Sorting Out Social Classification Tagging and Folksonomies in Practice Gene Smith Access 2005 October 17, 2005

About Me Principal, nForm User Experience Consulting Information Architect Founding member of the Information Architecture Institute Advisory board Folksonomies Panel, IA Summit 2005 Blogs http://atomiq.org http://tagsonomy.com

Principal, nForm User Experience Consulting

Information Architect

Founding member of the Information Architecture Institute

Advisory board

Folksonomies Panel, IA Summit 2005

Blogs

http://atomiq.org

http://tagsonomy.com

Tags & Tagging Tags User-added descriptive metadata Tagging The practice of users adding descriptive metadata to resources allowing users to add and share their own descriptive metadata

Tags

User-added descriptive metadata

Tagging

The practice of

users adding descriptive metadata to resources

allowing users to add and share their own descriptive metadata

Some Examples Social Bookmarking Media Sharing Weblogs Other

“ Folksonomy is a neologism for a practice of collaborative categorization using simple tags.” - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy

“ Folksonomy is a neologism for a practice of collaborative categorization using simple tags.”

- Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy

“ Folksonomy is a neologism for a practice of collaborative categorization using simple tags .” - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy

“ Folksonomy is a neologism for a practice of collaborative categorization using simple tags .”

- Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy

Collaborative Categorization Tags are shared Feedback loop

Tags are shared

Feedback loop

Simple Tags Flat namespace No hierarchy Simple interface (text box) WordsSmashedTogether “ sometaithurts”

Flat namespace

No hierarchy

Simple interface (text box)

WordsSmashedTogether

“ sometaithurts”

Kinds of Folksonomy Broad Many users tag one resource Examples: Del.icio.us, Furl, Digg Narrow Few users tag one resource Examples: Flickr, Technorati

Broad

Many users tag one resource

Examples:

Del.icio.us, Furl, Digg

Narrow

Few users tag one resource

Examples:

Flickr, Technorati

“ The old way creates a tree. The new rakes leaves together.” - David Weinberger

“ The old way creates a tree. The new rakes leaves together.”

- David Weinberger

“ Folksonomies … don't support searching and other types of browsing nearly as well as tags from controlled vocabularies applied by professionals .” - Lou Rosenfeld “ Building, maintaining, and enforcing a controlled vocabulary is, relative to folksonomies, enormously expensive … - Clay Shirky

“ Folksonomies … don't support searching and other types of browsing nearly as well as tags from controlled vocabularies applied by professionals .”

- Lou Rosenfeld

“ Building, maintaining, and enforcing a controlled vocabulary is, relative to folksonomies, enormously expensive …

- Clay Shirky

“ Folksonomies … don't support searching and other types of browsing nearly as well as tags from controlled vocabularies applied by professionals .” - Lou Rosenfeld “ Building, maintaining, and enforcing a controlled vocabulary is, relative to folksonomies, enormously expensive … - Clay Shirky

“ Folksonomies … don't support searching and other types of browsing nearly as well as tags from controlled vocabularies applied by professionals .”

- Lou Rosenfeld

“ Building, maintaining, and enforcing a controlled vocabulary is, relative to folksonomies, enormously expensive …

- Clay Shirky

“ It’s just as problematic to ignore the compelling social, cultural, and academic arguments against lowest-common-denominator classification … - Liz Lawley “ The mass amateurization of publishing means the mass amateurization of cataloging is a forced move.” - Clay Shirky

“ It’s just as problematic to ignore the compelling social, cultural, and academic arguments against lowest-common-denominator classification …

- Liz Lawley

“ The mass amateurization of publishing means the mass amateurization of cataloging is a forced move.”

- Clay Shirky

“ It’s just as problematic to ignore the compelling social, cultural, and academic arguments against lowest-common-denominator classification … - Liz Lawley “ The mass amateurization of publishing means the mass amateurization of cataloging is a forced move.” - Clay Shirky

“ It’s just as problematic to ignore the compelling social, cultural, and academic arguments against lowest-common-denominator classification …

- Liz Lawley

“ The mass amateurization of publishing means the mass amateurization of cataloging is a forced move.”

- Clay Shirky

Ontology is Overrated Classification of the web has failed Classification itself is filled with bias and error Tagging is the solution http://www.shirky.com/writings/ontology_overrated.html

Classification of the web has failed

Classification itself is filled with bias and error

Tagging is the solution

http://www.shirky.com/writings/ontology_overrated.html

Two core questions What’s a sustainable way to classify the big messy web? Can a loosely organized network of individuals categorizing things for their own interest succeed where the librarians failed?

What’s a sustainable way to classify the big messy web?

Can a loosely organized network of individuals categorizing things for their own interest succeed where the librarians failed?

“Yes, of course it would be easier. This is what is so radical about tagging — it would be easier because other people would do it for you .”

“Yes, of course it would be easier. This is what is so radical about tagging — it would be easier because other people would do it for you .”

“ Yes, of course it would be easier. This is what is so radical about tagging — it would be easier because other people would do it for you .” Would they? Would you want them to?

“ Yes, of course it would be easier. This is what is so radical about tagging — it would be easier because other people would do it for you .”

Would they? Would you want them to?

“ Tagging bulldozes the cost of classification and piles it onto the price of discovery.” Ian Davis

“ Tagging bulldozes the cost of classification and piles it onto the price of discovery.”

Ian Davis

The Big Messy Web

The Big Messy Web Ecosystem of Discovery Email, Blogs, Search, News, Tags Constrained Domain Security, privacy, content, community Big Messy Web Pockets of local structure

Ecosystem of Discovery

Email, Blogs, Search, News, Tags

Constrained Domain

Security, privacy, content, community

Big Messy Web

Pockets of local structure

Problems with Tagging Findability Collection Management Accuracy Scalability

Findability

Collection Management

Accuracy

Scalability

Benefits of Tagging Increased re-findability User engagement & investment Social interaction & community Ad hoc user research More metadata!

Increased re-findability

User engagement & investment

Social interaction & community

Ad hoc user research

More metadata!

The Green Pages Expertise Directory Intranet Application Name Business contact information Skills Responsibilities

Expertise Directory

Intranet Application

Name

Business contact information

Skills

Responsibilities

Features Synonyms Basic authority file “ Tagging tags” Adding descriptions Suggestions Google Suggest * Flickr

Synonyms

Basic authority file

“ Tagging tags”

Adding descriptions

Suggestions

Google Suggest * Flickr

What tagging means “ I am describing my skills” “ I share skills with others in my business unit” “ I am describing the skills of my business unit” “ All/some/few of my skills are relevant”

“ I am describing my skills”

“ I share skills with others in my business unit”

“ I am describing the skills of my business unit”

“ All/some/few of my skills are relevant”

Authority, Accuracy and Trust “ Knowledge is messy” “ There’s duplication/overlap in the skills list” “ Can we group different kinds of skills?” “ How do you know someone has that skill?” “ How do you validate skills?” “ Are there liability issues?”

“ Knowledge is messy”

“ There’s duplication/overlap in the skills list”

“ Can we group different kinds of skills?”

“ How do you know someone has that skill?”

“ How do you validate skills?”

“ Are there liability issues?”

Approaches to managing tag sets Capture, contain, cleanse Sacrifice agility in the long-term Semi-professionalization Give engaged taggers tools to help manage the tag cloud Algorithms Scalable

Capture, contain, cleanse

Sacrifice agility in the long-term

Semi-professionalization

Give engaged taggers tools to help manage the tag cloud

Algorithms

Scalable

Summary Tagging is augmentation Re-findability, user engagement Tagging is an immature tool Consider the ecosystem of discovery Search, taxonomies & tags playing together

Tagging is augmentation

Re-findability, user engagement

Tagging is an immature tool

Consider the ecosystem of discovery

Search, taxonomies & tags playing together