Tags let you assign keywords to your blog entries that are meaningful to you. Tags provide a useful way to categorize your blog entries as well as search for blog entries of interest to you. Use the tag cloud to view all tags assigned to blog entries in the list, to determine the popularity of a tag, and to access blog entries associated with a tag.
When you view a tag cloud, note that tags are presented in various
sizes and colors. The most popular tags are darker and larger than other tags.
The slider controls whether all tags display in the cloud or just more frequently
used tags. Note that tags are single words, or multiple words connected with
hyphens or underscores – for example, social-bookmarking, status_reports,
and payroll would all be valid tags.
The tag cloud displays on the left, under the heading All
Blog Tags.
When you are ready to start assigning tags, review these useful
tagging strategies:
- Make your tags work for you – Create or choose tags that are meaningful to you. Also consider creating tags that other users might find meaningful. When you add a tag, look at any matching tags that are displayed to see how other users are tagging information. Type a tag into the search field to see other information that shares the same tags.
- Assign multiple tags – You can assign as many tags as you want to provide multiple ways to find the information. Look at the tag cloud to see which tags are popular and consider whether they also apply to your information.
- Keep your tags simple – Although you can use any term as a tag, try to avoid using compound tags. For example, instead of using the tag summer_project, use summer and project instead. That way the item will appear in the search results for either tag.
- Create meaningful categories – When you create or select a tag, consider the context and choose words that will help you remember that context. You can use tags to organize information into one or more categories, so that you have multiple ways to find the information again.
- Use tags consistently – Avoid assigning variations of the same tag to other entries. For example, if you assign the tag laptops to an entry about portable computers, do not create similar tags, such as laptop, lap-top, or notebooks. When you type a new tag, existing tags that match are displayed in the field. Select an existing tag if it is applicable.