Social+Bookmarking

How Can Bookmarks Be Social?
Bookmarks (or Favorites) are websites that you have found interesting or useful enough to want to re-visit. Traditionally, bookmarks are saved to your browser, and you can access them any time you use your computer.

If you've ever had to log on to a computer that //isn't// yours, however, you know that you don't have access to your bookmarks. This is where social bookmarking comes in.

Social bookmarking sites like [|Delicious] and [|Diigo] allow you to store your bookmarks/favorites on the Internet. This way, they're accessible to you regardless of which computer you use.

OK, So They're Online. How Is That Social?
You can keep your bookmarks private (so only you can view them), or you can make them publicly viewable, so that everyone can benefit from your sources. You can also create Networks on Delicious by subscribing to other people's bookmarks via RSS - every time they bookmark a new site, it will appear in your RSS Reader.

Tags vs. Folders
When you save bookmarks to a web browser, you have the option of organizing them by folder (e.g., "Humanities II", "Fun Stuff", "News Sites"). While this can be helpful, it is also limiting in that you can only save a bookmark to one folder at a time. Tags are [|described by Delicious] as:

//...simply a word you use to describe a bookmark. Unlike folders, you make up tags when you need them and you can use as many as you like. The result is a better way to organize your bookmarks and a great way to discover interesting things on the Web.//

With tags, you don't have to commit to one classification for your site (e.g., Recipes). More descriptive tags makes it accessible to a greater number of people (e.g., baking, chocolate, souffle, desserts).

Delicious : Diigo :: Folding Knife : Swiss Army Knife
Delicious is great for sharing bookmarks, but that's about the extent of its use. Diigo, on the other hand, allows you to
 * Share not only links to favorite websites, but to easily create groups for specific purposes
 * Comment on each others' shared links, much like a blog.
 * Comment right on a website in the form of speech bubbles
 * Highlight specific text on a website.
 * Receiving updates via email (immediately, daily, weekly, or not at all) or via RSS from your subscribed groups.


 * Diigo groups at Hunterdon Central Regional High School:**
 * [|1:1 Pilot Program] (for sharing links relevant to HCRHS's 1:1 student netbook program
 * [|HCRHS English Dept.] (for sharing content-related resources among department members)


 * Diigo group for global collaborative project**
 * [|"The Alice Project"]

Which One Should I Use?
Undoubtedly, Diigo is the more powerful of the two, but not everyone needs to drive a Hummer. Some of us are content with our Honda Civics because they meet our needs. Consult the chart below (created by Nebraska teacher Jason Schm idt; for detailed explanations of each feature, [|please see Jason's blog]), consider your purpose, and determine whether or not you need all the firepower Diigo has to offer.



Schmidt, J. (2010, July 30). "Diigo and Delicious". //Interactive inquiry.// Retrieved 28 September 2010 from http://iisquared.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/diigo-and-delicious/