Category: Tags

Sunday, 19 February 2006

EdgeIO – Listing First Impressions

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on EdgeIO – Listing First Impressions

I received the preview password to EdgeIO.com today, Mike Arrington‘s new project to aggregate all blog posts using the tag 'listing' at a single site, all organized and such as you’d expect from a classifieds site.

Since I’m trying to sell a house and blogging about it, seemed like a perfect opportunity to test it out.

It’s a slick system. I added ‘listing’ to my WordPress categories, flagged the post with it and a handful of other categories, hit Publish in WordPress, and EdgeIO sucked them right in.

After that, I claimed the post and added a handful more tags and the price. I had more luck with the hidden span claim method than the xml-rpc method.

The most interesting bit – despite having the ZIP Code and address throughout the post, EdgeIO didn’t know the location, until I set my location in my profile. Then like magic it was updated. Good thing my current location and the location of the house is the same.

If you have a preview password, you can check out the EdgeIO listing for the house.

The idea that work I’m doing already (writing to my blogs) can be leveraged in a useful way is very powerful. I can see the same type of aggregating-the-edges system for reviews (music, movie, product).

There’s an undercurrent of concern EdgeIO highlights – multiple silos of tag clouds. The same word in Flickr, Technorati, Del.icio.us, Upcoming.org, 43Things, et. al, bring up very different types of information.

EdgeIO has essentially declared ‘listing’ to have a specific, universal meaning (“something for sale”). If another, existing tag cloud agreed – hell – if all of them agreed on the same meaning, EdgeIO turns invisible. Either becoming the enabling technology behind all the other sites (as NavTech is to mapping) or disappearing altogether.

Tuesday, 15 November 2005

Tag It garrickvanburen for My Attention

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on Tag It garrickvanburen for My Attention

Erik Haugo has started a for:garrickvanburen tag over at del.icio.us for things he thinks I’ll be interested in.

Thanks Erik.

If you’re reading this right now, feel free to use that tag for the same purpose. I’m also watching garrickvanburen on Flickr and Technorati. Similarily, if there’s a podcast you think I’d enjoy – you can pop it in my Backlog station @ gigadial.

Fellow Minnesotan – jwynia just publicized the for:jwynia tag

Wednesday, 31 August 2005

Using Search Engines and Tags to Get A Specific Someone’s Attention

by Garrick van Buren 1 Comment on Using Search Engines and Tags to Get A Specific Someone’s Attention

Scoble pointed out this Google search for Susan Dumais, look at the ad in the right-hand column. It’s less of an ad and more of a unique recruiting method. I hope this is the future of Google Ads – very specific messages targeted to a single individual.

This reminds me of the how venture capitalist Fred Wilson is using del.icio.us tags.

“He also has created a specific del.icio.us tag (“fred’spodcast”) that allows you to tag MP3s you think Fred will like and those MP3s will automatically download to his iPod courtesy of a del.icio.us RSS feed…..and created the tag “fred’selevatorpitch” for anyone who cares to push a podcast elevator pitch his way”

It’s how Feedburner got Fred’s attention.

This is method is an extension of Doc Searls’ statement on the evolving RSS subscription behavior:

“Mostly I subscribe to searches, and I keep changing those.”

I’m subscribed to Technorati searches for myself, this blog, all the software I develop, and a few keywords (like “attention.xml”). I know mentioning one of those things in a blog post is the easiest way to get me to pay attention to what you have to say.

Welcome to the direct-est of direct marketing.