Tagging

Tagging can be an extremely useful tool for anyone looking to do research on the internet. Websites such as del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us) allow users to keep track of articles and websites that pique their interest, as well as "click through" other people's tags, which has the benefit of seeing what articles and information come up under the same term, as well as what other terms can be used to find related information.

Tagging is also commonly used on websites that are based on user created media, such as YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) or Flickr (http://www.flickr.com), and even on some social networking sites, like Live Journal (http://www.livejournal.com). Granted, on these social sites, tagging isn't used in any sort of research capacity, or even finding related information. On sites such as youtube and flickr, however, tags are used to allow you to find related content, such as videos dealing with similar subject matter, and similar photographs.

Using tags for research is the most practical, and useful application. Other terms can come to light just from looking at the tags placed on an article, which gives the person doing the research an idea of other terms which might be even better for finding the desired information. It also makes the person doing the tagging think about what information it is they are putting out there, exactly, and which ways this information can be used.