The paper, Social Tagging as a Knowledge Organization and resource Discovery Tool by Hesham Allam was a well-rounded overview of the topic, comprehensive yet basic enough for a novice to understand. The paper provides informative definitions and examples, as well as the pros and cons of social tagging. The article from First Monday, Survival of the fittest tag: Folksonomies, findability, and the evolution of information organization written by Alexis Wichowski was an excellent article that brought my understanding of this topic to the next level.
When others have asked me why I am studying library science, very often questioning the future of this field, I have responded that in this age of information overload, continued information organization becomes critical. I find this a challenge on a minor level in my own personal and professional life. The problem is exponentially more important on a universal level. Both of these readings brought home to me the fact that I have been missing some very important organizational tools.
As I was reading these two articles this week, my grandson
was at my house completing a homework assignment on the behavioral adaptations of
animals. As a biology major in college, I am very familiar with the theory of
evolution. However, the quote from Charles Darwin at the beginning of the
Wichowski article had me smiling as my grandson and I completed our
assignments, both realizing the importance of behavioral adaptations.
“In the struggle for survival,
the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in
adapting themselves best to their environment.”
Charles Darwin
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