For sometime there were also "machine tags", basically a triple tag invented (I think) at Flickr[0]. It was an interesting concept, you could automate relationships between different contexts, for example between Flickr and Last.fm[1].
I used it for a while, then I always wondered why nothing similar has ever emerged, maybe because after the first wave of "social sharing" excitement of web 2.0, every walled garden has basically double locked their gates. And this is maybe what happened to tagging in general.
The concept of machine tags is the core premise of RDF. RDF is essentially the standardized way of describing relationships in a structured way (in XML). In fact, an early version of RSS was based on RDF (RSS 0.9 stood for "RDF site summary).
One of the downsides is that it's pretty hard for "average" folks to produce these feeds. There's a steep learning curve for modeling the relationships. Getting other sites to agree on a format, use it, and maintain it without breaking compatibility was hard.
I’m not sure I’m following, how is the machine tag format setting up automatic relationships and contexts? How is it helpful and how might you see it being effective today?
Edit: only saw the first link. Seems second link breaks it down but can’t review it yet. Got pulled away. Thanks!
I used it for a while, then I always wondered why nothing similar has ever emerged, maybe because after the first wave of "social sharing" excitement of web 2.0, every walled garden has basically double locked their gates. And this is maybe what happened to tagging in general.
[0]: http://tagaholic.me/2009/03/26/what-are-machine-tags.html
[1]: https://code.flickr.net/2008/08/28/machine-tags-lastfm-and-r...