24 January 2006
Social Coordination
Tagging enables social coordination that is simultaneously more direct and abstract than collaborative filtering. More abstract since we are exchanging conceptual information. More direct, since there is no algorithm mediating our connection. When we navigate by tags, we are directly connecting with others.
Flickr and del.icio.us both show that tagging helps in the spread of ideas, memes, trends and fashions. A related question – what role does it play in concept development, in social consensus building? Our concepts and languages are constantly in flux. If tagging systems allow a loose coordination of terms across people, then the question arises: “What role do tagging systems play in ebb and flow of concepts”.
Rashmi Sinha in A social analysis of tagging
(excellent read)
