Social Bookmarking is a way for internet users to save, or bookmark, a website, article, image, or video to an online service. When you Google “social bookmarking”, the second result, after the Wikipedia definition of social bookmarking, is Delicious, the leading online bookmark service. This is by far my favorite service to use in terms of organizing online bookmarks, and the one that this article will be based upon. So if you do not already have an account with Delicious, take a few moments to register, and then let’s begin.
The quickest way to add a bookmark to your Delicious account is to install the Delicious Toolbar for Firefox (always my recommended browser) or Internet Explorer (if you insist). Once installed, all you have to do to save a page that you are currently viewing to Delicious is to click on the “tag” button. Or, in Firefox, simply right-click and use the Bookmark in Delicious option.
If you prefer not to use plugins, or are on another browser such as Safari, Opera, or Google Chrome, then you can use the bookmarklets instead. Just drag the browser specific Bookmark on Delicious and My Delicious links onto your link toolbar. Once added, all you have to do is click on the Bookmark in Delicious link while on the page you want to save.
If, worst case scenario, you are on a browser with no way to add bookmarks or plugins, you can lookout for the Delicious icon (
) on sites you are viewing. Or you can go directly your Delicious homepage, and under the search box, click on the Save a new bookmark link.
When saving a bookmark to Delicious, be sure to include tags, or reference words, you would like to organize your bookmark with. For example, you could Bookmark this article on Delicious, and add the following tags: delicious howto socialbookmarking socialbookmark tutorials web2.0
Also, keep in mind that anything you bookmark is public unless you check the “Do Not Share” box when saving your link. See Delicious’ site for more about Delicious bookmark privacy.
Now that you are all setup and know what to look for, here are some of the reasons everyone should use social bookmarking and Delicious.
This is by far the biggest benefit to social bookmarking in general. Most internet users have several machines that they regularly surf the net on between home, work, school, public libraries, etc. Assuming we are not talking about a link to your financial accounts, why save a link to your local browser that you can only access when you are on one specific PC? Personally, in one day, I could use a max of 6 different machines. Therefore, social bookmarking is the best way for me to access everything I save.
There are a myriad of different reasons that you would want to save bookmarks to share with others. If you are going to be sharing your bookmarks with different people in your life (friends, coworkers, classmates, etc.), you could do it in two ways.
You could create separate Delicious accounts, and give your account link to the applicable people, and they could view all the links you have saved.
If you are ok with anyone being able to view all of your bookmarks, you can just create subject or group specific tags (work, forwork, forcoworkers, forDebbie, business, marketing, blogging, etc.) and then send the url to bookmarks under your account with that tag. So if I wanted to share my bookmarks that I tagged about Twitter, I would send you this – http://delicious.com/kikolani/twitter.
Now, you can share…
- The latest marketing news with your advertising team
- Security news with your IT department at work
- Health tips for certain illnesses with patients or members of a support group
- Book review articles with your book club
- Websites you find while researching an assignment with your classmates
- Amazing recipes with all the professional and at home chefs that you know
Do you ever come across articles about things that you would like to do one day, for example, take a trip somewhere? Why not save them, with specific tags such as: daytrip hiking ghosttown weekendtrip amusementpark beach international. Then the next time you have some time, you have a list of ideas ready to go for specific time lengths and destinations.
As a blogger, I come across useful articles, tips and tricks on a daily basis. Some of them I save because they are great articles that I have benefited from and want to share with other bloggers. There are also articles that I find that I want to apply to my site as soon as I can. I have started tagging these articles, along with pages I can use as examples, with the usual descriptive keywords, but also with actionsomething. So now, when I look at my tag list, I can see all of the articles that I want to take action with in terms of improving my site.
There are times when we all need a little inspiration. Whenever you come across something that inspires you, save it to your bookmarks. Tag well-designed websites as webinspiration, blog themes as themeinspiration, companies with great logos as logoinspiration, photos of beautifully decorated bedrooms as interiordesigninspiration or homeinspiration.
What better way to remember all of the cool things you find that you would love to have, but cannot buy right away, than to save it in a wishlist. Sure, you can create wishlists on Amazon and a variety of other sites, but what if you want everything in one place, or things from other online retailers without wishlists or registries? Just tag pages with things you want as wishlist. Sites, such as Crate and Barrel, promote doing this with a Bookmark and Share link for all the items on their site.
Aside from being able to share your complete wishlist with friends & family, you can also use this as a “do I really need it” item saver. I like to bookmark items that I don’t necessarily need, but just want at the time I find them. Then I wait for a certain length of time. If I’m still salivating at the thought of buying it, I know just where to find it. If I forget about it, then it wasn’t necessary, and I just saved money on an impulsive buy.
As mentioned in my comprehensive guide to using RSS, you can subscribe to Delicious feeds. So if you have a favorite user that you want to keep track of their bookmarking, you can go to that user’s page and at the bottom, subscribe using the “RSS Feed for these Bookmarks” link. You can narrow this down even further, and select a tag on that user’s page, then subscribe to anything the user bookmarks with that particular tag.
If you want to see the latest bookmarks on sites with a specific tag, it is almost the same process. Do a search for the subject you are interested in, and then click on “See all bookmarks tagged” link at the top left of the search results. On that page, you can again go down to the bottom and subscribe to any items with that particular tag.
On the other hand, if you would prefer to keep your subscriptions inside Delicious, you can go to the subscriptions page and add tags, or tags by specific users, and keep subscribed to bookmarks with the specific tag within Delicious.
If you find fellow users who are interested in the same things, you can add them to your network. When you are on a user’s page, under the search box at the top right, click “Add to Network”. Now, whenever you bookmark something that you would like to share with them, you will see them listed either under Network Tags as for:username, or under the People tab, depending on whether you are using the browser plugins or the chicklets. When people in your network share links with you, you will see a new message in your inbox, linked at the top right above the search box.
I hope that I have given everyone, from beginners to regular social bookmarkers a new use for social bookmarking. If I left any good uses out, or you would like to add a recommendation for another social bookmark network, please leave your suggestion in the comments below. And have fun bookmarking!
This is also my assignment for Day 2 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
This post brought to you by Kristi Hines
Kristi Hines is creator of Kikolani which focuses on blogging tips and social networking. Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Kristi has written 310 awesome article(s) for Kikolani.
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{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! Love your blog. Learning a lot from you. You rock!
I never understood declicious when I tried it 2 years ago. Maybe I should simply look into it again, seems like I am missing out some opportunities here.
I always include delicious when I do bookmarking.
Thanks for the additional info!
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http://www.jsws.com.au/web-design
Wow, you gave all these tips, and the one I use Delicious for that you didn’t mention, though I never knew about any of the other things you brought up here, is to bookmark some of my posts there, the ones I think others really might want to read. Delicious has helped my readership, as I’ve mentioned on my blog, and it’s pretty much the main one I worry about. Course, now I’m going to have to consider all these other things you came up with.
Mitchs last blog post..An SEO Project I’m Undertaking
Kristi,
Great read as always. I used Delicious a while ago, but found that it really is a great service to store bookmarks and not really for driving traffic.
Frank Js last blog post..Beware of HotBar Adware Toolbar
Great posting, your step by step guide is very good indeed. You invited suggestions to other networks and I would like to introduce you to Keeno.net, it is a new network of niche social bookmark sites. We have launched http://www.KeeCricket.com, http://www.KeeCars.net, http://KeeGolf.net, all of which are fairly obviously aimed and http://www.Keemedia.net which is for the PR Professional and PR blogger to interact.
There is no doubting that the broad based bookmark sites are doing a terrific job, but we think the niche sites could well have their place as well.
Kikolani:
Thanks for this post. Up to this point, I hadn’t really considered Del.icio.us before. Fact is, I couldn’t really see the need to utilize a bookmarking service, since I only use a laptop and take that pretty much anywhere. With that being said, is there a way of making some bookmarks private so that they can only be seen by the user? Thanks again for the information!
Wonderful list. I’ve fallen in love with Delicious now that I’ve figured out how to fit it in with my regular routine. I never lose track of any sites I want to remember now.
I’ll help you with some Day 3 love.
Wayne Johns last blog post..50 Important Web Development Guidelines
I must confess to not using Delicious as much as I probably should. Thanks for the informative nudge.
Jonathan – Advanced Life Skillss last blog post..When Your Inner Voice Speaks Do You Listen?
@Peter: Thanks! I’m always happy to hear that my articles are informative.
@Smashill: I didn’t think much of it when I first tried it either, but once I figured out how to organize things, it has helped out immensely.
@John: You’re welcome.
@Mitch: I guess when I was writing this, I was thinking less from a promotion perspective, and more from a useful one, but that is a very good point. Delicious bookmarks are counted highly in terms of links to your own articles. I don’t think I’ve ever bookmarked my own, but I’ll give it a shot and see how it makes a difference. Thanks for contributing!
@Frank: I haven’t seen much traffic from Delicious either, but I think it is more for reputation. Some sites offer the total number of bookmarks they have on Delicious as a perk to prove their articles are popular.
@Graham: Niche bookmarking sites would be good for those covering those topics. Then people looking for bookmarking only in those particular areas would have a dedicated place to go. Thanks for the suggestions.
@Ciphun: Yes, there is a privacy option. Whenever you save a bookmark, there is a checkbox that says “Do Not Share” if you want to make it a private bookmark.
@Wayne: I have Delicious plugins on all my browsers for the same reason… so I never lose something interesting again. And thanks for the Day 3 help!
@Jonathan: You’re welcome.
Kristi, thanks for the info! I haven’t used Delicious yet but it sounds, uh, delicious. I think this will be very helpful for me!
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I always include delicious when i do bookmarking and I don’t realize that I can do a lot of things from delicious. I really appreciate your post. Thanks for the learning!
Hi Kristi, I have several tool bars on my browser and Delicious is one of them but I haven’t been using it as much as I should. I like the way you add your action keyword to help organize the bookmarks. Great idea.
Brian D. Hawkinss last blog post..Use eBay Pulse For Product Ideas
Yes, cause Social site. My site get many traffic
Nice breakdown. I use it a bit, but not enough. Plan to take another look at it with these suggestions in mind. I particularly like the organizational aspects of delicious. If you read a lot of blogs, it’s good to have a place for your favorite posts.
Gennaros last blog post..Travel Alerts Hurt Mexico
Another great post!
I do use more bookmarks now that I had in years. I am always on the lookout for great post that I think others will want to read. That makes me look smart. Ok, it makes me look like I know where the smart people post. LOL!
Delicious is not one that I use allot but, will be sure to pop it a few more times.
I do use an automated bookmarking tool so, I can just load in the post (tags,descriptions…) all at once and let it do it’s thing. Yes, I have become lazy. LOL!
Before I used the automated tool, I used the FireFox add on Sharaholic. This way I did not need 10 bookmarking toolbars.
Bookmarks are normally great for links and hits from other members. So reward those good post by sharing them with others!
Sheryl Lochs last blog post..Using Twitter to Find Target Customers
@Nutuba: They should have a slogan that once you try Delicious, everything else is bland.
@Rowenalee: You’re welcome. The more I use it, the more ideas I get on how to use it even better.
@Brian: The action keyword I thought of just recently, because I kept thinking of past articles and wanting to use them, but not remember exactly where I bookmarked them. So now I can have them in my action plan as a constant reminder.
@Rian: Yes, it does bring lots of traffic too!
@Gennaro: Definitely. Favorite posts and articles from other, non-blog sites as well.
@Sheryl: I recently downloaded Sharaholic, but still haven’t signed up for all of the sites yet. Hopefully, they will make a difference in traffic. And yes, adding a bookmark to Delicious or the other major networks is a great way to say that article is getting a definitely thumbs up from me.
Yes, Delicious is to blame for re-sparking that interests in blogging. Anyhow, like you noted: keep up with your bookmarks anywhere you go, and what a neat way to learn about how others online value because of its usefulness and so forth. It’s an organized tool for searching as well.
-Mig
Miguel Wickerts last blog post..Power of Less: Day 6 & 7
A wealth of information you are! This has become my main library of learning for blogs and social
media.
Thanks, Tim
@Miguel: Yes, definitely a good research tool to see not only what is popular, but what readers want to reference again and again, and share with others.
@Tim: I’m glad to hear I provide lots of useful information.
you know, I really like how you make everything so simple. It makes things quite a bit more enjoyable for me. I like searching delicious as I would a search engine – maybe most people do that – I have found some interesting websites that way.
DS Trouts last blog post..The Pheasant Tail Nymph
Still puzzled. I understand how I can bookmark to delicious. I can’t figure out how to encourage my readers to bookmark my blog messages to delicious, if they are so inclined. Any tips?
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Hi Kristi – You sent me a friend request on diigo. I use diigo and delicious. The main reason I use both is so I have a backup. With diigo I can send my bookmarks to both places. Since I have over 3,000 bookmarks, which really need to be cleaned up, I would hate to lose them all.
I only use browser bookmarks for things like my bank and library.
Great post, I have just submit it to my Delicious, I have start using it since 1 year back or so!
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@DS Trout: Thanks. I think about the range of readers that come to my site, from techie newbies to advanced users, and I try to make each article give a little something to both. Because even the advanced users may miss out on some basic things, and newbies might benefit from something more advanced.
@William: The best way I see it work is when you encourage your readers at the end of posts with a Save to Delicious link or icon. I’m not sure if you can add it into the template for Blogger sites. Mine is a plugin that just adds the social bookmarking icons at the end of every post. I’m not sure if Blogger offers some kind of option to add that into your template somewhere in the settings.
@Kim: I never thought about backing up my bookmarks… good idea!
@Hesham: Thanks! I am glad you found this article helpful!
I’ve always been using delicious, but somehow sometime we should keep some info to ourselves so that spammers won’t take advantage of these things. Thanks! and good luck!
Lesters last blog post..Masters Seminar In Tampa..
thanks for sharing this, im using 3, digg, Delicious, and SU
Speaker Wirelesss last blog post..Wireless Outdoor Speakers
One thing I find it really useful for is that I am always forgetting to backup my bookmarks when I reinstall Linux on the computer. But with Delicious they are always there
Davids last blog post..SEO Help
Hi Kristi, I was directed here from the 31DBBB forum, great to see you’ve compiled such great reasons to use Delicious since I’m still very new to it. I just might give it a try, although now I’m only starting to digg articles and such, but would bear in mind that Delicious is one must-try as well.
@wchingya
Social Media/Blogging
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@Lester: I think that, with as many networks as I belong to, spammers have quite a lot of info to get me with already. But Gmail has a tough spam filter, so I’m ready for them!
@Speaker Wireless: I’m on all three as well. I kind of look at Digg and Stumble as good promotion tools, but Delicious as the one I use for all the articles I want to reference again and again personally.
@David: So long as they don’t have a crisis like Magnolia (which I doubt, since they are much larger), everything should be safe indeed. But as Kim mentioned above, she bookmarks to two places, in case, for backup.
@Ching: Glad to see more people involved in 31DBBB. Delicious is definitely a great one for personal usage.
you pretty much had a lot of great ideas but i think that diigo is a better website or service than delicious because i feel like delicious is now struggling to compete with the other major networks
almirs last blog post..Vital Tips That Can Aid Any Blogger
It is a grate tool to retrieve your favorite site or url.
Hi Kikolani. I’ve dabbled with Delicious, but your tips 3 & 4 inspire me to try it as a productivity tool.
One of my client’s had a blog post hit the top spot on Delicious frontpage last Sunday so now I’m curious to learn more. Thanks for the info.
@Almir: I’m just now trying Diigo out, so maybe in the future, I will change my mind. I guess I have so much on Deliciuos now, I’d hate to have to start over somewhere now, unless those links are importable?
@Nutrition: Yes indeed.
@Sterling: I hope that works out well for you… you’ll have to stop by and let us know.
Thank you Kristi. I found you by doing a search about this topic. Very helpful!
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Followed your directions and everything worked very nicely. Now I have to find time to organize everything. Great post. I am looking forward to reading your opinion about the others that are mentioned and will see what you suggest I try next.
Although i use delicious oftenly, but i never know it is so useful. Thanks for the tips!
Dickys last blog post..10 Wordpress Plugins That Will Increase Your Search Engine Ranking
Nice post but most important point is this build a strong network in delicious like social bookmarking sites, like as if you have strong network in stumble upon you got more referral traffic!!!
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Hey Kristi,
I wasn’t aware that you could make so much use of delicious. Never paid much attention to it; didn’t know that you could even network. Thanks a lot for this awesome post! Your blog simply rocks.
RWH´s last blog ..Top 3 Reasons Why You Need a Reliable Web Host
Finally, something comprehensive that covers all the bases. I would love it if you could talk more about the networking aspect or if you could point me to another post of yours that does. This was extremely helpful though so thank you!
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A repository of knowledge is ultimately as big and as diverse as its inputs allows it to be. That is why I urge people to use social bookmarking services like delicious and stumbleupon. It makes the experience bigger for everybody.
I somehow find people promoting more on Stumble Upon and Digg rather than on Delicious. Anyways, now when I know the pros, I will surely start promoting my articles on Delicious. Thanks for this Article!
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