Social Bookmarking Tools

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How to Search the Web

Learn how to find anything on the Internet with quality Web sites. Become a smarter, savvier searcher. FindingDulcinea also offers foreign language versions of this guide in Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

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What Is the Internet?

Understanding what the Internet is and how it works can enhance your online ... read more »

Web Site Credibility

Finding information on the Web is like being a police detective: Your information is only as good ... read more »

How Search Engines Work

Search engines are online software programs designed to help users locate relevant Web sites, and ... read more »

Choosing a Search Engine

Aside from Google, there are hundreds of alternative search engines ... read more »

The Invisible Web

Many of the Web’s most extensive sites work like libraries. These database sites keep their ... read more »

Web Directories

Web directories are lists of hand-selected sites compiled by Web users and ... read more »

Social Bookmarking Tools

In social bookmarking, a community of users compiles an index by collectively submitting (or bookmarking) their favorite sites, and then tags them (assigns each site a set of keywords) so that they'll turn up when you search. With social bookmarking, you'll learn how popular a Web site is and get only results you know other users find useful or interesting.

Insights for Social Bookmarking Tools

A 2006 article on ReadWriteWeb provides a brief history of social bookmarking and compares features of some of the dominant players of the day. EBizMBA lists the "Top 20 Most Popular Social Bookmarking Websites" as of February 2010.

If you're still scratching your head about what social bookmarking is, watch this YouTube video for an explanation.

Social bookmarking sites occasionally have their own terms for similar features or functions. For example, the act of voting/bookmarking a site on Digg is called "digging." Newsvine calls its recent headlines "seeds," contrasted with the standard "bookmarks" of Diigo and Delicious.

Top Sites for Social Bookmarking Tools

For social bookmarking …

Delicious is widely regarded as a premier destination for social bookmarking. When you search for a keyword, you'll get a list of Web sites that match the term, and you'll be able to determine each site's popularity by looking at how many times it was bookmarked.

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Reddit's aim is to determine “what’s new and popular online,” so it’s a good place to keep up on the latest developments. The links on the homepage point to a selection of odd and interesting sites, stories, photos and more.

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StumbleUpon is a bookmarking site that was purchased by online giant eBay in March 2007. Take a look at the sites currently being tagged on the homepage, and search through the bookmarks of millions of users.

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Diigo doesn't have the user base that makes Delicious such a quality tool but there are more than enough bookmarks on this site to warrant attention in your research. The site has also won several awards for its research capabilities.

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For social tagging news …

Digg is social bookmarking for news. At Digg you'll find a community of dedicated users who submit and rate (or digg) news stories, videos, photos and Web sites. The voting process is designed to filter out uninteresting stories and bring only the best to the forefront.

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Newsvine is a community-driven news and opinion site where stories are submitted and voted on by users to determine their rank and place on the site. The content reflects a broad, balanced selection of stories.

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