got an appetite for del.icio.us
del.icio.us is gr.ea.t!
del.icio.us is a one of the best 2.0 tools around. Users can create access to the Internet on their own terms. Yes I like a controlled vocabulary, that’s the librarian in me. A controlled vocabulary is great for those who are in the know (e.g. librarians using L.C. subject headings) but a controlled vocabulary does not always speak to the common, everyday user who may not be “in the know”. Tagging allows common, everyday users to apply their own, what I like to call “common sense” vocabulary to the world around them and find what they need. Tagging can be a bridge to fill the gap between users and their different vocabularies. For example, I might use “genealogy” as a tag for a site and someone else might use “family history”. Using our individual tags for the same site allows us to find each other and possibly share other sites and information as well.
I like to use a mix of controlled vocabulary and tagging to allow me access to the resources I need. Library divisions could use del.icio.us to collect a unique list of websites that help them perform their jobs when helping customers. We could use a controlled vocabulary that we as librarians use but also add tags that help customers find what they need as well. In today’s “keyword” driven world “tagging” is a must for anyone who catagorizes and shares websites, pictures on Flickr, etc. If you’re not using “tags” then you’re not “with it”. You’re not providing the best access to information to users from all walks of life varied experiences with the world around us all.
All this del.icio.us talk is making me hungry. So with he controlled vocabulary we could use cookbooks instead of cookery? Still hungry for more.
runswscissors said this on October 31, 2008 at 10:18 am |