Friday 13 March 2009

Social Bookmarking - Take 2 (Pt2 - Why?)


I want to share things I find on the web that I think will be of benefit/use/interest to KIN members. Easily.

Unfortunately, the KIN memberspace is not ideally suited to this. As you probably know, the KIN memberspace is a Sharepoint site. Sharepoint allows you to create lists of links. So why don't I want to use these?

Sharepoint Link lists shortcomings

  • Which link list should I use ? There is one (sometimes several) on each Quarterly Workshop event site (example). There is one on each SIG site (example). So if I have found something that is of interest to more than one Special Interest Group and relates to a Quarterly Workshop, where should I post it? Should I post it more than once? Too many decisions, too much effort. (Not to mention what about links that relate to specific Roundtables or Masterclasses).
  • Adding to the Link List is 'out of the flow'. So I've found something of interest. Now I have to open Memberspace, navigate to the Link List I've decided it should go in, click on add link and fill in a Sharepoint form. Again, too much effort.
  • How can I see all 'my' links? With links scattered over several Link lists, how to I keep track of 'my' links and avoid having to duplicate effort by creating my own bookmark list?
  • What, no tags? Sharepoint (at least the version we are using) does not provide for 'tagging' so that links that are related are easily found.
So will a Social Bookmarking tool help? I think so.
The tool I've decided to try (this time) is Diigo.




Diigo Advantages (vs Sharepoint Link Lists)
  • I have a single repository for all my (tagged) bookmarks. And there are multiple ways to view this list.
  • Bookmarking is done 'in the flow'. I can bookmark, tag and comment on my bookmark without leaving the page I am bookmarking.
  • There is the facility for 'Community' tagging. I can (and have) set up a 'Diigo Group' for use by KIN members.
In addition to the above advantages which overcome the listed shortcomings, it is also possible to display Diigo bookmarks in Sharepoint such that as I add bookmarks, these additions automatically appear in the KIN memberspace. This can be done in various ways: by tags, by group, by lists (see my next blog post in this series of three - part1 is here).
And as I explore Diigo further, I expect I will discover other advantages. I'll let you know.

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