On the same topic, here's a brief article by Jeff Veen entitled "Size
Matters: Rendering a Folksonomy"

http://www.veen.com/jeff/index.html


David H. Kemper
Archivist, Electronic Records
McGill University Archives
tel.: 514-398-3772 x 0178
email: [log in to unmask]
web: www.archives.mcgill.ca

>>>>>>>>>>>
What is digitalpermanence?  http://www.archives.mcgill.ca/dp/
>>>>>>>>>>>


-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Andrew Warland
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 10:40 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Metadata - Controlled Vocabularies versus 'Folksonomies'


There is an interesting discussion currently underway on two separate
blogs regarding controlled vocabularies versus 'folksonomies', which
might be of interest for those interested in the issue of metadata.

http://www.corante.com/many/archives/2005/01/07/folksonomies_controlled_
vocabularies.php


and

http://louisrosenfeld.com/home/bloug_archive/000330.html

The term 'folksonomy' is described by another blogger as 'a neologism
for a practice of collaborative categorization using simple tags in a
flat namespace.'

The debate refers to the potential or actual costs of developing and
maintaining a controlled vocabulary and its useability particularly at
the 'lower levels', versus the relative freedom of allowing people to
create their own 'folksonomy', and the potential for both to inform each
other and ultimately make for better metadata all around.

A quote from the second blog noted above sums it up:

"... it's exciting to consider how these two approaches might fit
together and function as a whole. Neither works especially well on its
own: controlled vocabularies often miss out on input from content
authors and become rigid, stale, and distant from the vernacular of
users; folksonomies will begin to break down for the reasons mentioned
above. Treating them as major parts of a single metadata ecology might
expose a useful symbiosis: encourage authors and users to generate
folksonomies, and use those terms as candidates for inclusion in richer,
more current controlled vocabularies that can evolve to best support
findability."


Andrew Warland
Senior Consultant, Information Management
Converga Pty Ltd (www.converga.com.au), an operating division of
Outsource Australia Pty Ltd (www.outsourceaust.com.au)

Ph 0413 043 934

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