New ways of organising online information
Many websites now make use of ‘folksonomies’ to organise information in a collaborative way. This is done primarily through ‘tagging’, where users add their own keywords to web material such as blog posts, web pages and photos, allowing them and others to organise and search for related online content. It is then possible to find other individuals (see growth of online communities) who share similar interests through the tags that they use.
What are the implications?
- Tagging shifts the responsibility for organising information from organisations to users
- Because tags are not controlled by a central organisation, folksonomies can appear messy
- However, as they are based on users’ experiences and opinions they can be more nuanced and detailed
- Tagging can be used by organisations to involve their users in helping to organise and filter information
- Tagging is part of a shift towards more peer to peer information sharing (see interactive websites)
- Social bookmarking (the use of tagging to share links to websites) can be used as a collaborative research tool
- Tags can help organisations to identify possible new supporters or users, particularly niche groups (see the long tail)
Moving forward
Social bookmarking (the use of tagging to share links to websites) can be used as a collaborative research tool.
- Could you use social bookmarking to share information with your partners, users and other stakeholders?
- Could you use social bookmarking as a knowledge management tool within your organisation to share information?
Searching for tags provides a new way of searching for information.
- Are you aware of what is being said online about your organisation or the subjects you are interested in? You could use websites like technorati.com to search for information tagged with your organisation’s name for example.
Want to know more?
Social bookmarking in plain English
Published by: Common Craft, two people who make short videos to explain complex ideas in a simple way
Date: 2007
Format: Video
What is it?: A short video demonstrating how the social bookmarking website delicious works
How useful is it?: The video gives a very accessible explanation about how social bookmarking (the use of tags to save, organise and share links to web pages) works, and how it can be used as a collaborative tool. A good introduction.
Future Focus 3: How will we use new technologies in five years’ time
Date: 2007
Format: PDF
Published by: NCVO Third Sector Foresight
What is it?: An introduction 6 key drivers relating to how the VCS uses new technologies
How useful is it?: It doesn’t provide a detailed explanation of folksonomies or tagging, but does place them within a context, including the wealth of online information and the increasing ease of making new connections.
Discuss
How will this affect your organisation? Have you considered it during your strategic planning? Can you share any interesting relevant links? Start the discussion by posting a comment here!
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