Online+Bookmarking

= Online Bookmarking = toc Bookmarking the web has been a popular practice since it was originally introduced. The ability to save a website to a favorites list, or create a shortcut to the information contained on the web is appealing, and prevents users from having to create massive lists or databases of favorite websites. However, creating bookmarks on a personal computer is somewhat limited. Although bookmarks can be copied and saved, it is often less than convenient, particularly when using a public computer. Online bookmarking allows a user access to bookmarks from any computer, public or private. Additionally, online or social bookmarking is a form of social media, and allows for tagging and the use of tags to find new information. Online bookmarking tools also allow for sharing of information. Some can easily be used for research and can even allow for annotation and highlighting. There are dozens of online and social bookmarking sites available for use, so it is important that users select the best option for them. Not all online or social bookmarking sites do the same thing so research will be an important part of choosing the best bookmarking tool for any particular user.

Del.icio.us[[image:delicious.png width="400" height="213" align="right" caption="Screenshot of the front page of Delicious"]]
The del.icio.us website grew out of a personal project started in the late 1990s by Joshua Schachter. Realizing that web users wanted to know what other people liked, he expanded his personal blog and tagging program to be a social tool that others could use to create his or her own list of bookmarks to tag and share. Del.icio.us launched in 2003 and rapidly expanded. Currently, the site allows users to add bookmarks, stack those bookmarks with others of a similar type (a form of tagging), and then share those bookmarks with others. The user can also use keyword and tag searches to find other users bookmarks that might be of interest to them. There are a number of sites that are similar to del.icio.us for those who want another option. Google Bookmarks, Historio.us and and Blinklist are all sites that have a similar functionality to del.icio.us.

Diigo
Diigo and sites like it are similar to del.icio.us in that users can bookmark, tag and share web pages and links. That is where the similarity tends to end however. Diigo and other similar sites are more optimized for research. Diigo allows users to save images, highlight and make notes on the web pages, and will even save a users favorite tweets from his or her Twitter account automatically. Diigo is one of a number of social bookmarking sites designed to allow users to collect, annotate and collaborate in research. The site is available for free, but heavy users may want to upgrade to a paid version; there is also a free educational version of the site. Another social bookmarking site, Connotea, is also designed with online research and collaboration in mind. It has many similar features to Diigo. However, it does not have a premium service, so there is no cost and no limit to using the service; it also does not have some of the features Diigo offers, such as saving favorite tweets. Some of the features of sites like Diigo or Connotea are similar to that of Apture, in that users can highlight and annotate web pages, but the bookmarking tools offer additional features beyond the basic glossary type options of the Apture add-on. media type="youtube" key="4D_a-h4XFMo" height="315" width="560" align="right"

Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon
Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon are various news aggregatio n social bookmarking tools. Web sites add the symbols for the various programs into articles and other posts. Users can then go to the web site to find the most popular information. Digg and Reddit both work in a similar manner. Users around the web click on the appropriate icon to send the article or post to Digg or Reddit’s website; the site then aggregates that information, and posts the most popular posts on its main page. StumbleUpon is a similar concept, but it works somewhat differently. Members click the Stumble button, and they are taken to a random site liked by his or her friends, or other StumbleUpon users that like what they like; the user can rate what they are shown and with the ratings StumbleUpon’s programs learn the user’s likes and dislikes, making the content shown more accurate. The video, shown right, gives a basic explanation of the way in which StumbleUpon works.

Additional Information
There are many social bookmarking sites available for users to collect information, share web pages, photos and news articles. Libraries and Information Centers will need to be aware of these services in order to assist patrons with questions, and to suggest a way for users who need access to bookmarks from multiple computers, or because the user does not have access to a personal computer. Last year, when Yahoo! announced that it was no longer going to support del.icio.us, users scrambled to import their bookmarks to other sites. It will be important for librarians and other information specialists to know what alternatives exist if a major social bookmarking site announces its closure. Finally, the library or information center can use these sites to disseminate information to library users, or to other staff members. These sites can be a tool for locating information that users might otherwise struggle to find. Researchers can easily use them to collaborate on projects and save information for later review and annotation. With an ever increasing Internet, and a need to access information from anywhere, social bookmarking will be an important tool in the dissemination of information.