Tags - Revolutionary or Just Folly?
Just another trend or something else?
Trends happen overnight! Some catch on fast and explode very quickly into our every day use.
Most of these trends you can ignore as silly folly or at the most fine amusement. Anyone remember pet rocks, Farrah Fawcett hairdos, or last year's killer fashions?
Others, you have to pay more attention to: cell phones, digital cameras, mini-sites, optin lists, or email.
Right now, there's another trend you should keep your eye on: 'tags'.
What are tags? And why should you care about them?
Tags are a way of sorting and linking all that information in blogs and RSS Feeds. It groups together all the information on one particular subject.
It's a democratic 'search engine' for blogs.
Think of a 'tag' as a 'keyword' to be used in blogging and RSS Feeds (Feed tags are still in the works).
Tags have hit the radar lately because Technorati, which indexes 4.5 million blogs, started sorting blog posts by using tags.
They have created a folksonomy, drawing tags from different sources, mainly Flickr.com which sorts or groups pictures and from del.icio.us -- where you create a tag when you bookmark a page.
Or if your blogging software has categories -- this will be recognized by Technorati as a tag.
If you want to create a 'tag' it's very simple; just place this code in your blog:
Computers (remove asterisks in actual code)
and you will have created a tag for computers.
A tag makes it easier and faster to find information on your favorite subject. It gives you a cross section of real views and opinions floating in the ether.
There are some inherent problems in this system; will the posts grow so quickly and so large -- it's like 'finding a needle in a haystack' or will you have to dig thru a lot of muck to find the scattered diamonds. Or maybe a ranking system will be put in place but this goes against the 'democratic code' of blogging.
Regardless, the traffic and marketing potential of 'tags' could be very beneficial to those who use it to their advantage.
A marketer with a product to introduce or promote could aggressively target tags as part of their advertising budget. As blogging increases in popularity -- it's something to watch!
As a website owner -- tags could be a great source of targeted traffic. And the keyword here is 'targeted'.
It's the kind of visitor you want coming to your site or blog. It can only lead to a better quality visitor. Similar to a visitor coming from the major search engines. One that is really searching for your information.
The next big question, how will marketers exploit these tags to make a few bucks? Everyone knows that's coming!
Will we have a 'tag search engine' that can rival the quality of a Google or Yahoo? Or do we need one?
As with any new trend -- you never know how it will play out.
Some interesting questions have yet to be answered:
Tags are basically keywords for blogs -- but as everyone knows the quality of links to these tags are not all equal. Will someone step in and rank these or will they remain democratic?
Just how will tags work for building content or links to your site? How will the search engines use these tags? How will marketers and advertisers exploit the potential of all this content and the content's viewers?
Will we have tag-spamming? (Just what we need another form of spamming!) Someone flooding these tags with thousands of links to get traffic or sell a product.
Not to hype it too much but there's a real 'we're entering unknown territory' feeling with blogging and RSS lately. Heady days for those keeping a close watch on the events unfolding. There are countless applications probably already in the works for tags!
It could be the start of something big or it could just fizzle.
In any case -- keep your eyes peeled to that cursor! There's probably a tag on the end of it!
This trend may just offer more than fine amusement.
----
To Create a blog within minutes - visit this link:
RSS Report and Create Blog Guide.
Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins of bizwaremagic.com.
This article may be freely distributed if this resource
box stays attached. Visit http://www.bizwaremagic.com
for more simple solutions to your online marketing tasks.
----
Your favorite thing about having a blog may soon be... Read More
I've been searching the Internet for blogging sites for a... Read More
So who should I use RSS Feeds? How can it... Read More
For some it's just a fun thing to do, while... Read More
I have 'Googlebot' coming to my site every day since... Read More
RSS gets 100% of your content delivered, but it's no... Read More
There's a lot of blogs out there on the Web,... Read More
Not long ago a blog was simply an online diary.... Read More
Contrary to popular opinion, RSS is not only good for... Read More
RSS (real simple syndication) is the new rage in communication.... Read More
Are you getting results from your business blog? Is it... Read More
Web logs, commonly referred to as "blogs," represent all the... Read More
Nothing and a whole lot!That's if Microsoft gets it right.... Read More
Do you need help adding RSS feeds to your blogger?... Read More
Why would you use Blogs instead of a web site... Read More
So you have heard about the blogs or you are... Read More
RSS for the Rest of UsI don't know about you,... Read More
Blogging is a time consuming process. It involves... Read More
Recently, there have been many developments in the RSS arena.... Read More
As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is... Read More
In part 1 and part 2 of this article series... Read More
Blogs like all forms of writing are an art form... Read More
By now, most bloggers have heard the announcement that the... Read More
Really Simple Syndication is exactly what it's name states. A... Read More
You can make it easier for your visitors to subscribe... Read More
Are you new to RSS? If so here is a... Read More
Blogging, the hottest trend in online publishing right now, is... Read More
Choosing a decent RSS reader to browse and read your... Read More
According to Technorati, there are over 15 million blogs as... Read More
I am not one to have New Year's resolutions, but... Read More
While syndication has many applications, we will deal specifically with... Read More
-- What Is A BlogA blog (or web log as... Read More
A blog usually is a web page that contains brief,... Read More
As RSS news syndication gains popularity among users, new ways... Read More
What does RSS stand for?RSS "Really Simple Syndication" was created... Read More
Welcome to part 2 of the article that aims to... Read More
A lot of commotion was made some time ago when... Read More
So you have heard about the blogs or you are... Read More
Blogs were originally only meant to be 'Web Logs', or... Read More
An RSS news feed can be used to communicate with... Read More
RSS gets 100% of your content delivered, but it's no... Read More
Blogs are extremely hot right now. Everyone is starting them,... Read More
RSS opens up a whole new channel of communication between... Read More
3 Tips to improve your RSS marketing You have... Read More
The recent Forrester Research study, which claims that only 2%... Read More
For many people blogging is the way in which they... Read More
I've spent months answering questions from marketers about blogs and... Read More
Long have I been proclaiming the effectiveness of RSS as... Read More
Everybody is talking about blogs. They are everywhere: on the... Read More
Tips for creating a blog.There are no hard and fast... Read More
Unless you've been under a rock for the last year,... Read More
The question "How to make money blogging" sits high on... Read More
You can make it easier for your visitors to subscribe... Read More
Really Simple Syndication is exactly what it's name states. A... Read More
Many of my small business clients ask me: "What is... Read More
A merchant I was talking to the other day asked... Read More
In this article I am going to cover some tools... Read More
Building niche sites is all the rage these days.The basic... Read More
These days, everybody is blogging.How about you?You can incorporate blogging... Read More
You have created a blog and your blog is dedicated... Read More
I know, I know, blog this...blog that. Seems like everyone... Read More
By now, most bloggers have heard the announcement that the... Read More
RSS is a many-in-one marketing & publishing tool, although unfortunatelly... Read More
With spam filters on high alert, delivering a newsletter by... Read More
Although Blog was the most requested word of 2004 as... Read More
Blogs might seem like an old hat at this time... Read More
Blogging, RSS & Feeds |