Folksonomies - the Newest Viral Marketing Tool

A new consumer sensation is called "tagging" or "folksonomies" (short for folks and taxonomy). Tagging is influential because consumers are creating an organizational structure for online content. Folksonomies not only allows people to store away content under tags, but, even better, share it with others by filing it under a global category that they generated.

Here's how tagging works. Using sites such as Digg.com - a social bookmarking site - and Flickr - a photo sharing site - users are collaborating on arranging online content under certain keywords, or tags.

For example, an individual can post photographs of their iPod on Flickr and file it under the tag "iPod." These images are now not only visible under the individual user's iPod tag but also under the community iPod tag that shows all images users are creating and filing under the keyword. Right now Flickr has more than 137,000 photos that are labeled "iPod."

Tagging is alluring because it's a natural complement to searching. Type the word "blogs" into Google and it can't determine if you are searching for information about how to create a blog, how to read blogs, or just what. Large and small sites alike are already getting on to the folksonomy train. They are rolling out tag-like formulations to help users more easily find content that is fitting to them.

Although tags are far from being perfect, internet marketers should be using them to keep a finger on the pulse of the internet community. Begin subscribing to RSS feeds, and monitor how users are tagging information related to your product, service, company or space.

There are focus groups that are readily available for free. Folksonomy sites can be used to unleash viral marketing campaigns with a caveat. Marketers should be transparent in who they are, why they are posting the link or photo and avoid spamming the services.