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Introduction to Folksonomies |
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How do you classify something so
you can find it again?
Libraries
and archives have considered this issue for centuries, and
over
time have constructed complex cataloguing systems and controlled
vocabularies to file and retrieve information accurately and
efficiently.
No such system exists for the internet. Classification-based search engines such as yahoo may mimic libraries' hierarchical cataloguing structure,1 but there are serious concerns as to how a manual system like this can keep up with the vast amounts of data added to the web every year.2 In general, there are no specialists selecting, classifying, or arranging the information that we see. As internet literacy and usage increase, the desire among users to organize files and images grows. New programs and organization systems are being designed and implemented to fulfill this need, systems that are capable of keeping up with the internet's rapid rate of new information. To do so, some are sacrificing the ideas of authority, hierarchy, and controlled vocabulary, for a user-controlled classification system. The name emerging for this style of organization, is folksonomy. |
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