Discover the Magic of Social Tagging on Goodreads

If you’re a book lover like me, chances are you’ve heard of Goodreads. This platform isn’t just for finding book recommendations and reading reviews—it’s also a place where readers can engage in a system of social tagging. What makes this feature of Goodreads so special? Let’s find out!

What’s the Deal with Social Tagging?

Social tagging is about letting users label content with keywords or phrases that they think best describe it. On Goodreads, this means you can tag your favorite books with terms like "mystery," "romance," "epic fantasy," or even more specific tags like "heart-wrenching" or "plot twist." It’s a way of categorizing books that are meaningful to each user.

Goodreads gives everyone three shelves to start with: Want to Read, Currently Reading, and Read. You can create as many shelves as you want from there using whatever categories you want. You don’t have to stick with genres; you can be as creative as you want! Below is a screenshot of some of my shelves, so you can get an idea of how I have chosen to organize my Goodreads shelves.

 

Folksonomy: The Collective Brainpower of Readers

When all these individual tags come together, they create what’s known as a folksonomy. Unlike a taxonomy (which is put together by experts), a folksonomy is built by the users themselves. Goodreads, and the broader online book-lover community, has developed its own folksonomy. There’s TBR, or to be read, and DNF, or Did Not Finish, among others.

Why Is This So Great?

1. Personalization: Social tagging makes finding books that match your interests easy. Love science fiction with strong female leads? Search those tags, and voilà—you have a list of books curated by fellow readers who share your tastes.

2. Community Connection: instead of relying on literary critics and other experts for book recommendations and reviews, readers can now rely on and interact with other readers to find their next read.

4. Ever-Evolving System: Unlike fixed categories, folksonomies constantly change. As new books are released and reading trends shift, the tags adapt, keeping the system fresh and relevant.

A Few Hiccups

Of course, no system is perfect. For example, the want-to-read shelf on Goodreads is sometimes called the TBR or To Be Read; these are all iterations of the same sentiment. Also, what one person considers "thrilling," another might find "boring." But this flexibility also makes Goodreads's folksonomy interesting, reflecting a vibrant, diverse reading community.

Wrapping It Up

The social tagging and folksonomy of Goodreads are like a magic trick for book discovery. They turn a massive, potentially overwhelming catalog of books into a personalized, engaging, and ever-changing treasure trove. So, pay attention to those tags next time you’re on Goodreads—they might lead you to your next great read!