There’s an interesting discussion on this blog and Slashdot over Google’s inconsistent use of the terms “tag” and “label” across its various products when allowing users to add descriptive keywords to pieces of content. Google uses the term “label” for Gmail, Blogger, Bookmarks, and uses the term “tag” for Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Google Video and Picasa.
The term itself doesn’t matter much, although the rest of the web has pretty much settled on the use of “tag” as the way to describe descriptive keywords on content. Google’s inconsistency in tag v. label is probably a sign of product group autonomy and a big “who cares” at the senior level. They can call it “frogs” for all I care, as long as they keep the feature at Gmail.
Does anyone else use the term “label”?
In Israel, almost everyone uses the Hebrew translation for tags, which sounds very similar to the English term. Only once I ran into the Hebrew translation of “label” - it’s rare.
Although inconsistency is usually bad, in this case I think that the product group autonomy is a sign that Google is not “evil” yet…
I cam across a very interesting article about Tag Cloud 2.0 at http://twopointouch.com/2007/01/19/tag-cloud-20/
yeah, interesting observation, actually. A thought struck me while reading this, what if - google would allow you to tag (or label or frog, whatever) search results in the near future - that might just be something to look out for!
I saw a post on Slashdot regarding this article. The poster noted that a study was done on a certain college campus to determine if the general public knew the definition of a ‘tag’. The study’s outcome showed that tag was not common vernacular.
Perhaps this is a sort of Google usability experiment.
I think consistency is important. I do not see any reason for calling it labels, they should just switch to tags.
Alex
Standardization is good.
However, Google was built on thinking out of the box. They are trendsetters so maybe the world should listen
The trends have already been set and google has no monopoly on trend setting. I’m not saying they SHOULD use the term “tag”. but I disagree that if they do something all should just obey. Except for the search engine and a few other things, google is no trendsetter - they have either bought or replicated others innovations and trends.
heh, just today, they now have an exact copy of the yahoo’s also try feature - see: http://digg.com/tech_news/Goog....._searchers
“I’m gonna frog this email as ‘Business’”
wawipops
Google Reader is even worse… terms are confused within the application. In the reading interface they are displayed like “folders”. In Settings> Subscriptions, it has you add subscriptions to folders, “Change folders…”. However, then it has Settings> Tags, which lists those “folders”.
In Google Reader, folders are for feeds and tags are for individual posts.
It annoys me to a small degree. Consistency is a good thing. Although I do think the term “labels” is pretty crappy. People complain that un-savvy folks don’t “get” tags, well the term “labels” doesn’t make things any better.
not obvious or intuitive but there is consistency: tags are public, labels are private
In the newer Picasa versions what used to be labels are called albums.
its about product groups not communicating and a lack of overall site er um oversight. in addition to a lack of process around developing and launching products in a consistent manner. if there is a public/private differentiation here, its unnecessary and the intent isn’t clear…so what’s the point?
I prefer to call it tags. Anyway, it doesn’t matter whether it’s called otherwise.
Also in Google Reader, there is no way to combine two or more “tags” as one could in Del.icio.us. I personally don’t see much value in that.
I dunno, in gmail at least, label’s also act as folders, whereas tag’s are just that, I don’t really use them as folders.
Although you have captured my feelings towards this issue perfectly, who cares, and why does it really matter?
“Also in Google Reader, there is no way to combine two or more “tags” as one could in Del.icio.us. I personally don’t see much value in that.”
Yes there is, you just select the ones you want from the drop down. Although in Reader sometimes they’re tags and sometimes “folders”.
I actually said the same thing about it in my different blogs since last year and it is only getting worse every patch and product they introduce.
Google Reader for example. After patching the new GUI, all previous tags/labels were suddenly changed to “folders” and so I have to redo everything to keep things simpler and manageable.
The new Google Reader mixes “folders” and “tags” and lists both in the left-pane menu, which makes the menu useless because it becomes chaotic with the overcrowding of repetitive stuff. :/
I noticed this from the get-go. Google would rather connect with non techies and the word “label” is more understandable than a word like “tag.”
Tags and Labels are different. Think about a physical folder, would you tag it? No, you’d label it.
Google Video has switched from labels to tags, I think it´s a trend at Google.
whoever is leading the tagging thought efforts have done a woeful job in defining what, exactly, a tag is. nobody outside of the TC cool kids has any idea what a tag is. this is the root cause of continued confusion surrounding tagging.
in gmail - it’s important to choose the correct terminology because we need to know how to use gmail. the term ‘label’ does not make any sense. labeling something is not categorizing it - it’s identifying some product/idea/thing specifically - not in general terms. so, is a ‘label’ a ‘tag’, and vice-versa? no idea.
Agreed - Google Reader is superb, apart from the inconsistency and confusion with labels and tags. They do need some continuity with the other g apps.
I suggest that Google has made a conscious distinction between tags and labels. Where as labels are pre-established “categories” with persistent lifespan attached to your account, tags are ad-hoc “per item” keywords, with a more social connotation (used to allow OTHERS to find content).
Hopefully, no one ELSE is searching on my “LABELS” in Gmail to find things!
btw, Picasa uses the name “keywords”, not “labels” or “tags”. Just select a picture and press Ctrl-K.
I think it would be better to just call them “tags” everywhere.
Agreed. I wish, though, that Gmail would study some of the social bookmarking sites (del.icio.us, for instance) to see ways that they could better integrate “tagging” in to gmail.
1. Everybody uses tags
2. google uses labels
3. everybody else starts using labels.
4. Google claims to have invented it
5. ???????
6 PROFIT!!!
i already know that most really don´t care about nomenclature or proper web semantics.. the problem with the way google manages is not a problem in Gmail since the term Label is used correctly since it is about the search keyword and a filter id keyword for incoming e-mail.
The problem is how it is done ine Blogger, Blogger labels are suppsedly used as categories, and they do serve in the same way they work in gmail, however they have added something that also makes them tags with is atribute, so they get abused and overdone.. labels should not contain cross contextuality as a tag does.
So, the thing that this causes is that people goes overboard with the number of categories they place because they know that as they also work as tags, they treat them more as tags than as labels….
Google is actually disrupting the web semantics and causing a tag overkill..
as if they were not abused enough..
Blogger should have a separate Tag system… PERIOD
in the rest of cases, the other google labs apps, they are being used properly.. the only problem relies on Blogger..
I know no one will care but, i have a thing for those kind of niggles.
oh, and even if people think they are the very same thing, they are not, i will explain that very briefly and soundly:
1.-keyword = the search query done in a database that will bring you matched for it.
2..-Tag : and id atribute that is referenced in term of context and cross contextuality..
when you search in technorati, who uses the tags in their best base, they will search for the context of that search giving you results on WHO has tagged a text witch such a word, and the way thing get valued are on such contextuality and folksonomy that is the overall linking network of users that are using such identificated word..
3.-Label:
it works as a keyword, but the true reason is called a LABEL is because it serves as a post id, that is only reflected to what is in the database that is searched, there is no contextuality whatsoever..
YES they almost the same from first impression, but that ALMOST is what makes all the difference….
PHEW, that would be all…