WEEK 7 -- TAGGING (Del.icio.us & LibraryThing)

WEEK 7 -- TAGGING (Del.icio.us* & LibraryThing)--or in my case, instead of LibraryThing, I will probably use Shelfari since I already have my personal books listed in my Shelfari account.

Del.icio.us Bookmarks:  Uh, I don't know how to break this to everyone, but this "cloud computing" program's life is in danger.  We are always being told about as one of the disadvantage of using the free, often easy-to-use applications:  that they could go away, without notice, any day.  And since they are "free," we might or might not lose our data.  Long story short, Yahoo bought Del.icio.us Bookmarks.  And now Yahoo has decided it no longer WANTS the company.  All the del.icio.us employees have been laid off and Yahoo itself is said to be hurting badly.  They say they wish to find a new buyer for del.icio.us and they probably do.  But early word says no one may be willing to buy this gigantic enterprise.  Many, many, many of us have come to depend on these bookmarks.  And the tagging associated with the bookmarks, and the ability to use this as the social networking site that it is (i.e., we can share bookmarks, "follow" other users to see what they are bookmarking, etc.) 

I have had a del.icio.us account since February 2008 and have created over 4,000 bookmarks and a complex tagging system of my own.  Part of my enthusiasm to use these bookmarks was the ability to create a "folksonomy" and watch how my tags developed.  I could change the name of a tag (e.g., instead of using a first & last name, I might tag everything with just the person's last name).  I tended my tags like precious little ducklings, herding them here and there, setting up hierarchies, and generally learning a lot and having fun.

BUT NOW:  You'd better believe that I am now backing up my bookmarks on a daily basis to my Desktop.  Sad to say, the social aspect will be gone as soon as Yahoo pulls the plug.  Maybe if I wish to be optimistic I should say "if" Yahoo pulls the plug.  All my wonderful tagging hierarchy will be gone and my ability to look at others' bookmarks.

So what is the Twitterverse saying about this situation, which actually trended for a day or two last week?  And what are my opinionated FB saying they will do?  Early word is that Diigo is a place of refuge being sought by many.  So much so that Diigo is sending out word that potential users practically crashed their system and that they are quickly purchasing and installing new servers to handle the traffic.  

More as I learn more...

* I still use the old, funky spelling:    Del.icio.us    Technically this name has been unfunkified (to use a technical term!) with the periods removed.  Hence, Delicious.  (Boooooorring...)

LibraryThing:  "Developed for book lovers, this online tool not only allows you to easily create an online catalog of your own, it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries. Add a book to your catalog by just entering the title (no MARC record training required) or, connect with other users with similar reading tastes.  In this community of book lovers you are bound to discover something new. There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing..."  (from AurThings narrative).

Yes, but I already signed up for Shelfari and have added lots of books there that I have read, that I own, that I plan to read, etc.  And I've joined several of their groups...

Shelfari:  I added a Shelfari widget to this Blog, so see for yourself.  :-)