About the Program

What is a Tag or Tagging? (Officially)

A tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an internet bookmark, digital image, or computer file). This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching. Tags are chosen informally and personally by the item's creator or by its viewer, depending on the system. On a website in which many users tag many items, this collection of tags becomes a folksonomy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)

(Unofficially)

Tags allows Internet users to categorize content such as web pages, online photographs, videos, books etc.  These tags then allow any user to search for this grouped content quickly and easily.  This means if you take a picture of your dog on your vacation, you can tag that image with your dog's name, the place you went on vacation and when you went.  You can then use those tags to search for all the pictures from that vacation or all the pictures of your dog, but so can anyone else.  Tags are like subject headings or an author's name in the Library's catalog except they are created by you.

 Watch this video to find one way that you can use tags!

 Video "Social Bookmarking in Plain English" by Common Craft

Now let's Use this technology!

First

Go to www.delicious.com (or del.icio.us) spend some time looking around the main page. Note the two tabs near the top of the page Popular Bookmarks and Explore Tags.

On the Popular Bookmarks page you will see many of the bookmarks that other Delicious users have saved.  Take a look at them as well as the tags on these bookmarks.

Now click on the Explore Tags tab. This page allows you to see the most popular tags being used and a sampling of the bookmarks with these tags. Explore any tag you find interesting.

Second 

Try out some tagging.

1. Go to http://delicious.com/MPPLSID.  This is a collection of bookmarks on delicious that were used during the Staff Inservice Day on September 12. 
2. Look through the bookmarks and choose one.  Look at the current tags, and then add another subject tag you think appropriate. Note that you can also add comments.  You will need to sign in at delicious to add a tag or note. (If you do not have a delicious account of your own, you may use the MPPLSID login and the "usual" password.)
3. You have completed this exercise after you have added at least one tag, however, you may add as many tags and comments as you like. You may even add other bookmarks to this account.  Try it all!

Third

Library Thing allows individuals to catalog their own books, placing these books into categories using, you guessed it TAGS.  On this site these tags can be used to search for books Library Thing users have cataloged.

For more information about how Library Thing works take the tour.

Fourth 

After you have looked at delicious, worked with the MPPLSID delicious account, and taken the tour at Library Thing, blog about your experiences with tagging. You may also want to include in your blog post any ways you think you may use Social Bookmarking or tagging in your work at MPPL.