Well Known Peeps

A friend and colleague of mine, Thomas Vander Wal, made the New York Times today in an article titled, “’Folksonomy’ Carries Classifieds Beyond SWF and ‘For Sale’,” which is quite an interesting read. Thomas was my boss when I worked at FHWA in 2003 and 2004. He has since moved on (October 6th, 2005) from INDUS and FHWA to start his own consultancy, InfoCloud Solutions, which, from my understanding, is still in the process of final business paperwork.

Thomas focuses on all things information based and how users relate to their digital life around them in the form of their “Personal InfoCloud.” More on this subject can be read about on Thomas’s “Personal InfoCloud” site, and on his personal/professional site under “Off the Top” which is a place of frequent thoughts, ideas and musings.

Thomas coined the term “Folksonomy” in late 2003 when it first appeared in del.icio.us, a social bookmarks manager. His work has raised eyebrows in the technology community and has put people, mainly developers in the beginning, on a new path of thinking and how individuals truly use, not just web, but the information that surrounds their lives. Thomas has spoken at several conferences on this subject including Webvisions 2005, BayCHI and MIT, just to name a few.