There’s a really interesting post on the LibraryThing blog about tags and Amazon. (Actually the post is about why there are so many more tags on LibraryThing than Amazon.) I really think it boils down to the reason that resonated with me: you spend the time tagging things you own. Amazon won’t let me see my library (even though they want to know which books I own), much less sort my library or my tags or even my favorites, so why spend time tagging an entire building of books if my tagged books just get mixed in with everyone else’s? On the other hand, LibraryThing, and del.icio.us for that matter, let me tag my books or my web pages. I can then go back and search through my library or bookmarks by my tags. I have no problem sharing my tags with the world if they are helpful but I tagged them for me. So I win because I get sorted, searchable books and LibraryThing wins because they get a searchable library for everyone. (This is different than reviews. Amazon’s reviews have been successful because people like to share their opinions, get credit for them and have their reviews read by others.)
Things I tag: my books (in LibraryThing), my web pages (in del.icio.us), my posts (in Technorati.)
I’m a huge fan of librarything.com.