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Playing Favorites:
The Art of Bookmarking
By Cory Kleinschmidt, Traffick
Publisher
Bookmarks are the foundation of Web surfing. No one wants to type in URLs, especially
long, unmemorable ones, when going to frequently visited sites. It might not be
a stretch to say that the Web wouldn't be where it is today without the ability
to store links for faster access.
Given that bookmarking is so important to effective Web browsing, research and
productivity, it's surprising that there isn't more ink spilled about how to be
a better bookmarker. Even people who know how to bookmark don't necessarily know
how to manage their links. I've seen many people with hundreds of bookmarks and
nary a folder to organize them in. Thus, we at Traffick have put together 10 useful
tips to help you become a better bookmarker.
(Note: Although, Internet Explorer officially calls them Favorites, we will use
the term bookmarks because it sounds cooler!)
1. Use bookmarks for research.
When doing research, create special folders to hold your links. When your project
is done, you can simply delete them.
2. Keep folders, lots of them.
It defeats the purpose of bookmarking if you don't organize your sites. For faster
access, store your bookmarks in highly specific categories, such as Local News,
Weather Sites, MP3 Sites and Hobbies. After you create these categories, maybe
you can drill down even further by subdividing those folders into more specific
topics.
Also, you may want to create an Articles folder so you can bookmark a main site,
say CNET for example, and keep
a subfolder for all the CNET articles you want to reference later. This is better
than just bookmarking the main site because that site may move the article to
a different section. If you bookmark it, though, you'll still have it close at
hand.
3. Take time to make up your mind.
In order to keep your initial drop down too crowded while you decide where to
file a bookmark, create an Unfiled or Recent Sites folder to keep all the bookmarks
that you're unsure where to store. Periodically go through it and file them away
once you've decided where the bookmark should go.
4. Frequent your local bar.
The links toolbar offered by Internet Explorer and Netscape are ideal for your
most frequently visited sites. The fastest way to add toolbar bookmarks is to
simply drag the icon next to the address line onto the bar and drop it in. You
can also prioritize the order of the links bar by dragging them in Internet Explorer.
5. Try online bookmarking sites.
Use online bookmarks for access to your sites from any computer. Most allow you
to export your local bookmarks to the server. Our favorite Yahoo Bookmarks, since
they so neatly integrate into the Yahoo
Companion toolbar. There are plenty of advanced features that make managing
bookmarks a breeze, and stay tuned for a neat little helper program from Traffick
that makes it even easier to synchronize your offline and online bookmarks.
6. Be an importer/exporter.
If you switch browsers, be sure to import your bookmarks from the other browser.
You can then manipulate them as you please and integrate them into your new bookmarks.
7. Keep your finger on the button.
Don't be shy about deleting the bookmarks placed by default when you get a new
browser or buy a new computer. Also, many applications that you install will automatically
insert a bookmark to their site, whether you want it or not. Delete it if it doesn't
serve your purposes.
8. Create a Reference folder.
If you're like most people, you're constantly referring to books like a dictionary,
thesauraus, map, yellow pages, etc. I make it a habit never to touch a book if
I know where to find the information online. To that end, I have created a folder
that contains links to all my favorite online reference sites, such as Dictionary.com,
Thesaurus.com, and Yahoo Yellow Pages.
9. Be a name caller.
You don't have to accept the default title of the bookmarked site. In fact, you
can call it anything you want. Many sites practice the bad habit of naming their
home page 'Welcome,' or 'Home page.' Even worse, some sites name their title the
same as their meta tag keywords, which allow search engines to find their site.
It's wise to rename the bookmark because you can be more descriptive and label
it in a way that means something to you; for instance, if you want to remind yourself
to send an e-greeting to a loved one, label it 'Send e-card to Mom.'
10. Start up with your bookmaks.
You can even set your browser's bookmarks file as your homepage for a fast-loading
shortcut to your favorite sites. To do this, go into the Options/Preferences panel
of your browser and find the option to set your home page. Then, browse your local
computer and locate the browser folder. Inside should be a file called bookmarks.htm
or something similar. Select this as your home page, and next time you start browsing,
you'll see a plain white page with nothing but links to your favorite places on
the Web.
Just as it is with everyday life, with a little organization and effort, you
can make it easier to find important sites that you don't want to forget and to
get to your favorite sites a whole lot faster.
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