[TagCommons-WG] Pragmatic implementation of cross-application tag aggregators

[Steven G. Harms]

Greetings all,

I've been thinking about tagging in the enterprise.  This is no mere academic
feat, I'm trying to think about how to apply this within my enterprise.  Based
on the current latest blog post ( 3/2/2007 ), I'd say I'm approaching the
question from a pragmatic point-of-view.

Tagging, by in large, seems to be a tool whereby an enterprising enterprise
software maker can add a feature to a flagship groupware product and add a
"New:  With tagging!" sticker and try to make that a compelling implementation
case.  Solutions of this variety would be the Microsoft amalgamation (
Sharepoint + AD + Exchange ) or Lotus' Notes-based offering.

Alternatively, I've seen tagging solutions implemented on an app-by-app basis.
Typically these products seem to be that a start up produces a "vertical"
solution ( photo organizing, forums, blogging engine ) and then says adds the
"New: With tagging!".

Yet what I want, and I think a great many people on the list would want, would
be:

  1.  To have the cross-vertical functionality

      THAT IS:  Tags reside in a central source.  When going to the "enter
      tags here" interface, the central source is prefetched so that tags are
      effectively suggested with bias to what has been entered before (
      discouraging folksonomic atom divergence ).  Similarly, new entries are
      added to the central repository.

  2.  Interface for tag addition is vendor neutral. 

      THAT IS:  I am not locked into an Enterprise software suite just to get
      centralized tagging.

  3.  A tag is not an atomic object, it is a phrase with associated metadata
      that should be enumerated by a standards-attentive body for maximal
      cross-functional capability.

Here's a naive set of use cases.

Use Case 1:  View

User goes to a vertical ( say, ``forums'' ) and reads a post.  Post at the
bottom has a series of tags.  These tags are common to a single tag
repository.  


Use Case 2:  Tag Exploration

User goes to a vertical ( say, ``forums'' ) and reads a post.  Post at the
bottom has a series of tags.  These tags are common to a single tag
repository.   She notices the 'tagging' tag and clicks on it.  This transfers
her back to the tagging application which shows other instances where
'tagging' was applied to a resource.


Use Case 3:  Tag Exploration

User goes to a vertical ( say, ``forums'' ) and creates a post.  User reaches
the tagging input interface ( say, ``textbox'' ) and keys the letters 'zeb', the
interface autosuggests 'zebra'.

Use Case 4:  Web Developer

Web developer writes a new UI interface for another application that desires
to be integrated into the common tagging solution.  The developer finds a common
template which can be used to interface with the tag repository.  The
developer pasts the HTML partial and Javascript reference and thus makes the
page 'tag-savvy'.

These are, admittedly, naive first stabs at the problem.

Questions:

1.  Are there non-groupware locked centralized tagging solutions

2. Are my use cases passe, andicative of poor understanding of the problem?

3.  Has anyone done a real-world implementation of cross-vertical tagging that
didn't involve an amalgamated groupware solution?

4.  Where's the WG's thinking on this, at present?

I hope we can make some progress on this together.  

Best,

Steven Harms