What's the deal about del.icio.us?

[mulletman13]

I've tried reading up on it at wikipedia, and the actual site, but I still cannot grasp the concept. What is this, how does it work, and why is everybody so excited about it?

It seems like everybody is raving and claiming it as one of the greatest utilities ever created.

What's the deal? What can I do, and why is it so 'revolutionary'?

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[nadyne]

I've tried reading up on it at wikipedia, and the actual site, but I still cannot grasp the concept. What is this, how does it work, and why is everybody so excited about it?

There's a few different ways to use it.

The most basic way to use it is as a simple tool for keeping your bookmarks. This is really good if you use multiple computers, or simply multiple web browsers. Then you can have all of your bookmarks in a single location and don't have to worry about keeping things here or there.

If other people have linked to that same site, you can see those users. Then you can look over what other sites they've bookmarked, which might lead you to websites that you've never found before but are interesting to you.

If you use tags for your bookmarks (if you're not familiar with the concept, you can think of tags as categories), you can use those tags to see what other websites other users have given the same tag to. Again, the idea is that it might lead you to websites that you've never found before but are interesting to you.

If you have a friend who is also a del.icio.us user, you can tag a particular bookmark for them to look at. Then, the next time that they look at their page, they can see the links that others have tagged for them to see if they're interested in them.

I wouldn't call myself the most advanced user of the site, so I'm sure that someone else can add in some other cool things, too.

/nm

 

[jsw]

I haven't really "gotten" it yet either. I use .Mac to sync my bookmarks and don't see much value-add to their solution. I readily admit, though, that I could be missing something big. To me, tags aren't it. But that's just me.

 

[FirePak]

I use it for a bookmarks backup but the tagging is really cool. I was looking for a site i visited a long time ago and all i had to do was put something in that it related too and it was quickly found. Its usefull for times that =)

 

[JackSYi]

Its just a way to access your bookmarks from any computer with a internet connection. I think it is not executed well.

 

[treblah]

The best feature of del.icio.us is its use of RSS feeds.

For example, I subscribe to the tag:Apple and Popular feeds. Basically anyone tags a bookmark with Apple it will show up in NetNewsWire. Found a lot of cool stuff through it.

EDIT: My del.icio.us links for anyone who is interested.

 

[radiantm3]

Its just a way to access your bookmarks from any computer with a internet connection. I think it is not executed well.

It's executed just fine. You either get it or you don't. I think the big thing about Del.icio.us is the RSS support as someone mentioned, as well as the API's available. There's quite a few apps that support del.icio.us these days including Flock (browser) and Endo (RSS reader). There's also apps that let you sync your del.icio.us account with your bookmarks in safari and camino. I have .mac, but I've moved all my bookmarks to del.icio.us because I have more power and control over my bookmarks. My bookmarks aren't tied down to just one application anymore as well.

Del.icio.us and Flickr are 2 really great webapps that are very powerful. If you do use them, give Flock (browser: http://www.flock.com) a try. It's really great.