Making Use of Social Bookmarking Services

One of the better aspects of the social media era is the explosion of social bookmarking sites around the web. Bookmarking is a way for web surfers to store, organize and manage their favorite webpages. Social bookmarking takes this to the next level, allowing members of a social bookmarking service to share their bookmarks with others and to search the constantly growing database of links saved by other members.

Once someone registers with a bookmarking site, they are given the opportunity to import their existing bookmarks from their favorite web browser. They can then organize the bookmarks into folders or lists for easier retrieval. Each bookmark is usually tagged with a keyword or phrase that describes the subject matter. Most sites allow each bookmark to have multiple tags, to ensure it is found for all relevant terms.

Bookmark sites usually allow their members to set sharing preferences and tag other users as “friends” who might be given access to bookmarks that aren’t shared with the general public. They may also offer the option of directly sending specific bookmarks to friends rather than waiting for the friends to find them in searches.

Overall, the ability to share, organize, and search bookmarks that have already been vetted by other members make social bookmarking sites an invaluable resource for all types of internet users.