flickr photo shared by mrkrndvs under a Creative Commons ( BY-SA ) license
I was recently asked whether I use social bookmarking and if so, which application? Although I have tinkered with using my blog and Flipboard, my main space for storing links and resources is Diigo. Although it is pretty straight forward how it works, what is not obvious are the challenges in getting the most out of it. Here then are some of the lessons that I have learnt through my experiences over time …
- Think About Your Structure: Amy Burvall once described hashtags as the soul of the internet. The ability to collect and connect ideas and information is the biggest benefit of social bookmarking. This however has its challenges. I have found over time that it is better to over tag items as this can make it easier to find items at a later date. This includes adding the author as a tag. In addition to this, Diigo provides a means organise around outliners and collaborative groups. When I started I focused on subjects, with one category being 21st century learning. The problem is that most of my links end up in the 21st century so I think that I should probably unpack that a bit more.
- Be Mindful: The biggest challenge with social bookmarking is actually remembering to add links when you find them. This is best done through the use of widgets and bookmarklets, although Diigo also allows you to email links. I used to have my Diigo connected to my Feedly via IFTTT. However, that recipe has been discontinued. While in regards to mobile, I could never master iOS. However, I have found Android much better, with the ability to connect between applications.
- Don’t Have Expectations: I remember setting up a collaborative space for school. Most staff could not see the point in it. They felt that simply Googling information would suffice. Although this may work for surface knowledge, it does not necessarily allow you to dig deeper over time. Tom Barrett describes this mining of knowledge as the ‘resurfacing of ideas‘.
So what about you? Do you use social bookmarking? Why? Why not? As always, comments welcome.
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Three Lessons Learnt from Using Social Bookmarking by Aaron Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Hello Aaron.
Like you, I have experimented with Diigo, but the bookmarks saved there are a distant memory. I use Pocket to keep things I want to read at a later date. Mostly, I use a combination of Twitter and Flipboard for my social bookmarking. I tag my tweets thematically and review these in a Flipboard magazine. My “liked” tweets are also saved in a Flipboard magazine. I also use a Google Sheet to organize URLs I may use in research. I am thinking of creating a quick Google Form to curate and tag important URLs. My processes are far from perfect and always evolving. Transparency is the most important aspect of all this; sharing resources and making my learning visible. People who visit my blog can also follow my digital footprints; http://www.rtschuetz.net/p/my-digital-footprint.html
Thank you for sparking my thinking on this topic – talk soon,
Bob
Thanks so much for the comment.
I am really intrigued in your workflow. I know a few who use Pocket that way. I use Pocket, but more for reading purposes.
I agree about transparency. No matter the choice, it is about a willingness to share and reflect.
Aaron.
P.S. Still need to catch up for that coffee.
I also use Pocket and really like it. I save resources to Pocket, Diigo, and Flipboard. I find that I dig through my sources most frequently in Pocket as I like the layout better with an image generally tied to the sources. I agree about overtagging though it can be a bit time consuming. I’d love to find a recipe that allows me to save to all three tools but, alas, haven’t found one yet.
I have used Pocket for different things and know people who use it. Of late, I have actually started using Wikity and can envisage moving my bookmarking activity there.
I wonder if there is a possibility of creating your own recipe based on APIs. I think that is where the future lies. The challenge though is getting it to a point where it is easy enough to manage personally.