Abstract

Social bookmarking systems let users store, classify and share their bookmarks online. They are global grassroots classification systems. Classification is a basic mental process that determines how we see (or ignore) the world. The first social bookmarking system was http://del.icio.us which came online in late 2003. I performed a pilot study of a survey of del.icio.us users focusing on feedback, motivation, and collectivity. The following paper is an abbreviated version of a term paper submitted for a graduate methods course in communication this past spring term. I plan to continue researching this topic for my master's thesis over the coming year.

Abstract Submitted for Computers and Writing Online 2005:

Distributed classification systems (DCS), also called folksonomies, are not just an interesting way to find content, they are global grassroots classification systems. Classification is a basic mental process that determines how we see (or ignore) the world. I performed a pilot study survey of del.icio.us users that helped me to develop a survey that will aim to find out if certain types of feedback via the del.icio.us site, web syndication (RSS), or through third party tools, influences user collectivity, i.e. how much they think of others when they tag their bookmarks. I want to find out just how social del.icio.us actually is, and if feedback influences the level of collectivity. DCS can function even if most users do not think of others when they classify the content they store, although they can be improved if more users do. Preliminary results from a full survey may be available at conference time, otherwise the pilot study and revised design will be discussed.