Thing+12

=Thing 12: Social Bookmarking with Delicious=

Introduction
[|Delicious] is a popular [|social bookmarking] site (of which there are [|dozens]) that allows Internet users to store all of their saved websites (a.k.a. "favorites" or "bookmarks") online, so that they are accessible from any Internet-enabled computer. Users can organize their sites using **tags** (user-defined keywords), and descriptions. The "social" aspect comes from the fact that users' bookmarks and tags are **publicly browsable and searchable**. Users can also subscribe to others' bookmark collections or to specific tags to create a personal resource network. Delicious **tags** are an example of a **folksonomy**, or user-created organizational structure (you may recall we learned a bit about tagging and folksonomies in Thing 8).

===Here's **Social Bookmarking in Plain English** (3:24), from our best friends at CommonCraft:=== **¤ NOTE:** Delicious had a major facelift in August 2008, so it looks a bit different now, but the concepts are the same.

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**A Few Delicious Features**
>> (e.g. []).
 * Import all your existing bookmarks (a.k.a favorites) from your browser with **a few clicks**.
 * Access (and add to) your bookmarks **from any computer**! Never lose another link, email links to yourself, or paste into a document for sharing access. (Here, [|for example], is how I saved my Flickr photos for "Thing 8" -- I used delicious to **save** and **tag** each photo as "VHC" as I discovered it. Sure makes //citing sources// a lot easier!).
 * Discover great resources saved by **millions** of delicious users with a **keyword search**, or by browsing specific **tags** or individual **user** collections. Try searching Delicious as an alternative to Google when looking for resources for a particular topic.
 * **Mark any bookmark as** **private** by selecting " do not share " when you save it. (Only YOU will see these sites when you are **logged into** delicious).
 * **Let others do the work for you!**
 * Add **users** to your **Network** (click "Add to my Network") to automatically track all their sites (displayed on a separate page from your own). You can also share/recommend a site to any user who is in your Network (such as a colleague!)
 * **Subscribe** to a specific tag (go to Tags > My Subscriptions > Add a Subscription) to receive all users' sites saved with that tag (or even narrow your subscription to a **specific user and tag**).
 * Display your own and others' bookmarks as a **list** or in a **cloud**, sorted by tag **name** or **count** (frequency of use). The larger a tag appears in the cloud, the more times that tag has been used.
 * **Easily share and collect bookmarks with others!**
 * **Share** **all your bookmarks** with students or colleagues by giving them a **single URL** for your delicious **username**
 * Share sites for a specific tag (i.e topic) by providing the link for **that tag only**, (e.g. [] -- where the user is lottascales and the tag is digital_storytelling).
 * Subscribe to the **RSS feed** of a specific **user**, **tag** or **user/tag combination** in your **RSS reader**, or display the feed results on a blog, wiki or other webpage to share with students or colleagues.
 * Create a special **"shared" tag** to collect resources **along with others** for a particular purpose or topic, for example "MaristCross-CurricularPLC." If you want to share a site with our group, use '**MaristCross-CurricularPLC**' as a tag along with your other chosen tags. Imagine how you could leverage this capability for student research, sharing sites with colleagues, or for the school library!

**Five ways of "looking at bookmarks" in delicious:**
(If you take a moment to look at the **structure** of each link, it's easy to see how delicious is organized).


 * **by User:** [] (all sites saved by **user** 'lottascales')
 * **by Tag:** [] (all sites tagged 'web2.0' by **all users**)
 * **by Tag Intersection:** [] (a "Tag Intersection" combines **two or more tags** to refine/narrow a search. This link displays all sites tagged with **both** 'math' and 'podcast' by **all users**).
 * **by User/Tag combination:** [] (all of 'lottascales' sites tagged 'web2.0')
 * **by User/Tag Intersection:** [] (all of 'lottascales' sites tagged with **both** 'design' and 'visualization' )

**A Few "High Profile" Ed Tech Delicious Users** (Not a Representative Sample)
 * Will Richardson - []
 * David Warlick - []
 * Joyce Valenza - []
 * Vicki Davis (coolcatteacher) - []
 * Wesley Fryer - []

Discovery Exercise
> **HELP PAGE:** Here is a sample delicious results page for a search using the keyword "bento."
 * PART 1: Explore Delicious** (~30 min)
 * 1) Go to [|delicious].
 * 2) **Search** for something that interests you. (You can do this more than once). Enter **one or more keywords** in the **search box** at the top of the page.
 * 3) **Review the results** and **begin browsing**. ** Things to notice: ** **additional tags** used for each site, number of **other people** who have tagged the site (numbers in blue boxes), **usernames** of those who have tagged the sites (click any username to see all sites saved by that user).
 * 1) **Explore the result s ** of your search by following some of the "delicious" information -- click a **related tag**, a **username**, a blue "**saved by X other people**" box. **HINT:** To actually **visit** a "discovered" site, try **right-clicking** the link and selecting "open in new tab" or "open in new window". That way, you won't lose your delicious results.
 * 2) When viewing a particular **user**'s saved sites, explore his or her **tag list**, **top 10 tags** and **tag bundles** on the right side of the page. Use **Related Tags** to narrow your search results. Use **Tag Options** to switch between **cloud** and **list** views, and **alpha** and **count** order.
 * 3) Basically, **search and browse** around, and see what you can figure out about **how delicious works and how it may be helpful to you**.


 * ‡ HELP Page: ** Anatomy of a Delicious Page (This will give you some idea of what you are looking at when exploring **del.icio.us**).

Sign up for a delicious account and install the browser 'add-on' buttons.
 * PART 2: Get Del.icio.us** (~5-10 min)


 * ‡ HELP Page: ** Registering for Delicious (Screenshots included!)

Task

 * PART 1: Log into your delicious account and practice adding and tagging 7-10 sites.** Give some thought to your choices of tags -- think about all the different ways you would categorize the site -- remember that each tag is a SINGLE KEYWORD and you must leave a space between each tag. Don't be afraid to use several tags, they don't cost anything. Also give some thought to the **Descriptions** (site titles -- the "link" you will click) and **Notes** (site descriptions). Click the "**Delicious**" button (checkerboard) on your browser toolbar to go to your account and check out the results of your tagging spree.


 * ‡ HELP Video: ** [|Adding & Tagging Sites in Delicious] (3 Ways)


 * ‡ HELP Instructions: ** **Steps for Tagging a Site in Delicious** (for video haters and impatient folks):


 * 1) Go to [|delicious] and **log into your account**.
 * 2) Go to a **web site of interest** (either perform a search, or select a familiar site).
 * 3) While viewing the site, click the **TAG button** on your browser toolbar. Fill in the **notes** and **tags** fields, and edit the **title** as desired. (If other users have tagged the site, tag suggestions will be provided and you can just click them. After awhile, your own tags will be suggested as well). Remember to separate each tag with a space . Also keep in mind that (to a point) "over" tagging is better than "under" tagging -- more tags are better than fewer.
 * 4) Click **Save**. Repeat for several sites.


 * ‡ HELP TIP: ** Try highlighting a bit of text on a page **before** clicking the TAG button. The highlighted text will be added automatically to the description field when you save the bookmark to delicious!

**PART 2: Add the 'shared' tag "MaristCross-CurricularPLC**" to a couple of sites that you would like to share with our group. Check out the wiki page to see what happens after you tag a site using MaristCross-CurricularPLC. (It may take a few minutes to appear).


 * PART 3:** Write a **brief blog post** sharing your thoughts about delicious and what you learned/noticed in your exploration and initial tagging experiences. Include any **ideas you have for using delicious in your professional practice** (for yourself, with colleagues, and/or with students). Include a link to **your delicious links** in the post ([]) . Please include "Thing 12" in the post title.

Stretch Task
**Try one or more of the following:**


 * Add a **subscription**. Find a **tag** that interests you and subscribe to it (click **Subscriptions > Add a Subscription**). You can refine/narrow a subscription by using a **Tag Intersection** (multiple tags joined by + e.g. poetry+shakespeare)
 * Add someone to **your network**. You can add me, a colleague, anyone you wish. (Click **Network** > **Add a user to Network**). WA Middle School teachers almost all belong to each others' Delicious networks. It's a great way to pool resources and share with each other.
 * Create a **Tag Bundle** (click **Tag Options > Manage tag bundles**) to organize your tags. Bundles are really helpful for keeping your bookmarks in good order. This is most meaningful when you have a lot of sites.

Stretchier Task
When you are feeling **brave**, import your existing bookmarks into delicious (log into your account, click settings, then import/upload). This was my "Winter Break" project a couple years ago, but it was well worth it, and I have never reverted back to the "old" way of saving bookmarks. You may also want to check out [|Diigo]... (Diigo is like Delicious on steroids mixed with a social network, collaborative tools, and notetaking).