A+Word+About+Tagging

Tagging and Social Bookmarking
//If you have trouble finding good information on the Internet, you're not alone. Portals and publications don't always classify information in the same way their readers would.

But what if you could tag any information you put on the Internet -- or any information that you find on the Internet -- with simple keywords, so that you could find it again? And what if you could search for information that other people had tagged with the same keyword? That's where// [|//tagging//] //comes in handy. Tags can help you organize and find URLs (with the help of social bookmarking tools like// [|//del.icio.us//]//), photos (with applications like// [|//flickr//]//), and ideas or projects (like on the// [|//43 things//] //Web site). Tags can also be a great way to draw attention to your posts and bring others to your blog or Web site.

The real value in tagging is that a community of like-minded people is helping to sort and classify information. Tagging projects are constantly emerging to help gather information and share knowledge. For instance, the nonprofit technology community created its own// [|//NPTech tag//] //on del.icio.us to share knowledge among people in the field.

To get started, just pick a keyword to represent your organization or issue, start tagging URLs that you come across with that keyword (using del.icio.us or a tool of your choice), and let your supporters know that they can use the tag themselves when marking content on the Web.

Be sure to use something that will be unique and memorable. For example, whereas "kids" might be too vague, "healthykids" is better; it's less likely to be used randomly by people who don't share your goals, and you can really own it.

"By allowing people to share information effectively, tags create and support a growing number of online communities. And by bringing communities together around common interests, tags add value to the information those communities gather," stated Alexandra Samuel in a// [|//Toronto Star article//] //about the Web 2.0 tool.//

Author: TechSoup Source: []