Web annotation

A Web annotation is an online annotation associated with a web resource, typically a web page. With a Web annotation system, a user can add, modify or remove information from a Web resource without modifying the resource itself. The annotations can be thought of as a layer on top of the existing resource, and this annotation layer is usually visible to other users who share the same annotation system, making it a type of social software tool.

Web annotation can be used:

* to rate a Web resource, such as by its usefulness, user-friendliness, suitability for viewing by minors.
* to improve or adapt its contents by adding/removing material, something like a wiki.
* as a collaborative tool, e.g. to discuss the contents of a certain resource.
* as a medium of artistic or social criticism, by allowing Web users to reinterpret, enrich or protest against institution or ideas that appear on the Web.
* to quantify transient relationships between information fragments.

Web annotation systems

Web annotation systems are typically implemented as part of standard web browsers. Those currently in release and under development include:

*A.nnotate [ [http://a.nnotate.com/ A.nnotate] ] - notes on web pages and uploaded PDF/Word documents attached to highlighted text
*co-ment [ [http://www.co-ment.net co-ment] ] - a free software Web service for uploading or creating on-line texts, submitting them to comments from designated users or the general public, and processing the comments.
*Cozimo [ [http://www.cozimo.com/ cozimo] ] - In-browser application sharing for annotating videos and images (free API).
*Diigo - for highlighting text and posting sticky notes on webpages.
*Fleck [ [http://fleck.com/ Fleck] ] - add stick-it notes to webpages and share these with other people.
*JumpKnowledge [ [http://info.jkn.com/ JumpKnowledge] ] - a free, web-based, cross-browser, registration-optional web page annotation tool.
*Marginalia - open-source, Javascript-based, adds text highlighting and margin note capabilities to web applications.
*PMOG - The Passively Multiplayer Online Game, uses a form of web annotation to link together websites and players in a web metagame.
*Protonotes [ [http://www.protonotes.com/ Protonotes] ] - a piece of JavaScript for websites that allows visitors to add sticky notes.
*SharedCopy - AJAX-based web annotation with cache and shorten url with easy sharing functions.
*Shiftspace - has the tag line "an open source layer above any webpage" and is based on the Greasemonkey platform for Firefox.
*Stickis - Firefox and IE toolbars that allow rich media notes to be attached to any web page. See only those from your friends anywhere you browse.
*Wikalong - for Firefox.

Former systems:
*Annotea - a W3C project that tried to establish a standard for web annotation.
*ThirdVoice - a notable system launched in 1999 that shut down due to lack of success in April 2001. [ [http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2001/04/42803 Third Voice Trails Off ] ]

See also

* Folksonomy
* Metadata
* Threaded discussion

References

*