Learn how to train your tags

Hello,

We just added (as of 2/11/08) tag training to GroupSwim.   This gives community and group owners and managers the ability to add preferred tags at a site level and a group level.  It also allows you to add definitions to tags.  For example, you can say a tag is an example of something else.  In this case, Tivo is an example of DVR (Digital Video Recorder).  If our semantic engine sees the word Tivo, it will immediate suggest Tivo and DVR as suggested tags.  Adding tags and definitions will signficantly enhance the value of your community and the knowledge it develops.  Tag training is for site and group owners and managers only.

1. The first thing to do is go into the site settings to start training.  You do that by clicking on Site Settings:

2. Next, click on tag training:

3. Next, start adding preferred tags.  As you add a tag, a pop-up box will appear asking you for more information.  You can add information for a tag including its definition, if it is a type of something else, or if it is synonym of another word:

4. This is important: click on save changes after you've entered your tags and definitions:

5. The process I just describes is for training tags at the site level.  You can also do tag training at the group level if your groups are very discrete and warrant their own tags.  First, click into the group where you want to train and click on Group Settings:

6. The screens and process that follow are identical to the site process, but only apply to the group.

7. You can also train tags directly from the tag navigation proces.  First, click on a tag in any of the tag clounds, a tag that is already in a post, etc.  Here is an example of clicking on the tag "Apple" from the site tag cloud:

8. You will now see two new actions available on the tag navigation page.  The first is the ability to make a tag preferred with a single click.  The second is to add a definition to the tag.  Again, this permission only applies to owners and managers:

We are very excited about this new functionality.  With a little work from you and your managers, you should see the quality of the automatic tagging increase significantly.  Tag quality will greatly help you categorize information to find it in the future and to identify related content.  Let us know what you think.

Jason (and the GroupSwim Team)