Productivity Portfolio

No, I didn't mistype the name as that is what your browser needs for the web address. Joshua Schachter, the sites founder, did a creative job of taking apart a popular word and reassembling it into a memorable web address.

del-->sub domain
icio-->domain
us-->top level domain
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del.icio.us

The sum of these parts represents one of the most useful websites around. Rather than having a favorites list on one computer, you now have a searchable collection of your favorites and access to recommendations from other members. Instead of recalling which favorites folder on your PC contains a certain bookmark, you can search for it by keywords at a friends house.

Making Favorites Accessible from Anywhere

Del.icio.us. allows you to manage your bookmarks online from any computer and get your bookmarks or add to your list. This works well for people who use many PCs or those that don't own one. You can even save bookmarks for other members using a special for: tag.

The process of logging into your account and saving a bookmark is easy using browser toolbar buttons. There are many del.icio.us buttons available based on browser and action. In the picture below, you can see two buttons for viewing your account and adding a bookmark.

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The Power of Tags

When you click the post to del.icio.us button, a page opens up in your account that allows you to post details. You can be as general or as specific as you like. Part of the information is prefilled such as the URL and description.

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A key component behind del.icio.us is tags which are listed on the last line. Tags are another name for the labels or descriptors you use to define a site. Its these tags that add value to you and other users of del.icio.us. You can make up tags as you add a site. You're not restricted to a defined structure. The only rule is a tag is one word.

As you start using the service, you build a registry of tags. A similar process occurs as other people add bookmarks. The result is as you add bookmarks, del.icio.us can do some intelligent filtering and guessing about the tags you might use.

In the lower section of the example below, you can see the service already knows about the page I'm bookmarking. One or more other users previously bookmarked it. As a result, the service suggests some recommended tags based on their tags.

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The Wisdom of Others

Part of del.icio.us appeal is the social bookmarking aspect. Although your bookmarks are linked to your account, they are accessible to others. In that regard, they are a shared resource. Someone can see an interesting bookmark and decide its one they wish to have as well.

These social bookmarking services nicely complement search engines. Most search engines rank pages based on an algorithm that may include hundreds of variables. The missing variable for search engines is usually people. In contrast, del.icio.us lists are all entirely edited by humans.

One way to think of del.icio.us is as a series of three searchable favorites collections.

The benefit of this model can be seen when search by tags. For example, I may want to see what others have saved with the tag dns. I could choose to see all the items with this tag or popular bookmarks as illustrated below. Glancing at the list, I can see that DNS Stuff appears to be a good site for me to check since 3495 other users saved it. (Actually, its a great site I used when doing my research report on spam.)

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Whats particularly nice about this feature is anyone can use it. You don't need to have a del.icio.us account or even log in. You just need to use a simple protocol. For most browsers, you don't need to type the http://. Ive also added highlighting and arrows so you can see how the URL maps to the page title.

To find the popular bookmarks by tag,

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To find all bookmarks by tag,

Type: del.icio.us/tag/<tag you want to search>
Example: del.icio.us/tag/tutorial
Sort: most recently saved at top

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To find all bookmarks with 2 tags

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In some instances, you might want to expand your search. For example, maybe people didn't save their bookmarks with the tags you expect or they neglected to use them. In these instances, there is also a search feature that queries the notes section and description. Like all search engines, there is a time delay so don't expect these results to include items people bookmarked today.

The service has many more features that are outlined on their help page. As expected, you can find more doing a tagged search. One of our favorite pages is from Quick Online Tips Absolutely Del.icio.us Complete Tool Collection.

Id encourage you to try the service and create an account. I'm sure that you'll find saving bookmarks easy and fun. And you may find that some person in another part of the world has found a different resource that you'll appreciate and vice versa.

Additional Resources

Del.icio.us site: del.icio.us
6 Minute del.icio.us demo: www.timeatlas.com/tutorials/Delicious.htm
Google del.icio.us query: http://snipurl.com/mhq7
Yahoo! del.icio.us query: http://snipurl.com/mhqe