Search vs. Sort
Alright, this is something I’ve been thinking about for awhile. I think it might have been a post by Tim Bray that got me thinking about this, but I can’t seem to find that posting now.
I’ve noticed my computing habits are changing and coming more inline with my own tendencies. First, a confession… I still bookmark webpages. I know, accorind to O’Reilly, its better to just use Google to find it later. The problem is, I’m don’t always remember what it is that wanted to remember. That makes these webpages, as Rumsfeld would say, unknowable unknowns.
Ok, so I still want to collect links, but having a hierarchical organization just doesn’t work. For example, where would The Scalable Webmail HOWTO belong? It could fit under email, web development or php, just to name few. Actually, it belongs under all of them, but its not useful to have multiple copies of a bookmark. Del.icio.us to the rescue. For those not familiar with del.icio.us, it is a “social bookmarks service.” That means you can post your bookmarks to the site and share them with others. For example, you can see mine here. My favorite feature? Tagging. Forget organizing into folders, just tag links.
This leads me back to my main point. My tendency in off-line life is to be unorganized with my stuff. I generally don’t care where I put something, just so long as I can find it. There is no “right place” for things in my mind, only places where I can find things. My online life is becoming more like that. As search becomes better (I can’t wait for Spotlight in Tiger), electronic organization becomes less important. As long as I can still find things, who cares where they are.
