Trusted Websurfing With Social Networks
"There are over 8 billion web pages. Most of them suck." --Outfoxed
noticed in my last post that I applied tags to it. Tags are important. Google succeeded because they realized you can't hierarchically categorize the web like Yahoo tried to do. Unfortunately Google is getting inundated with people cheating its page-rank system. The web will soon depend on metadata, which usually takes the form of descriptive keyword tags. But the only people who can possibly apply them to 8 billion webpages is... everybody.
Who here does social bookmarking? Post here with your bookmark page so I can browse it. Mine is at http://del.icio.us/Matt_Arnold. del.icio.us is a service that lets you apply keyword tags to your favorite sites the way that Flickr has tags for pictures. You can browse the most popular bookmarks on the internet from day to day.
You can even set up the popular list as a drop-down menu from your bookmark toolbar in Firefox. (What? You're still using Explorer? No wonder your computer is infested with spyware/adware/viruses. Get Firefox! It is a thing of beauty.) Just like the web changed from something you browse into something you you search, now feeds are changing it to streams of delivered headlines that you subscribe to. Firefox has a feed-reader built-in: on a page that offers a feed, just click the orange button on the lower right corner of the browser to subscribe.
Another form of social websurfing is the Firefox extension Outfoxed. You get a new button on your interface that will let you rate a web domain as good, bad or dangerous. Your browser will access the reports of your friends who have the extension, so that a global network of votes and comments emerges.
Comments
eternalmaiden on Jun. 21, 2005 4:59 PM
Awesome info.
And Firefox rocks.
rikhei on (None)
rikhei on Jun. 21, 2005 5:12 PM — Yay metadata!
Yay! Another social tagging devotee. If you haven't already, you need to check out Technorati. You might also be interested in my bookmarks on folksonomies. And then we should chat about them, as I love talking about metadata and tagging. :)
Also, I read something interesting yesterday that seems to echo what you said about the web being something you subscribe to. Hmm, link is here. (And now I'm bookmarking it, because it took me awhile to find.)
matt-arnold on Jun. 21, 2005 5:25 PM — Re: Yay metadata!
OK, but you don't go on Instant Messenger much anymore!
rikhei on Jun. 21, 2005 6:18 PM — Re: Yay metadata!
I do, actually, it's just that I'm usually hiding because I have a completely irrational fear that I'll make an ass of myself in front of my friends. I'm much worse when it comes to phones.
wormquartet on Jun. 21, 2005 5:31 PM
Hi Matt! You smell like Saran wrap! Thanks for listening!
-=ShoEboX=-
wolfger on Jun. 23, 2005 10:19 PM
I guess I need to add you on Outfoxed... I have my doubts as to the usefulness of it, though.
matt-arnold on Jun. 24, 2005 11:46 AM
Do you have in Informer page?
I don't yet, but hope to have personal webspace for it soon.
wolfger on Jun. 24, 2005 12:35 PM
http://getoutfoxed.com/users/Wolfger
You don't need personal webspace for it :-)
Anonymous on (None)
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