Even if you’re not sure what tagging is, you have probably done it already. If you’re participating in Learn & Play, you had a chance to play around with tagging when we covered LibraryThing and Flickr. Tagging is an open and informal method of categorizing that allows users to associate keywords with online content (webpages, pictures & posts). Unlike library subject cataloging, which follows a strict set of guidelines (i.e., Library of Congress subject headings), tagging is completely unstructured and freeform, allowing users to create connections between data anyway they want. The art of tagging by folks who are not librarians or catalogers, is called “folksonomy.”
As I mentioned, we’ve already explored two sites-–Flickr and LibraryThing–that allow users to take advantage of tagging, and in Week 3 many of you used a common tag, (L&P@CML), to create an association between photos that we individually uploaded. This week, we’re going to explore tagging even more with the popular social bookmarking site called del.icio.us (typed in as http://delicious).
del.icio.us is a social bookmarking manager which allows you to bookmark a web page and add tags to categorize 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 user’s filing cabinet, but with this powerful bookmarking tool each user’s filing cabinet helps to build an expansive knowledge network. To get a better idea of this awesome tool, here is another great Common Craft video:
So… for this discovery exercise, we’re going to take a look at del.icio.us and learn about this popular bookmarking tool.
Discovery Resources:
- Otter Group del.icio.us tutorial (8 min video)
Discovery Exercise:
- View the 8 minute del.icio.us tutorial to get a good overview of its features.
- Check out the Getting Started section on del.icio.us.
- Take a look around del.icio.us using the CML account that was created for this exercise. Note: In this account you will find some resources that have been highlighted or used throughout the course of the Learn & Play @CML program.
- Look at how some of our own CML divisions are using del.icio.us!
- 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 categorize this reference?
- Create a blog post about your experience and thoughts about this tool. 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? (**Remember, just as in all the other exercises, this blog post URL is what you enter into the Tracking Log. Do not enter the URL for your del.icio.us account, if you create one! It’s all about the BLOG!)
OPTIONAL: If you’re up to the challenge, create a del.icio.us account for yourself and discover how this useful bookmarking tool can replace your traditional browser bookmark list? You might even want to explore del.icio.us’ latest addition, a network badge. (You can see an example of this on my not-yet-updated-blog in the sidebar on the right.) 
they actually took those periods out of the name, so you can just go to http://delicious.com now.
[...] answer the question posed on the Learn and Play blog, yes I do think this is useful both for research assistance (at all academic levels and [...]
[...] noticed that a lot of participants are still not entering the correct URL. For example, look at Thing #13 on tagging and del.icio.us. To get credit for this “thing,” and all the other “things,” you will blog [...]
I have to mention as I did in my blog that this exercise has to be done AT HOME in order to download (import) bookmarks.
That’s kinda unfair for alot of people…I feel I spent way more than an hour on this exercise…actually I am spending way more than an hour on all the exercises. How in the world is everyone suppose to keep up?
Peacherlarue – Thank you again for providing this feedback. Your feedback as a participant helps us improve the program. Kudos to you for going above and beyond! It was our hope that the “things” would lead participants to delve further and learn more about these technologies. However, we don’t want anyone to think they are required to do this work at home.
We hope you are given enough time at work to complete each discovery exercise. If you find that the remaining discovery exercises are taking more than an hour; stop and write a post about your experience and what you were able to learn. Its great if you want to explore further at home, but please don’t think it mandatory to get credit for the exercise.
P.S. Peacheslarue – I posted a similar comment to a comment you left on thing #11. I don’t know which blog is yours, so I’m trying to catch you here and there. I hope you continue to work through the rest of the discovery excercises. I think you’re doing a great job!
I think I am in love with the Common Craft person. It may sound silly, but he really does make things more understandable. Any time I watch these, regardless of whether or not I’m familiar with the information, I learn something new.
I had to comment again to say that the Otter Group vid is extremely slow-moving – it was clear the speaker was reading each line slowly and carefully as she was being recorded. Unfortunately, the speaker is nowhere near as interesting or compelling as Common Craft is. Additionally, I felt all the relevant information was given in the Common Craft video. I would suggest that, in the future, folks utilize the CC vid as opposed to the OG vid.
[...] @ 6:38 pm Tags: del.icio.us, Learn & Play, Week 6 OK, trying to catch up here! Thing #13 is about tagging using del.icio.us.. I wasn’t sure if I’d find del.icio.us useful, but [...]
[...] 25, 2008 So for Thing 13 we’re investigating the revolution that is tagging through [...]
[...] we had a “tasty” conversation with [...]
I don’t use the computer enough to want to bookmark, but I see the benefits for students with subject help.