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FolksonomyLIS 643Spring 2013By: Tony Ward

What is FolksonomyTaggingSocial computingAccording to P. Friedman (2005),folksonomy is a word that originated from the anthropology community meaning folk taxonomies (regular people classification or categorization documents) has been accepted and integrated seemlessly into the social networking community. Common terms used to refer to folksonomy in the social networking community. Tagging is the use a single word or phase to identify a work.

2Comparing Folksonomy to Dewey/Subject HeadingFolksonomy: Created by usersNo rules for creations

Dewey: Created by trained professionalIndex content by using keywords or subject headingsStructured guidelines/procedures for creating SH or categorizing items based on topic

Both: Allows users to find similar or related topics/items based on initial search

Pros and Cons of FolksonomyProsConsInexpensive to createMisspellings, improper grammar usageNo controlled vocabularyLess time consuming

(Sen,2011) More than a million users of Library Thing have used tags to catalog 61million books in six years. LOC has cataloged 33 million in 211 years.No uniform method for indexing Creates a connect ion with the community of users as the users are creating the tagsOpinionated not factual tags are often givenAllow multiple routes to an itemSame word search can yield very different results among various Social Media NetworksCan be an outlet for complaints about business or a service provider

Folksonomy in useYouTubeImages on FlickrWebpages on DeliciousTwitterFacebookAmazonLibraryThing

Folksonomy in Academic FieldsLibraryScienceArtsBusinessLibrary rely on tags from users to stay abreast of the latest trends. Relying on formal subject categorizing by trained professional results in subjects becoming outdated before they can be cataloged . Library classifications eliminate the redundancy that can be found when tags are applied to items.Despite the science community complex system for indexing data. Folksonomies allow: 1. reader to aid in indexing of documents.2. more searchable tags based on reader feedback 3. comments and recommendations can be made for all article read4. The more a scientific document is tagged to more important the items appears to the users. (Stock, 2007)Museums use the terms from users to assist other visitor with information about a work within the museum. As with other fields, tags allow a once nonexistent connections between the users and the art being displayed creating a more engaging museum experience.Businesses use tagged comments from customers to improve the services provided. Websites like Facebook and Twitter are used to advertise special events with little or no cost to the business.

Final Folksonomy ThoughtsFolksonomy allows average users to have input into the classification and organizing of information through a tagging system

Folksonomy is not restricted by rules as LOCSH or the Dewey Decimal systems are

Folksonomy can be found in all academic or professional fields.

Tags can be applied to items for personal reasons (communicate, to connect with friends or family or others with similar interest) or to organize (assist others academically or professionals)