Exercise 5: Delicious Bookmarking

Until the completion of this exercise, I had never really used social bookmarking sites to search for resources on different subjects.  I enjoy bookmarking items for personal use, but I was never compelled to use the site like a search engine. This project provided me with the opportunity to explore past my normal comfort zone and gain a broader understanding of the capabilities of a bookmarking site like Delicious.

As I worked through the exercise it was interesting to discover the different tags people use for a resource. While many of the key ideas overlap or are tagged in the same way, a number of the labels cover a wide range of terms and topics. Everyone expresses thoughts or ideas differently, and through the tags it is obvious how many interpretations are present for one source.  It is also interesting to note the number of tags a person includes for an item. Some users post two or three basic tags, while others include every possible idea the article covers.

Another aspect I find noteworthy is the variety of bookmarks certain people post. When looking through one user’s bookmarks for additional resources on this week’s topic, it was a challenge to find someone who had actually posted more than one source about social bookmarking or tagging. The first couple of users’ lists that I browsed did not have more than one applicable link, but I finally found someone who did. Browsing by user does not appear to be a successful way to find resources on one topic, unless the person definitely focuses his bookmarks on a certain area. Even though searching through tags can be unorganized as well, this method provides more thorough results than hunting for articles by a user’s listings.  

Finally, I was able to browse the bookmarks my classmates had selected, and I found that we have bookmarked some of the same links. It was also interesting to view the different topics and subjects of interest that emerged as I compared chosen tags and sites.

While searching a bookmarking site like Delicious seems unorganized at first, I am beginning to see the benefits of using it as a search tool. It acts similar to a search engine, and in addition to just bringing up search results, extra information such as how many users have bookmarked the site is also provided. Knowing the popularity of an item that is bookmarked allows users to gain a sense of quality for the site. Many people seem comfortable searching in this manner because it gives them a sense of camaraderie with individuals who are on the same level they are.