What was that site again?

What was that site again...I can't remember the URL...OK, so I found the site, but what was my user name and password??  Sound familiar?  Well these are things that many people encounter on a daily basis when using web 2.0 technologies.  Due to our ever-changing world of technology, and the increase of the use of this technology, it can be hard to keep track of all of the different websites that you want to frequently access.  One might say, "Well, that is easy, all you have to do is bookmark them or save them to your favorites."  This solution is true, however, what happens when you are not on your own personal computer?  How can you access these bookmarks when you are on a different computer?  In the past, this used to be impossible, but now this is no longer impossible.  We owe it all to social bookmarking!  So, you may ask what exactly is social bookmarking? Social bookmarking is a way to access your bookmarks from any computer, no matter where you are at.  One of the most popular social bookmarking web services is Del.icio.us.  Del.icio.us allows you to save, store, and share your most popular and favorite bookmarks to be accessed from any computer, using any browser. What a God-sent!  

When I first found out about Del.icio.us, it was like my prayers had been answered.  It was so hard to remember all of the bookmarks that I frequently accessed.  It was fine at home because I had them all saved, but when I went to work at school, I did not have access to them because I was on a different computer.  Now, because of social bookmarking services, I no longer have to try and remember them all.  I can just simply visit Del.icio.us, and boom, there they all are!  

But, you may ask, why is it called social bookmarking?  Well, that is because I can share my favorite bookmarks with others, and I can add other user's bookmarks to mine as well.  In addition, you can "tag" certain keywords to organize and to make searching for your bookmarks that much easier.  What a great idea!  Talk about taking teacher collaboration to a whole new level!  This coming school year I will be teaching L. Arts.  If myself and the other L. Art's teachers collaborated and signed up for each other's bookmarks, then we would have a plethora of excellent, easily accessible resources that we may not have known ever existed otherwise!  

I not only think that social bookmarking would be great for teachers, but I also think that it could be very beneficial to have your students sign up for it as well.  Just think if you assigned group research projects on different states.  Each group could collaborate and post their bookmarks for all of the group to see and utilize.  In addition, they could access their school bookmarks from their home computers.  They would no longer have to memorize the school's website, or go through several different clicks on the computer to get there.  It would simply involve just one visit to Del.icio.us or any other social bookmarking service. 

What a great concept!  Amazing, this idea started out merely as a blog.  A man by the name of Schachter developed a link in one of his blogs to help him access his bookmarks from any computer.  Well, this idea led to him starting Del.icio.us in Sept. of 2003.  As you can imagine, Amazon.com, Yahoo, and Union Square Ventures got wind of the situation, and decided to get involved.  They invested approximately 2 million dollars in this venture.  By December of 2005, he was bought out for an amount somewhere between 15 and 30 million.  Wow!  Talk about a good day!  Why didn't I think of that?!  

The Clever Sheep:  Social Bookmarking in the Classroom

http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2008/01/social-bookmarking-in-classroom.html

Del.icio.us:  What is it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delicious_(website)

Integrating Technology into the Classroom: Social Bookmarking 101

http://www.wtvi.com/teks/07_08_articles/socialbookmarking101.html

Why include social bookmarking?

http://designing.flexiblelearning.net.au/gallery/activities/social_bookmarking.htm

7 Things You Should Know About Social Bookmarking 

http://www.educause.edu/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutSocia/156804