Reading Lister, M. … [et al.], (2009) tagging (‘folksonomy’). I like the sound of 'folksonomy' #folksonomy #mscedc

— Nigel Painting (@nigelchpainting) February 8, 2017

Lister defines ‘folksonomy’ as  ‘a people-led practice of knowledge classification in contradistinction to the traditional expert led
taxonomy of knowledge.’    In effect people are acting as human algorithms, such that the ‘patterns of knowledge association and linkage are permanently re-forming on the basis of users’ tagging activities.

From an educational perspective this has allowed entities such as Wikipedia to grow and become what Lister refers to as a ‘trustworthy enough’ source.  In my own professional practice learner forums offer a similar opportunity, although I’m keen to explore the wiki format as a cleaner and more reliable way of facilitating this sort of knowledge sharing.

References

Lister, M. … [et al.], (2009) “Chapter 3. Networks, users and economics” from Martin Lister … [et al.], New media: a critical introduction pp.163-236, London: Routledge