The document discusses tagging and folksonomies. It defines tags as keywords or descriptors applied by users to describe digital objects. A folksonomy is described as a collection of tags collaboratively created by users to categorize objects, as opposed to a taxonomy created by professionals. Advantages of tagging include being simple to use, lowering the cost of categorization, and supporting serendipitous browsing. However, disadvantages include variability in tag quality and lack of conceptual relationships between tags. Examples of websites that utilize tagging and folksonomies are provided.

1. Tagging/Folksonomies Think Tank Session April 8, 2008

2. What are tags? Keywords/descriptors to describe digital objects Applied by users of the content Keyword or category label. Tags help you find photos which have something in common. (Flickr’s explanation of tags) Del.icio.us ' explanation of tagging

3. What is a folksonomy? Collaboratively creating and managing tags Freely chosen keywords used instead of controlled vocabulary “ Folk”sonomy is most notably contrasted with a taxonomy - done by users, not professionals.

4. Tagging vs. folksonomy Tags are the descriptors applied to objects Folksonomies are the collections of descriptors (metadata) created by users and applied to objects

5. This photo was given the tags “house” “building” “colors”, along with others

6. The tags for that image are part of a folksonomy

7. Advantages of tagging/folksonomies Simple to use - no complex structure to learn Lower cost of categorization Open-ended Relevance - user's own terms. Support serendipitious form of browsing. Easy to tag any object - photo, document, bookmark Better than no tags at all. People want to tag.

8. Disadvantages Quality of the tags Don’t work well for finding No structure or conceptual relationships Issues of scale Personal tags or popularity tags Most people can’t tag very well Errors, misspellings, etc.

9. Tags vs. subject headings LibraryThing's explanation of tags and subject headings An academic take on LibraryThing tags

10. Let’s do some tagging

11. What tags did you give the photo? Cats Dogs Family Papa Food Gris “Cats” “Together”

13. What can we do with tags? Del.icio.us Flickr LibraryThing

14. Other sites using tagging Last.fm Amazon

15. Tag Clouds Find this at Geeksugar

16. OCLC's TagCloud Builder

17. Firefox add-on

19. Steve - Social Tagging of Art Museum Collections

20. Library applications of tagging King County – Aquabrowser Ann Arbor District Library – tagging LibraryThing for Libraries PennTags Teen Web - Nashville Public Library LibMarks del.icio.us libraries WorldCat Identities

21. More Library applications OCLC FictionFinder Connotea lib.rario.us - social media cataloging

22. Resources Pew Internet Life Project: Report on Tagging TagsAhoy Tagging Tools Structure and form of folksonomy tags: The road to the public library catalogue When tags work and when they don't: Amazon and LibraryThing

23. More resources Google Image Labeler 43Things The Hive Mind: Folksonomies and User-Based Tagging Becoming a tagging kung-fu master Tips From Top Taggers Picking Up Where Search Leaves Off The Peloponnesian War and the Future of Reference, Cataloging, and Scholarship in Research Libraries

24. And just a few more… Cataloging and You: Measuring the Efficacy of a Folksonomy for Subject Analysis And related blog post - An academic take on LibraryThing tags