So what exactly is tagging? Once upon a time, it meant someone spray painting a wall, often with gang-related graffiti. In Web 2.0-ease, however, it means something decidedly less violent or controversial, it means a way to organize information (watch this video--8:31--it is embedded below). Sometimes referred to as "folksonomies" (read this article), this type of user-based classification of date typically requires users to select a series of keywords to describe an online object, be it an image on Flickr, a blog entry to be listed on Technorati, or a book mark on del.icio.us. This user-based categorization offers an alternative way of slogging through the immense data cloud that is the World Wide Web. At least one author has used the term "hive mind" (read this article) to describe the phenomena.
Academics have become increasingly interested in the the topic in the last few years. One of the topics that has caught the attention of researchers is the idea of tagging as a tool for knowledge creation (read the PDF article-link is on the left--see note below). Not surprisingly, the Pew Internet and American Life Project (read the PDF of the study) has weighed in on the topic and even examined the ethnic composition of taggers.
Having read/watched the material for this week, explain in your own words what tagging/folksonomies is and what ideas struck you the most about the readings for this week. As usual, your comment should be 250+ words.
The article on knowledge creation is freely accessible when you are at TTU. I will send a copy by email as well.
Have you been wondering how to embed a QuickTime file? Here's an example, along with the code. You'll insert it the same way you do when you embed a YouTube file.
<embed src="http://podcaster.mcom.ttu.edu/students/wmaxian/wendypc2.mp4" width="320" height="300" autoplay="false"></embed>
Want to learn more about the embed tag and QuickTime? Here's what Apple has to say.
