Social Bookmarking Systems
Pinterest is one of many social bookmarking systems that is being used today, it just happens to be the most popular right now. This can be attributed to a few things making it more appealing to use than others, for example, its design and easy function and the fact that it is visual based. But ultimately Pinterest is very similar to other sites of the same nature, social bookmarking systems can be defined as web programs that allow users to store, categorize, organize, define, and share links to their favourite web sites, blogs, pictures, wikis, videos, and podcasts. This is for the users benefit and enjoyment of collecting and storing this information and with the social aspect to share these links with other users through the technology. There are many social bookmarking systems focused on collecting web sites (Diigo and blinklist), some focused on collecting news (digg.com), and others on pictures (flickr) or even on bibliographical references (citeu). With the help of journal Article Social Bookmarking Tools as Facilitators of Learning and Research Collaborative Processes by Enrique Estelles and Fernando Gonzalez I have summarised that all the above-mentioned social bookmarking system have some common characteristics. All of them are easily accessible from any device with internet connection, meaning they can be viewed and interacted with at any place and time. Users are able to organize their bookmarks in a meaningful way, which is their own personal storage of ideas, interests and useful information. The bookmarking site has the option of creating collections of bookmarks individually or collaboratively. The user is able to describe the contents of the resource, the importance or even make a reminder note for later inspection. There is also a section for users to review the links and make further comments, on their own or other user’s bookmarks. There is a simpler option of expressing interest on a bookmark, a rating e.g. 1-5 or a ‘like’ option, this indicated if users have taken interest or found it useful. Having an inbuilt search function mean that users can find different resources associated to specific categories or key words(Enriqu Estelles, 2010). Social bookmarking is made easy and enjoyable through these different functions, with plenty of opportunities to work in the classroom environment.