Social+Bookmarking

How Can Bookmarks Be Social?
Bookmarks (or Favorites) are websites that you have found interesting or useful enough to want to re-visit. Traditionally, bookmarks are saved to your browser, and you can access them any time you use your computer.

If you've ever had to log on to a computer that //isn't// yours, however, you know that you don't have access to your bookmarks. This is where social bookmarking comes in.

Social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us allow you to store your bookmarks/favorites on the Internet. This way, they're accessible to you regardless of which computer you use.

OK, So They're Online. How Is That Social?
You can keep your bookmarks private (so only you can view them), or you can make them publicly viewable, so that everyone can benefit from your sources. You can also create Networks on Del.icio.us by subscribing to other people's bookmarks via RSS - every time they bookmark a new site, it will appear in your RSS Reader.

Tags vs. Folders
When you save bookmarks to a web browser, you have the option of organizing them by folder (e.g., "Humanities II", "Fun Stuff", "News Sites"). While this can be helpful, it is also limiting in that you can only save a bookmark to one folder at a time. Tags are [|described by Del.icio.us] as:

//...simply a word you use to describe a bookmark. Unlike folders, you make up tags when you need them and you can use as many as you like. The result is a better way to organize your bookmarks and a great way to discover interesting things on the Web.//

With tags, you don't have to commit to one classification for your site (e.g., Recipes). More descriptive tags makes it accessible to a greater number of people (e.g., baking, chocolate, souffle, desserts).

Your Task

 * 1) Go to [|Del.icio.us] and follow the instructions for creating an account.
 * 2) You will be given the option to upload all your bookmarks now or just create the account. Do whichever you feel comfortable with.
 * 3) Share your del.icio.us username with others in the class. Create a network by subscribing to each other's bookmarks (this is especially helpful if you have fellow department members in the class, but it's not necessary for gain).
 * 4) Look through your classmates' bookmarks and see if there's anything interesting. Save these bookmarks to your own account.
 * 5) Has anyone else saved the same sites as you (look for the red highlighted "saved by xxx other people")? See who did, and check out //their// bookmarks to see if they have anything worth saving to your own account.

Further Reading & Viewing
Hutchison, Bill. [|"Batch Delete Del.icio.us Bookmarks in Bulk"] //Tech on Tour.//

//**Social Bookmarking in Plain English**//, by Lee LeFever, The CommonCraft Show media type="youtube" key="x66lV7GOcNU&hl=en&fs=1" height="344" width="425"