Finally ... I’m at the tag end of a trip to cloud nine!
► On the journey I observed many libraries making “delicious” use of social bookmarking. I encountered stacks of sites that took advantage of Del.icio.us. This use enhanced access to online information by presenting links to authoritative & well-organised subject guides. The AskNow site was an interesting example of providing public pathways through the Web world.
Surely Del.icio.us social bookmarking has great potential as a research tool for staff. It provides a central point for staff to refer to and could include links to info on subjects that students in the local area are studying. Del.icio.us is easy to use and different staff can contribute to the bookmarks.
On a personal level, its attractions include its portability & customising features. For this blog I created my own Del.icio.us account. Being able to share and make use of the bookmarks of others has great appeal too.
► The major thing I learned on this trip was the importance of tagging and certainly the tour of Technorati demonstrated this. Tagging can be crucial in reaching your audience. One thing I noticed about tagging was how the use of plain language was often vital in improving access and drawing people in.
I also saw the appeal of tag clouds on this journey. The visual nature of them must make them attractive across the board. Often they seem to be living entities and not static pages.
► LibraryThing also demonstrated the importance of tagging. I paid several enjoyable visits to libraries that use it. Some were almost online book clubs. The beauty of Library thing is the encouragement of participation and connection to others online. Also, it has abilities as a kind of reader’s advisory tool. For example, recommended reading or RSS feeds for newly added titles. Book reviews and ratings add to the collaborative potential of this site in a library environment. I especially loved the Zeitgeist links to “Authors who librarything”, “Prolific reviewers” & “Top taggers”.
So ... in the last few weeks on my road trip I discovered that it’s not so bad to be tagged as having your head in the clouds. In fact,you can still be “social” and share with other folks(onomies).
Surely Del.icio.us social bookmarking has great potential as a research tool for staff. It provides a central point for staff to refer to and could include links to info on subjects that students in the local area are studying. Del.icio.us is easy to use and different staff can contribute to the bookmarks.
On a personal level, its attractions include its portability & customising features. For this blog I created my own Del.icio.us account. Being able to share and make use of the bookmarks of others has great appeal too.
► The major thing I learned on this trip was the importance of tagging and certainly the tour of Technorati demonstrated this. Tagging can be crucial in reaching your audience. One thing I noticed about tagging was how the use of plain language was often vital in improving access and drawing people in.
I also saw the appeal of tag clouds on this journey. The visual nature of them must make them attractive across the board. Often they seem to be living entities and not static pages.
► LibraryThing also demonstrated the importance of tagging. I paid several enjoyable visits to libraries that use it. Some were almost online book clubs. The beauty of Library thing is the encouragement of participation and connection to others online. Also, it has abilities as a kind of reader’s advisory tool. For example, recommended reading or RSS feeds for newly added titles. Book reviews and ratings add to the collaborative potential of this site in a library environment. I especially loved the Zeitgeist links to “Authors who librarything”, “Prolific reviewers” & “Top taggers”.
So ... in the last few weeks on my road trip I discovered that it’s not so bad to be tagged as having your head in the clouds. In fact,you can still be “social” and share with other folks(onomies).
