based .blogsome.com/2005/12/07/the - A Painless New Approach Jessica Zellers, “In Blog Heaven: to Readers’ Advisory,” 2007). Aug./Sept. About page, PennTags, Oct. 11, 2005, http://tags.library 11, 2007). .upenn.edu/help (accessed July Mind.” “Hive Kroski, Fred Stutzman, “Structural Holes in del.icio.us, or, the

6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Notes

8 L Teen Web. L Teen P 7 Third, the del.icio.us tag cloud allowed us to us allowed cloud tag del.icio.us the Third, Browse Browse del.icio.us for sites and articles with that descriptors you. interest tagged Ponder incorporating a tag cloud in your library blog (Wordpress makes a cloud widget available) or on another part site. of your Experiment with tagging at Flickr or your own del.icio.us account. cost, dynamic Web resource. Web dynamic cost, - • • • Ponder Ponder how you might use tagging with a site like available through del.icio.us, not available just the library website. Using the tool turned out to be a smooth process. tags. would Teens find sites based onkey terms instead to of navigate having through confusing categories. So, it it teenseasier should for make for. to find what looking they are tag sections of the teen web, so the teen web is Second, del.icio.us organizes links based on What You Can Do Now What You thebeginusing to now take can stepsyou some are Here ideas in this chapter: classes I teach of and a thedisplay feed sites and articles departmentthat do your Could blogs. theclass on tagged create and the from above librarieslesson a Take well? as a low or javascript code on your webpage or blog. If you don’t have access to the webserver, your webmaster can easily paste the code. The cool part is, you get to create how it the manage content.”will look and you del.icio.us at your library. I use a tag for each of the Ellis noted that getting the tag cloud on the site was easy was thesite on thatgettingnotedcloud thetag Ellis (see figure 19). “In del.icio.us, there’s a tool whereyou pastetheand htmlcopy can you Then tagcloud. a create Figure 19 Figure cloud displayed on N Tag