An Exploratory Study of Users and Tags on Social Bookmarking Websites

This study analyzed the characteristics of experienced users’bookmarks and tags on social bookmarking websites. Clusteringanalysis of the test subjects was also conducted to understand therelations between user type and tag selection behavior. The researchmethods used in this study include content analysis, Q method, andinterview. The results show that bookmarks collected by each subjectwere diverse. A high percentage of bookmarks were tagged, althoughthe average number of tags was not high. Popular tags had higherusage. Chinese was the major language used in tagging, while Englishwas also common. In addition to topical tags which constitute themajority of the tags, functional tags also prevailed. The latter servedpurposes of re-accessing, storing, identifying, distinguishing, sorting,expressing feelings, and sharing. Through an analysis of the diversefactors affecting the test subjects and their tagging orientations, thestudy categorized four social types of users; it further discussed thecharacteristics of sociality and the implications for related systemsapplications.