Tagging, folksomonies & social bookmarking in Del.icio.us

Tagging is an open and informal method of categorizing that allows users to associate keywords with online content (webpages, pictures & posts). Unlike library subject cataloging, which follows a strict set of guidelines (i.e.Library of Congress subject headings), tagging is completely unstructured and freeform, allowing users to create connections between data anyway they want.

In the past few weeks, we’ve already explored a few sites – Flicker and LibraryThing to name two --that allow users to take advantage of tagging. This week, in addition to exploring Technorati tagging, we want to also take at popular social bookmarking site called Del.icio.us (typed in as http://del.icio.us/).

Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking manager which allows you to bookmark a web page and add tags to categorize your bookmarks.



Many users find that the real power of Del.icio.us is in the social network aspect, which allows you to see how other users have tagged similar links and also discover other websites that may be of interest to you. You can think of it as peering into another users’ filing cabinet, but with this powerful bookmarking tool each user's filing cabinet helps to build an expansive knowledge network.For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a look at Del.icio.us and learn about this popular bookmarking tool.



Discovery Resources:
Otter Group Del.icio.us tutorial (8 min video) - Highly recommended!!!
Us.ef.ul: A beginners guide to Del.icio.us
Several Habits of wildly successful Del.icio.us users

Discovery Exercise:

View the 8 minute Del.icio.us tutorial to get a good overview of its features.


Take a look around Del.icio.us using the PLCMCL2 account that was created for this exercise. (We are using there account in the interest of time.)


Note: In this account you will find lots of resources that have been highlighted or used throughout the course of the Learning 2.0 program.


Explore the site options and try clicking on a bookmark that has also been bookmarked by a lot of other users. Can you see the comments they added about this bookmark or the tags that they used to categorize this reference?

Create a blog post about your experience and thoughts about this tool. Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere?

Week 5 Picture This! Photosharing & Editing

This week is all about pictures. This can be addicting. And because of that I have created a Flickr account. Explore the photos I have uploaded, add tags and descriptions, explore what you love. but BEWARE this can consume your time quickly. DON'T LET THIS PROJECT CONSUME YOU!

First watch the Common Craft video "Online Photosharing in Plain English." Click arrow to start the video.

There are lots of places to store photos online. Walgreen's, Walmart, Picassa (associated with your gmail account), and Flickr.

Investigate the photo sharing and image generators this week.

Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site.

1. Take a good look around Flickr and find an interesting image that you want to blog about. You can explore Flickr photos, search the tags, view various groups, and more without a Flickr account.

2. Use any keyword(s) (baseball, cats, library cats, library signs, Minnesota library, whatever…) to find photos with those tags.When you find an interesting image or group, comment on your experience finding images, using Flickr, and anything else related to the exercise. Upload the image to your blog (be sure to credit the photographer). Don't forget to include a link to the image in the post.

In this Thing, you are asked to take a good look at Flickr and discover what this site has to offer. Find out how tags work, what groups are, and all the neat things that people and other libraries (a list here, too) are creating thanks to Flickr. The Library of Congress has a Flickr account--with more than 3,000 photos that you are invited to tag.

I have started an account for you to view and play with. This will save you time. There are photos of my kids and animals, mostly building pictures. Are you feeling adventurous? Upload your favorite building photo from the Staff Doc Grand Opening folder.

Username: harringtondcpl

Password: threekids2

Flickr Color Pickr - lets you find public photos in Flickr that match a specific color

splashr lets you present your Flickr photos in different view.

Create puzzles from your Flickr photos.

Image Generators!
No, not the gas powered kind that we all wanted in February. Listen to the podcast and learn about Image Generators.





Listen to this podcast [1:00]-->powered by ODEO

Most of us don’t have the time or the artistic talent to create specialized graphics or logos for projects. Enter the Online Image Generator! These handy-dandy tools let you create many types of images – framed pictures, slide shows, comic-style captions, trading cards, calendars, and much more.

Why use this tool? Create trading cards of authors, scientists, historical figures, or even concepts you’re trying to teach or promote. Media specialists can support teachers by helping students create images around astronomy, algebraic equations, historical figures (“I’ll trade you two Ben Franklins for an Eleanor Roosevelt!”). Students and staff can create trading cards of themselves to help them get to know each other. Other possibilities include creating a calendar with an image related to what you’re promoting that month, or a mosaic with multiple images related to your books, videos, or other resources.

Use the images generators in summer reading programs, book clubs, training, and more. Librarians at Carleton College are using trading cards as a way to reach their students.

The possibilities are endless! As is the time you can spend playing around with these sites—beware! Don't spend too much time on this. We are learning.

1. Go to Big Huge Labs.
2. Choose Trading Card from drop down list.
3. Create a trading card and save it to your computer.
4. Use the photos from the Grand Opening
5. Upload the your trading card and images to your blog to share with others.

Made with ImageChef

Be sure and blog about your favorite thing you did this week. Let me know if you will use one of the sites again to store photos. Remember to Smile you never know when you are on camera.