• by Seana Mulcahy , June 5, 2006

In my business I get asked a lot of questions by clients and prospects. Colleagues often ask me to share what's hot and what's not or predict trends, etc. Lately it seems everyone has been asking about tagging.

According to Wikipedia, a tag is a keyword which acts like a subject or category. Each user "tags" a Web page or image using his/her own unique tag. An image or Web page may have multiple tags that identify it. Webpages and images with identical tags are then linked together and users may use the tag to search for similar Web pages and images.

Just think about it from an organizational standpoint for a second. How many times have you searched for links in your Favorites folder? I have to say I often forget what I categorized the bookmark as. Sometimes I'm running so fast I don't even put them in a specific folder--yikes!

Welcome to the world of social bookmarking. Think of it this way, if I wanted to find the best shopping comparison prices online, where would I go? I'd most likely ask my friends what they thought and compare suggestions. Or what about movie reviews? You get the gist.

So if you haven't been an early adopter of tagging, don't worry. However, being in the space, you should think of the impact of tagging as it relates to our industry. My guess is that the average Netizen might not catch on too fast. However, when they do, watch out!

Tagging is cool for a variety of reasons. It allows users to categorize content like sites, photos, links, etc.

So where to start? Well there is a sea of information out there. Unfortunately much of it is difficult to follow. I'll attempt to do the heavy lifting. Social bookmarking is a good place to start.

"Social bookmarking is a user-defined taxonomy system for bookmarks. Such a taxonomy is sometimes called a folksonomy and the bookmarks are referred to as tags. Unlike storing bookmarks in a folder on your computer, tagged pages are stored on the Web and can be accessed from any computer. Technorati, a blogging site, describes the system as 'The real-time Web, organized by you.' Web sites dedicated to social bookmarking, such as Flickr and del.icio.us, provide users with a place to store, categorize, annotate and share favorite Web pages and files." (Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1168840,00.html)

Most social bookmarking sites allow users to search for the most popular bookmarks. It also allows for popularity rankings of bookmarks. So go to a site like http://del.icio.us and set up a free account. Why? Well it is an open-ended system, so you can access your bookmarks anywhere. You can also view others' bookmarks as well. For example, searching for hot travel deals? Once you've got your trip in mind, you can collaborate with friends and family to share information.

For instance, I can set up tags to the high-speed ferry in Nantucket. My friends and family can easily access the schedule as well as my itinerary. We can share links for restaurants, activities and events while we are on holiday this summer.

So tell me, have you set up tags? Do you have tips and tricks to share with other SPIN readers? How do you think social bookmarking will affect the way users search and find sites? Anyone out there incorporating tagging opportunities on sites you represent?