An interesting eTech session was a panel discussion on the topic of user defined categorization, known as folksonomy. Contrary to common wisdom, which indicates that only “trained professionals” can correctly choose keywords, folksonomies are user driven, have no real rules, and, to the point, appear to work in practice! Visit del.icio.us, Flickr, and Wikipedia to see folksonomies in action.
Part of the conversation revolved around the issues around similar tags for the same thing, and also the meanings of tags.
As an example, should I post my San Diego photos under this blogs etech category? One argument is yes, they are related to my etech visit, and I may want to see them in that context. The other argument is no, the etech category is only for etech specific content, and the other postings can go in the existing Travel and Photoblog categories. Until I post some photos this is a moot question, but in the past I’ve actually gone both ways depending on my thinking at the moment. Thorny problem as there is no one right answer.
This was looked at as part of the conversation, in that the 3 sites listed above use their tags for slightly different purposes. Some things are tagged for personal purposes and others are tagged for the use of others, and often, as in the case of my photos, the tags/categories are intended to serve multiple, often conflicting, purposes.
Hard problem, no easy answers, but it seems that it’s working, and via use of summing/aggregating, folks can often be guided to using an implicitly agreed upon tags. Remember, decaf coffee comes in orange coffee pots.