Folksonomies concept
What is a Folksonomy?
Folksonomies are classifications made by the public for certain web content through tag systems or tags. It differs from the traditional digital labeling system in that it is collaborative and part of the definitions used by the users themselves. That is to say, it is something malleable and it depends on the use of people who move around the Internet.
Its presence makes special sense within all social software, especially within social networks. There, all the people who enter and interact usually move the contents or even generate them and, at the same time, accompany them with tags that classify them according to the categories they consider appropriate.
Based on this definition, as dictated by the creator of the concept, Thomas Vander Wal, there are two types of folksonomy:
- Narrow folksonomy: It is the creator of the content, or a collection of people, who defines the tags corresponding to the content that is being classified. It is usually tied to objects and you cannot know for sure how it is used, which in turn prevents the appearance of new descriptions or vocabulary.
- Broad folksonomy: here the creator does not contribute anything to the labels, it is the public who classifies the content. This system is quite flexible, since it allows tags to appear in different languages and with very different vocabularies.
It sounds like a strange concept, but the truth is that it is very commonly used on the Internet, especially within the sector of social networks and online stores.
What is a Folksonomy for
Folksonomies are used to categorize all types of content on the Internet. Due to the versatility they have, especially based on the two existing types, they achieve that the audience not only appears as a passive agent, but also influences when determining categories and categorizing any publication.
They make up a system that facilitates the search for items on any network platform and that shows a continuous evolution to allow constant renewal. If companies use them well, they can get a great reach for any post they want to spread, for example on social media.
Examples of Folksonomies
As we have pointed out before, folksonomies are used much more than it seems, especially among those users who are quite active on social networks. Take for example the NeoAttack Twitter account, our agency. In several of our tweets, hashtags such as #marketing, #consejos or #tutorial are used, which are cases of folksonomy, since they categorize the publications and make anyone who searches for those labels find them.
More information on Folksonomies
If you are looking to read more about Folksonomies and learn more about it, you can look at the links that we leave below. The following contents expand a little more the information we have provided to deepen the matter. We hope you can take advantage of them.
