Method and apparatus for tagging data

Abstract

A system is provided that permits the use of classification information that can be interpreted by a computer system. To this end, a system and method may be provided for creating classification information that may be interpreted by a computer system. Such classification information may be associated with content, and permit a computer system to process the content based on the classification information. In one example, classification information may be associated by a user, system, or process with a portion of content, and a computer system processes the content based on the classification information. For instance, the classification information may cause content to be processed in a particular way, presented to a user by a particular application program, cause the content to be forwarded to a particular user, or otherwise influence how the content is handled.

1 . A method for processing content in a distributed computer system, the method comprising acts of: 
 collecting classification data in the distributed computer system, wherein at least one portion of the classification data includes a classification of content; and    processing the content based on the classification of content.    
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising an act of generating, by a computer system, the classification of content.  
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising an act of generating, by a user, the classification of content.  
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the act of processing further comprises an act of processing, by a computer system, the content based on the classification of content.  
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , further comprising an act of inspecting the classification of content and performing an action based on the classification.  
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the action is performed responsive to a user entering the classification data into a social bookmarking system.  
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the act of collecting classification data further comprises an act of collecting one or more tags.  
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the act of collecting the classification data further comprising an act of determining a classification performed through a user action.  
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the act of determining includes determining whether the user associated the content with a particular classification.  
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein one or more tags include one or more keywords that describe the content.  
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the act of collecting the one or more tags further comprises an act of collecting the one or more tags by a collaborative computer system operated by the plurality of users.  
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the act of collecting classification data is performed by a plurality of computer systems.  
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the classification data is shared among a plurality of computer systems.  
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the content is referenced by reference data, and wherein the act of collecting includes an act of associating the classification data with the reference data.  
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the reference data includes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).  
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the classification data is shared among a plurality of application programs.  
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the classification data is shared among a plurality of users.  
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the classification data is shared among a plurality of computer systems.  
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising an act of storing the classification data in the distributed computer system.  
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein the classification data is shared among at least one of a plurality of computer systems, a plurality of users, and a plurality of programs.  
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein at least one of the one or more tags comprises a plurality of parameters.  
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 21 , wherein at least one parameter of the at least one tag indicates a tag type.  
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 22 , wherein at least one other parameter of the at least one tag indicates a tag subtype associated with the tag type.  
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 22 , wherein at least one other parameter of the at least one tag indicates a value associated with the tag type.  
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 24 , further comprising an act of performing an action associated with the content based on the tag type.  
     
     
         26 . The method according to  claim 25 , further comprising an act of performing an action associated with the content based on the tag value.  
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 25 , wherein the act of performing an action is performed by a computer system.  
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 27 , wherein the act of performing an action is performed by a computer system associated with a social bookmarking system.  
     
     
         29 . The method according to  claim 27 , wherein the act of performing an action is performed by a software program adapted to process tag information.