Tagging content

January, 2001

Tags are Web page and/or database descriptors -- e.g. title, author, language, date, subject -- that are assigned to documents. One of their main purposes is to help people find information. Tags can be assigned to document descriptions (e.g. card catalog cards in a library) or they can be assigned to the documents themselves or both.

Tags can be assigned by document authors, information professionals, editorial assistants, or even by computer programs. Artificial intelligence programs are the fastest and easiest -- but not always the most accurate -- method of tagging. Information professionals can produce highly accurate and effective tags that take into account all the nuances of language and subject matter -- but there are a limited supply of people with these skills.

In theory, authors are the logical people to assign tags -- but they often lack the time, skills, and perspective to do a good job. For training opportunities, see Courses.

In this article, Society members comment on their experiences with the tagging process.

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