Folksonomies

TLDR

A folksonomy is a distributed classification system created by users who tag online items such as images, videos, bookmarks, and text. This article examines the factors that make folksonomies effective, arguing that while tags are not a replacement for formal systems, their core quality underlies their usefulness.

Abstract

A folksonomy is a type of distributed classification system. It is usually created by a group of individuals, typically the resource users. Users add tags to online items, such as images, videos, bookmarks and text. These tags are then shared and sometimes refined. In this article we look at what makes folksonomies work. We agree with the premise that tags are no replacement for formal systems, but we see this as being the core quality that makes folksonomy tagging so useful