Tagging: next big thing?Computer users create large amounts of content each day. But organizing and retrieving it can be a real challenge. Fortunately, there's a new way that doesn't involve folders or albums. It's called "tagging," and many believe it has the potential to change how users find digital content--images, ideas, people, and video--online. It could be the life jacket that computer users need to save them from drowning drowning /drown·ing/ (droun´ing) suffocation and death resulting from filling of the lungs with water or other substance. drowning, n asphyxiation because of submersion in a liquid. in the swelling swelling /swell·ing/ (swel´ing) 1. transient abnormal enlargement of a body part or area not due to cell proliferation. 2. an eminence, or elevation. ocean of data that's being amassed on hard drives and the Internet. The basic idea behind tagging is that humans' ability to produce content far outweighs their ability to sort and consume it. Experts say tagging is about tapping the collective human wisdom rather than relying on a computer algorithm algorithm (ăl`gərĭth'əm) or algorism (–rĭz'əm) [for Al-Khowarizmi], a clearly defined procedure for obtaining the solution to a general type of problem, often numerical. for search. And that human wisdom can help users discover information a computer might not otherwise know to retrieve. With the growing amount of material that is not easily searchable--including photos, sound, and video clips--tags become even more important. With tags, users simply label photos individually when they first store them, with descriptive words such as "vacation," "anniversary," or "baby" and with the names of the people in each picture. Users can then search for a person's tag by "tagging" the photos based on what is actually in each frame. Imagine using this concept to tag the ideas, images, videos, or people you find online. If they are properly tagged, they are far easier to find. Web links can even be tagged and shared. Unlike hierarchical classification systems Noun 1. hierarchical classification system - a classification system where entries are arranged based on some hierarchical structure classification system - a system for classifying things , taggers create categories spontaneously. There are no rules on what categories to include and what fits under each. Of course, tagging has its drawbacks. Consider various classifications for a common pet: "canine canine or canid Any domestic or wild dog or doglike mammal (e.g., wolf, jackal, fox) in the family Canidae, found throughout the world except in Antarctica and on most ocean islands. ," "dog," "puppy puppy the young of the canine species; usually used up to the age of 12 months. fading puppy syndrome see fading kitten/puppy syndrome. puppy pyoderma see impetigo. ," etc. Experts say when someone goes to search for what they call the "dog," they will not pick up everyone else's tagged instances. But despite such shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
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