This Web 2.0 tool has been around for a while now (started in 2003), and has over 5 million users, and displays many of the features of the read/write web.
It is also one of the great examples of collaborative work on the web with more than 150 million bookmarked web sites recorded. See the video below (from Lee Lefever, Commoncraft show) for an explanation of Delicious and social bookmarking:
What does it do? Why use it?
Using the tools from the Delicious web site enables you to save and organise your bookmarks online. Thus you can access your bookmarks any time you are online on any computer. As a social networking site it also means that you can:
- tag your bookmarks as you want to
- use tags suggested by other users
- see what other topics people have tagged
- share your bookmarks with others (or hide them if you choose)
- examine popular tags and web sites found by others
- develop a network with likeminded users
How do I start?
Begin at delicious, and follow the sign up process. You need:
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an email address you can readily access to confirm and access details
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a computer you are able to download to (to download the delicious buttons to the toolbar). Check with IT for admin rights for this step if it is not your personal computer.
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an internet conection, of course.
By following the steps given, you will end up registered with delicious, with 2 new icons on your browser toolbar (if not check View/ Toolbars, and click the delicious box).
Then you can start visiting your favourite pages and clicking on the tag icon to begin entering links to your del.icio.us pages. As your collection grows, you can collect like-links in bundles to gain order.
Investigating the links which are popular (i.e. saved by other people), you can click on the number in the right of the bookmark (which states how many others bookmarked this site) and see what other people are collecting – you can see their delicious pages. Privacy is easily enabled if you want to keep a favourite/ bookmark to yourself.
Set up a delicious account according to the instructions above – after deciding a purpose – personal or class use. How might it be useful to you in the future?
About Tagging
In this video Chris Betcher – Sydney teacher and ICT co-ordinator, explains tagging and how it can be useful. (part of the K12 Online Conference 2008)
# Exercise
Investigate one extra aspect of delicious(e.g. searching popular bookmarks or tags, or an established user e.g from the library web site). Comment on your discoveries on your blog.
Comment on any difficulties you have experienced here.
# Extra
Using del.icio.us in Education, http://www.scribd.com/doc/212002/Using-delicious-In-Education A paper which discusses the mechanics and uses of delicious in education.
N.B. In July 2008, the website’s name and address changed to Delicious when a new design was also launched.
