This document discusses the design of web navigation through tagging. It summarizes three types of metadata for navigation: owner-created, technically generated, and user-generated (tagging). Tagging allows for self-organizing metadata but requires time to develop comprehensiveness and can be difficult to navigate. The document outlines three key stages to designing an effective tagging system: allowing users to create tags, navigate their own tags through different views, and navigate the tags created by other users.

1. Desiging Tag
Navigation
November 2007

2. James Kalbach
Human Factors Engineer LexisNexis
Information Architect Razorfish Germany (2003)
Library & Info Science Degree Rutgers University
Designing Web Navigation
(O‘Reilly, Aug 2007)

3. Metadata

4. The Navigation Layer
“ [Filters] help people
move from the world
they know (“hits”) to the
world they don’t
(“niches”)…
”
“ Soon everything will
make it to the market
and the real opportunity
will be sorting it all out.
”

5. 1. Owner-Created Metadata
Pros
• Consistent terms
• Comprehensive
Cons
• Time intensive to create
• Maintenance
• Inflexible, rigid
Example:
Controlled Vocabulary

6. 2. Technically Generated Metadata
Cons
Pros
• Can be inaccurate
• Scales up
• Performance intensive
• Quick, timely
• High cost to enter
• Inexpensive to run
Examples: Entity Extraction

7. 3. User-Generated Metadata
Pros
• Low maintenance
• Self-generating organization
• Low costs to get started
• OK for an answer
Cons
• Lacks comprehensiveness
• Requires incubation time
• Navigating other's tags
difficult
Example:
Tagging

8. Tagging ≠ Tag Cloud

9. Tagging Process
Why do people tag?
• Re-find something of value
• Share a resource or object with others
Three key stages of tagging
1. Creating tags
2. Using and managing your own tags
3. Using other people’s tags

10. 1. Creating Tags

11. Encourage Tagging
Make it easy to tag

14. Prompt for Tags
Help people find words to use

16. Tag Form
Avoid space-separated tags
Newyearseveparty2007
iphone_review
to-read
Use comma-separated

18. 2. Navigating Your
Own Tags

19. Provide Different Views
Let people navigate in different ways

21. Navigate Resources
Allow people to search their resources

22. Combine Tags
Allow people to combine two tags

23. 3. Navigating
Other People‘s
Tags

24. Enhance Tag Clouds
Show context and provide structure

26. Mix Metadata
Expose other types of relevant metadata

28. Show Tags for Resource
Expose tags at the resource-level

29. Link to Other People
Browse the resources of other members

30. Conclusions
Tagging offers an alternative to top-down classification
Tags are still just another type of metadata
Tagging doesn’t necessarily mean using a tag cloud
Understand the broader tagging context
People must be able to navigate tags effectively
In designing a tagging system, three stages are critical:
1. Creating tags
2. Navigating your own tags
3. Navigating the tags of others

31. Thank You
www.ExperiencingInformation.com
James.Kalbach@LexisNexis.com