Stephen Asunka

Folksonomies

The article - Folksonomies: Power to the People bookmarked on del.cio.us/ccte, is quite an interesting piece. Simply put, Folksonomy is a user-generated flat classification of information as opposed to the traditional hierarchical classification. Tagging bookmarks with appropriate keywords as is done in delicious, flickr etc. is of great benefit to users as they can easily find information without having to drill through a hierarchy of keywords as we have in digital directories.

Having read Paul Dourish's book - Where the Action Is.. - I realize that the Folksonomies vrs. Hierarchical classification schemes are clearly related to what Paul classifies as Work Practice and Work Processes (p.62). He describes Work Processes as the "formalized and regularized procedures by which work is conducted … captured and codified in rulebooks, manuals, recipes etc." Work Practice on the other hand is the informal but nonetheless routine mechanisms by which these processes are put into practice and managed in the face of everyday contingencies. Paul continues to say that work practice "involves .. approximation, invention, improvisation and ad hoc-ery … reflecting a more fruitful adaptation of the process to specific circumstances in which the activity is carried out" (p.63).

Folksonomy is clearly a "work practice." With information now produced and consumed by the masses through blogs, wikis, webpages etc., Folksonomy has emerged naturally as individuals have now resorted to lose and ambiguous classification of information devoid of all the rigid, conservative and centralized method of classification that is typical of the hierarchical classification akin to a work process.

So, in our search for information, we are beginning to drift away from the traditional "drill-through" procedures and resorting to the this flat, ambiguous and oftentimes misleading system. The important thing however is the get the work done within the circumstances in which one finds him or herself, and not following a particular procedure to get the work done. Folksonomy, I guess, is here to stay.

posted by Steve @ 2:08 PM