Fade to Play

Riddle, P. (2005). Tags: What are they good for? INF 385Q Knowledge Managment course. unpublished.

Prentiss Riddle comes at tagging from the perspective of knowledge management as an M.S. student in Information Studies, the University of Texas School of Information. He briefly states that the strengths and weaknesses of tagging that have been shown with del.icio.us and flickr which are the most known and heavily used systems. He also looks into other domains drawing on a number of unanswered questions about tagging that were not known at the time (May 2005) while offering directions for the future.

Tagging is good for:
1. Personal Recall (e.g. re-finding something that was tagged)
2. Supporting Social Effects (e.g. emergence of flickr group tagged “squared circle”
3. Serendipity (e.g. like discovering a good thesis book in the library that catches your eye while looking for another)
4. Novelty (e.g. spikes in popularity of tags such as AJAX in del.icio.us)

Tagging is not good for:
1. Precision and recall regarding information retrieval (e.g. multiple tags to an concept or a tag being associated with multiple meanings can return queries that will be noisy (low in precision) or incomplete (low in recall)
2. Ontologies in the sense of hierarchical system for classification (e.g. no formal system such as Dewey Decimal System for creating a controlled vocabulary)

Unknown Domains tagging might be good for
1. People (e.g. social relationships such as consumating dating service
2. Products (e.g. amazon.com)
3. Places (e.g. geographic locations such as museums)
4. Music (e.g. iTunes shared libraries)
5. Filesystems (e.g. apple spotlight model if shared)
6. Tasks (e.g. organisational intranet)
7. Scale — Does tagging perform better at some scales, and under what circumstances?
8. Organizations (e.g. factors of organisational culture that come into play)
9. Normalizaiton (e.g. desire for UI that helps with consist retagging)
10. Ease of Use (e.g. UI tools that emphasise the low cost in terms of user time and effort for tagging)
11. Information Retrieval Methods (e.g. unknown if can be usefully clustered)

Directions for Research
Unclear how IR tools could best be used to study tagging which are more social and user-centered. Feels difficulties with Usability research which is single user and sees some usefulness with ethnographic systems although they may be limited in addressing hypothetical questions. Sees some hope in the open-source community.

Interesting References Cited:
Quote from David Weinberger (2005), Taxonomies to tags: From trees to piles of leaves:

There is a simple solution, however, to all of these issues: Create the tags and
experiment. Tags are becoming a new layer of infrastructure. They will enable
yet another round of creativity as we figure out, collectively, what variety of
things we can do with this metadata.

Thesis Relevance:
Looking at tagging from an IR and knoweledge management perspective

Technorati Tags: tagging, knowledge management, information retrieval, folksonomies

Kroski, E. (2005). The Hive Mind: Folksonomies and User-Based Tagging.

This an excellent, well-referenced blog article that summarises information about tagging.

User-Based Tagging and Folksonomies
del.icio.us — social bookmarking site
43things.com — giant, global to-do list
flickr.com — digital image storage and management website
technorati.com — users perform searches on blog content

The Wisdom of Crowds
Folksonomies are inclusive
Folksonomies are current
Folksonomies offer discovery
Folksonomies are Non-Binary
Folksonomies are democratic and self-moderating
Folksonomies follow “desire lines”
Folksonomies offer insight into user behavior
Folksonomies engender community
Folksonomies offer a low cost alternative
Folksonomies offer usability
Resistance is Futile

The Hitch
Folksonomies offer no synonym control
Folksonomies have a lack of precision
Folksonomies lack hierarchy
Folksonomies have a “basic level” problem
Folksonomies have a lack of recall
Folksonomies are susceptible to “gaming”

Summary
The advantages to top-down hierarchical taxonomies for library collections are without question. For cataloging the Web, however, they just aren’t feasible. The new, “voice of the people” approach of folksonomies emerges at a time when attitudes about information organization and retrieval are shifting and the technology is developing to support them. The opportunities for learning about user behavior as well as the implications for improving and/or complementing existing taxonomies that these systems can provide are of no small import. We are on the cusp of an exciting new stage of Web growth in which the users provide both meaning and a means of finding through tagging.

Thesis Relevance: Ellyssa comes at this area from the perspective of someone with a Masters of Library and Information Science degee. Her references are extremely useful and provide a good synthesis of the literature and key people discussing tagging and folksonomies.

Technorati Tags: library, digital, folksonomies, tagging,

Relaxing in Starbucks

Originally uploaded by tyfn.

One of the many advantages of being a student at the University of British Columbia is that wifi is spread throughout the campus. This is extremely beneficial for collaborative group activities and enables students to work anywhere on campus. Our ubicomp The Fugitive game involving wifi and gps technology is possible here because of our campus wifi.

It is unfortunate that an institute of learning (Lakehead University) which is in Ontario, Canada will not be getting wifi because of cancer concerns.

Adam Krupper, president of the Lakehead students’ union, estimated about 1,000 of the school’s 7,500 students have laptops that could pick up a wireless signal, and he said students “really, really” want Wi-Fi on campus.

“Considering this is a university known for its great use of technology, it’s kind of bad that we can’t get Wi-Fi,” he said.

Thesis relevance: Having wifi has made me much for productive here at UBC
Technorati Tags: wifi, university, learning

Mejias, U.A. (2004). Bookmark, Classify and Share: A mini-ethnography of social practices in a distributed classification community.

This paper refers to the process of associating freely chosen tags with content which is referred to as “distributed classification”. The objective is to provide some perspective regarding the social dynamics that emerge through using these distributed systems in order to better understand how distributed classification influences personal and social aspects of knowledge and digital construction of meaning.

My thesis is that a better of understanding of how users perceive these systems, and how they interact with each other through them, can provide us with important insights about individual as well as social processes of knowledge and meaning construction online.

Research Questions

How is meaning created in the distributed classification system through the social sharing of bookmarks?
How is knowledge collectively structured by the use of tags?
What social conventions emerge through the use of the distributed classification system?

Methodology
del.icio.us site with people tagging ‘ccte’ special tag
CCTE DR web portal to del.icio.us environment

Participants
6 (including himself)

Quantititative Data Collection Strategies
* data logs analysis (e.g. most popular tags, total items submitted)
* tag use analysis (e.g. frequency of tags, what tags used)

Qualitative Data Collection Strategies
* informal interviews over time (e.g. benefits, difficulties, desired features to enhance social interaction)

Findings
1. How is knowledge collectively structured by the use of tags?
* social and educational technologies were shared most using the ccte tag
* common themes reflected the Web (e.g. blog)

2. What social conventions emerge through the use of the distributed classification system?
* found that del.icio.us extended “notes” field was used as a communication broadcast tool for the CCTE community (e.g. “Did anyone attend this event?”)
* participants express desire for system features (e.g. comments for posts) that weren’t currently available
* examples provided that system was not useful to operate (e.g. try and give up)
* examples of “lurking” behaviour within public space while looking for new stuff

3. How is meaning created in the distributed classification system through the social sharing of bookmarks?
* people had difficulty in making the conceptual leap between the rigid, formal taxonomy that were used to and the flexible, informal taxonomy that were attempting to use with del.icio.us (e.g. many expressed a desire to have the ability to organise via categories in some fashion)
* Mejias (2004) believes that these findings suggest that people have difficulty letting go of established forms of taxonomies

These findings may suggest that users want some degree of a controlled system such as being provided with a set of tags via a drop down menu or some formality as suggested by the quote “the free tagging feature is too free”

* exploration of system by participants provided the opportunity for the discovery of new features and an awareness of the greater potential of these systems

Conclusions:
* hard to conceptually switch from taxonomy (e.g. fixed, categories) to folksonomy (flexible, tags)
* freedom to create personal and social metadata structures may be percieved as chaotic
* benefits emerge as users become more comfortable/aware of system functionality and limitations

* belief that more thinking needs to address how to get novice users to become aware of the advantages of distributed classification systems

Thesis Relevance: An early tagging paper. Essential reading for lit review.

Technorati Tags: tagging, folksonomies,

One of the really cool things about living in Green College are the special guests we have. Over the last 2 days we had a justice in residence. Basically this meant that Supreme Court of Canada (yes, one of the nine) Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella (top left) spend time with us having dinner, giving a talk, and participating in a fireside chat.

It was an absolutely amazing experience to meet her and it has definitely been one of the highlights of my time here at Green College.

Miss Rogue of horsepigcow posted a number of reasons why she tagged and I thought I would provide my own reasons:

1. To be the first to tag (what I define as egotagging)
2. To let others know about my thesis research, papers, and presentations (e.g. my tagging talk at northern voice)
3. To share cool stuff found with the tagging community
4. To be part of a greater whole (e.g. Ministry of Reshelving project)
5. To remember interesting URLs, papers, blog entries (e.g. Social Bookmarking Tools (I))
6. To better organise my life and minimise information overload
7. To help foster on online identity

Technorati Tags: tagging, del.icio.us, flickr, citeulike

The Horizon Report is an ongoing report of the NMC Horizon Project with the objective of identifying and describing those emerging technologies that may have a significant impact within higher education (teaching, learning, creative expression).

The four major trends that they identified are:
1) Dynamic knowledge creation and social computing tools and processes are becoming more widespread and accepted.
2) Mobile and personal technology is increasingly being viewed as a delivery platform for services of all kinds.
3) Consumers are increasingly expecting individualized services, tools, and experiences, and open access to media, knowledge, information and learning
4) Collaboration is increasingly seen as critical across the range of educational activities, including intra-, and inter-institutional activiites of any size or scope

In the Technologies to Watch section one of the six areas (Social Computing, Personal Broadcasting, The Phones in Their Pockets, Educational Gaming, Augmented Reality and Enhanced Visualization, Context-Aware Enviroments and Devices) that is expected to have a significant impact on college and university campuses within the next five years.

Social Computing. The application of computer technology to facilitate interaction and collaboration,
a practice known as social computing, is happening all around us. Replacing face-to-face meetings with virtual collaboration tools, working
on a daily basis with colleagues a thousand miles away, or attending a conference held entirely
online is no longer unusual. An interesting aspect of social computing is the development of shared taxonomies—folksonomies—that emerge organically from like-minded groups.

Thesis Relevance: How can students become more aware of the learning benefits of using tagged information spaces such as del.icio.us and citeulike for knowledge management and information sharing?

Technorati Tags: tagging, folksonomy, learning, students, social, education,

It looks like del.icio.us may be expanding the size of the notes section. Pretty cool stuff.

Technorati Tags: tagging, del.icio.us

Mimi Ito has just posted about a really interesting ethnographic post-doc position for her digital kids project.

Kids’ Informal Learning with Digital Media
An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures
Job Opening: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Annenberg Center for Communication, University of Southern California

The Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California invites applications for a postdoctoral research position, sponsored by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation. The position is for one year with the possibility of renewal for one more year. The postdoctoral researcher will work as fieldworker/ethnographer on a project on “digital kids” and informal learning, which involves foundational research on how children and youth are using information and communication technologies and participating on the Internet. At USC, the project is led by Mizuko Ito, and is part of a broader project involving Peter Lyman and Diane Harley at UC Berkeley, and Michael Carter at the Monterey Institute of Technology and Education. More information on the project can be found at: http://digitalyouth.sims.berkeley.edu.

Responsibilities would involve monitoring and participating in online activity and conducting interviews with kids and parents The researcher would also be responsible for analyzing, writing, and presenting results, and considering policy and design implications of the ethnographic research. We seek candidates with backgrounds in fields such as science and technology studies, information sciences, communications, education, anthropology, and sociology with interest in areas related to new media, education, and childhood studies. The ideal candidate would have experience in ethnographic fieldwork, collaborative and interdisciplinary research, and experience working with kids and families. The position will be full time, with a yearly salary of $45,000 plus benefits, and researcher will be expected to be in residence in the Los Angeles area.

Applications should include a CV, a cover letter including a personal statement, and a brief statement of research goals and experience in relation to ethnographic research on kids and technology. Three letters of recommendation are to be sent directly by the writers (letters may also be faxed to 213-747-4981). Address all application materials to Rachel Cody, Annenberg Center for Communication, University of Southern California, 734 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007. Email contact: rcody at annenberg dot edu. The deadline for receipt in our office is April 30, 2006.

Thesis Relevance: Not specifically although I am interested in ethnography regarding mobile technologies and location-based applications.

Technorati Tags: ethnography, mobile, youth, post-doc,

Bearman, D. and Trant, J. (2005). Social Terminology Enhancement through Vernacular Engagement. D-Lib Magazine, Vol. 11(9).

STEVE is a museum project involving a collection of museums that are examining how folksonomies may enhance the public experience by making their art more accessible to the general public and to get/keep participants engaged.

This paper discusses the different iterations of their project with the objective of dialogue and further collaboration with other museums.

Once we have a functioning environment that enables the ‘tagging’ of museum collections, our research will turn to integrating its use into museum programs. We have pre-existing relations with docents, volunteers, friends of the museum, teachers and others whom we would want to further cultivate through engagement in this activity, and the missions of our institutions will encourage building sticky cyber-communities. We want to explore how best to engage people and keep them engaged, to learn about their interests and permit them to use their skills to best advantage. Could we enhance multicultural access, or access by members of small communities with shared heritages (including hobbyists and enthusiasts whose shared heritage and jargons), by encouraging participation by others who share their specialized knowledge?

They are exploring what sort of online space would best fit the needs of the museum goer and how culture and language may influence how a folksonomy develops when tagging art.

Thesis Relevance: There are a number of musuem projects that incorporate tagging and art such as Powerhouse Museum Electronic Fabric Swatch Book found via’s Beth’s blog. How may culture influence the development of folksonomies when tagging museum artefacts?