FPL's 23 Things

Tagging (Thing 8) by EAChase

Tagging
is an open and informal method of categorizing that allows users to associate keywords with online content (web pages, pictures & posts). Tagging is completely unstructured and freeform, allowing users to create connections between data anyway they want.

Tags are like subject headings; however, there is no thesaurus or authority control. Users assign the tags that are meaningful to them. This sounds like chaos to most librarians; however, it actually works well in the web environment.

You can use tags in Flickr, Delicious, Library Thing, Facebook and a number of Web 2.0 applications. Some OPACs have started supporting user tagging.

You can read more about tagging in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)

You don’t have to sign up or explore a particular application for Thing 13 (but we do encourage you to explore tags. You can start with the LibraryThing for Library tags in our very own catalog.) Instead, write a blog post on tagging. Does tagging belong in the library? Does it replace or complement subject headings? Should we encourage or discourage the practice?

Opitional: Experienced taggers might try adding a tag cloud to your blog just for fun! Tag clouds give a visual representation of the weight of each tag or words in the content. The more often a word or tag appears in the content, the larger that tag appears in the tag cloud. This allows you to find content by popularity or gives insight into the main focus of the content.

Here is an example created for a creative arts course:

Wordle is a popular site for creating and adding tag clouds to your blog or website. Try it out here: Wordle.com

Why tag? Categories are broad by nature. Your blog or website might have categories such as pictures, book reviews, news, or other types of content you are creating. Tags are much more granular. They can give that short cut to something a little more specific than searching through hierarchical structured categories. So, tagging can be useful where content is abundant or terminology is rapidly developing.  It can be thought of as social keyword searching.

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