Social is the current trend on the internet. Social media, social networking, and social bookmarking are practically in the air these days. While most people have encountered the big three social sites, facebook, youtube, and twitter, they may be confused about the idea of bookmarking.
Social bookmarks are simply webpages being shared, usually between friends, but also between complete strangers. It is easiest to understand when thought of in terms of the bookmarks people keep in their web browsers. These are URLs that they plan to visit again and again, either for the information they contain or because they are entertaining in some way or other. Historically the best way to share cool URLs with others was to send them via email or in a instant message. Later, people began sharing bookmarks through their blogs and “favorite pages” of their personal websites. Then a few companies decided to create social bookmarking sites, to make sharing even easier.
To use these sites, a web user simply register a user name and begins adding bookmarks. No, really, it’s that easy. Most sites don’t require an email address or anything to join and they have tools available for uploading bookmarks directly from existing web browsers. Sites usually allow users to set sharing protocols, to determine whether bookmarks are for private use, shared amongst friends, or available to the entire community. Users also rate or vote on bookmarks so that anyone looking for good sites will know which ones are more popular with others.
The best part of these bookmarking sites is that the bookmarks are stored independent of a home or work computer. Users can access their bookmarks on any computer, some smartphones, and even devices like the iPad.
