(ISF) More about tagging and folksonomy in the field of nonprofit technology

Dear ISF Colleagues,

I'm fascinated by folksonomies, and am an enthusiastic participant in
the ongoing NPTech tag project.

I strongly recommend the following blog articles:

"Cross Blog Discussion: NpTech Tag" by Beth Kanter
<http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2007/01/cross_blog_disc.html>

"Return to Beneath the Valley of the Metadata" by Gavin Clabaugh
<http://digitaldiner.typepad.com/gavins_digital_diner/2006/12/return_to_benea.html>

I'd be very interested in everyone's thoughts.

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn%40post.harvard.edu">deborah_elizabeth_finnpost.harvard.edu
www.cyber-yenta.org

"What is good...but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with your god?" (Micah 6:8)

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-----original message-----
>>;I strongly recommend the following blog articles: "Cross Blog Discussion: NpTech Tag" by Beth Kanter <http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2007/01/cross_blog_disc.html>
&quot;Return to Beneath the Valley of the Metadata&quot; by Gavin Clabaugh <http://digitaldiner.typepad.com/gavins_digital_diner/2006/12/ return_to_benea.html> I'd be very interested in everyone's thoughts.&gt;>

Here's mine - posted on my blog: http://www.zenofnptech.org/2007/01/ tagging_discuss.html

Beth started a cross-blog discussion about tagging and folksonomies, and I thought I'd weigh in. Gavin started this all off by posting a good and interesting set of questions about the efficiency of folksonomies.

I'll agree with Gavin, that folksonomies sure are less efficient, and a lot more messy than taxonomies. But is efficiency the most important thing? And, there is one really big thing that using taxonomies miss, that folksonomies get: who is doing the categorizing? Taxonomies are developed by specific people for specific purposes, and as such, are limited by worldview and perspective. Gavin says: "I'd recommend the wisdom of a few experts within that crowd.&quot; Good point, except - who are those experts? What is their worldview, and how does that effect the taxonomy that they come up with - and how does that determine the effect of a taxonomy on people who are not the experts?

I think that it is certainly possible to disseminate some guidelines (that some people will pay attention to) for the use of the nptech tag that could increase the signal/noise ratio. But I think the larger question about folksonomies is important: is efficiency all there is, and in what ways are folksonomies a way for the "folks" (rather than "experts") to have access to the process of categorizing their own content, and content they care about?

Michelle
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Michelle Murrain, Coordinator
Nonprofit Open Source Initiative
michelle%40nosi.net">michellenosi.net
http://nosi.net

skype: pearlbear
Gtalk/Jabber: michelle.murrain%40gmail.com">michelle.murraingmail.com
AIM:pearlbear0

&quot;One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of
the shore for a very long time."; -- Andr�s Gide

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