Web annotation
Encyclopedia
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. In such cases, the web annotation tool is a type of social software
tool. For Web-based text annotation systems, see Text annotation
.
Web annotation can be used for the following purposes:
The earliest web annotation system was probably CritLink, developed in 1997-98 by Ka-Ping Yee of the University of California. CritLink worked as an HTML "mediator", hence not requiring additional software or browser extensions but having limited support for modern JavaScript
-driven websites.
Annotation
An annotation is a note that is made while reading any form of text. This may be as simple as underlining or highlighting passages.Annotated bibliographies give descriptions about how each source is useful to an author in constructing a paper or argument...
associated with a web resource, typically a web page
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
. 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. In such cases, the web annotation tool is a type of social software
Social software
Social software applications include communication tools and interactive tools. Communication tools typically handle the capturing, storing and presentation of communication, usually written but increasingly including audio and video as well. Interactive tools handle mediated interactions between a...
tool. For Web-based text annotation systems, see Text annotation
Text annotation
Text annotation is the practice and the result of adding a note to a text. Historically, text annotations have been produced as Marginalia. This article covers hand-written and information technology-based, including Web-based text annotation...
.
Web annotation can be used for the following purposes:
- 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 wikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
. - as a collaborativeCollaborative softwareCollaborative software is computer software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals...
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.
The earliest web annotation system was probably CritLink, developed in 1997-98 by Ka-Ping Yee of the University of California. CritLink worked as an HTML "mediator", hence not requiring additional software or browser extensions but having limited support for modern JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
-driven websites.
Comparison of web annotation systems
Many of these systems require software to be installed to enable some or all of the features below. This fact is only noted in footnotes if the software that is required is additional software provided by a third party.Features
| Annotation system | Private notes | Private group notes | Public notes | Notification | Highlighting | Formatted text | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefox (built-in) | "Description" and "tags" fields of bookmarks provide this | ||||||
| A.nnotate A.nnotate A.nnotate is a web service for storing and annotating documents. Documents are either uploaded by the user or fetched from a web address supplied by the user. Uploads are accepted as PDF, Microsoft Word, office formats supported by OpenOffice and common image formats. When a URL of a web page is... |
Can annotate PDF, ODF, .doc, .docx, images, as well as web pages (but only a limited number in the free version) | ||||||
| Crocodoc Crocodoc Crocodoc is a website that allows users to collaboratively review, mark up and comment on documents. Document types that are supported include PDF, Word and Powerpoint documents, PNG and JPEG images, and web pages... |
Requires Adobe Flash Adobe Flash Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast... , so doesn't work on iPads and iPhones. Can annotate PDF, .doc, images, as well as web pages. Unusually, Crocodoc offers PDF annotation free of charge. |
||||||
| Delicious | 1000 character limit per page per user | ||||||
| Diigo Diigo Diigo is a social bookmarking website which allows signed-up users to bookmark and tag web-pages. Additionally, it allows users to highlight any part of a webpage and attach sticky notes to specific highlights or to a whole page. These annotations can be kept private, shared with a group within... |
Public annotations are only allowed for established users. Group tag dictionary feature to encourage tagging consistently within a group. | ||||||
| Layerpad | Uses a floating layer instead of a margin. Not compatible with all websites (due to its proxy technology); no installation required. | ||||||
| Org-mode Org-mode Org-mode is an editing mode in the text editor Emacs which supports the editing of plain text hierarchical documents. It has specific support for a number of different use cases, such as writing to-do lists, project planning, and writing web pages... (with extensions) |
Emacs-based; requires technical knowledge to set up; not as user-friendly as some other solutions; non-Latin characters allowed in notes but not in tags | ||||||
| Reddit Reddit reddit is a social news website where the registered users submit content, in the form of either a link or a text "self" post. Other users then vote the submission "up" or "down," which is used to rank the post and determine its position on the site's pages and front page.Reddit was originally... |
Not primarily a web annotation site - public reddits (sections of the site) are mainly intended for new and/or interesting links, but private reddits can be used for anything. Voting up and down for links; links ranked by #votes and age; thumbnails for images and videos in list of links | ||||||
| Reframe It Reframe It Reframe It is a free social networking and website annotation/commenting tool thatrequires the download of a free browser extension or the addition of a bookmarklet . This recommended Mozilla add-on is a virtual margin at the right of any internet page that users can open or close to make comments... |
Compatible with Firefox, IE, Safari & Chrome. Websites can integrate a version of the tool directly into their sites. Allows replies for threaded discussions. Social network integration for sharing & signing in. | ||||||
| SharedCopy SharedCopy SharedCopy is an AJAX based web annotation tool that allows users to mark-up, highlight, draw, annotate, cache, sticky-note and finally share any website.Founded in March 2007, SharedCopy was featured on Techcrunch, Lifehacker, Killer Startups,... |
Development has stopped. | ||||||
| ShiftSpace Shiftspace ShiftSpace is an open-source metaweb or web annotation application and framework that allows altering web pages with different tools. The tagline of the application is "an open source layer above any web page"... |
Based on, and requires, Greasemonkey Greasemonkey Greasemonkey is a Mozilla Firefox extension that allows users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to HTML web page content on the DOMContentLoaded event, which happens immediately after it is loaded in the browser .As Greasemonkey scripts are persistent, the changes made to the web... |
||||||
| Google Sidewiki Google Sidewiki Google Sidewiki is a web annotation tool from Google, launched in September 2009. Sidewiki is a browser extension that allows anyone logged into a Google account to make and view comments about a given website in a sidebar... |
Sometimes | Provided as part of Google Toolbar Google Toolbar Google Toolbar is an Internet browser toolbar only available for Internet Explorer and Firefox .-Google Toolbar 1.0 December 11, 2000:New features:*Direct access to the Google search functionality from any web page*Web Site search... . Some blog posts are auto-added. Site owners can put an annotation at the top. |
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| Stickis Stickis Stickis is a web service developed and offered by Activeweave, Inc., and one of the pioneers in the social annotation, attention management and ambient social networking spaces.-Technology:... |
Blogs subscribed via Stickis will appear as annotations when they link to the current page. Any web content, including Youtube videos, can be inserted into a note. | ||||||
| WebNotes WebNotes WebNotes, Inc is a web based application in the field of Web Annotation. Their hosted solution allows users to highlight text and add sticky notes to web pages... |
Can also annotate PDF documents (but not in the free version). Highlighted PDFs and web pages can be shared with others, who do not need to install anything to view them. |
Technical details
| Annotation system | Cloud-based | Technology | Open source | Bulk export |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefox (built-in) | Bookmarks | |||
| A.nnotate A.nnotate A.nnotate is a web service for storing and annotating documents. Documents are either uploaded by the user or fetched from a web address supplied by the user. Uploads are accepted as PDF, Microsoft Word, office formats supported by OpenOffice and common image formats. When a URL of a web page is... |
Snapshots | |||
| Crocodoc Crocodoc Crocodoc is a website that allows users to collaboratively review, mark up and comment on documents. Document types that are supported include PDF, Word and Powerpoint documents, PNG and JPEG images, and web pages... |
Snapshots | |||
| Delicious | Bookmarklet | |||
| Diigo Diigo Diigo is a social bookmarking website which allows signed-up users to bookmark and tag web-pages. Additionally, it allows users to highlight any part of a webpage and attach sticky notes to specific highlights or to a whole page. These annotations can be kept private, shared with a group within... |
Toolbar | |||
| Layerpad | Proxy | |||
| Org-mode Org-mode Org-mode is an editing mode in the text editor Emacs which supports the editing of plain text hierarchical documents. It has specific support for a number of different use cases, such as writing to-do lists, project planning, and writing web pages... (with extensions) |
Text editor | |||
| Reddit Reddit reddit is a social news website where the registered users submit content, in the form of either a link or a text "self" post. Other users then vote the submission "up" or "down," which is used to rank the post and determine its position on the site's pages and front page.Reddit was originally... |
Toolbar | |||
| Reframe It Reframe It Reframe It is a free social networking and website annotation/commenting tool thatrequires the download of a free browser extension or the addition of a bookmarklet . This recommended Mozilla add-on is a virtual margin at the right of any internet page that users can open or close to make comments... |
Toolbar, Bookmarklet, Website Integration | |||
| SharedCopy SharedCopy SharedCopy is an AJAX based web annotation tool that allows users to mark-up, highlight, draw, annotate, cache, sticky-note and finally share any website.Founded in March 2007, SharedCopy was featured on Techcrunch, Lifehacker, Killer Startups,... |
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| ShiftSpace Shiftspace ShiftSpace is an open-source metaweb or web annotation application and framework that allows altering web pages with different tools. The tagline of the application is "an open source layer above any web page"... |
Greasemonkey Greasemonkey Greasemonkey is a Mozilla Firefox extension that allows users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to HTML web page content on the DOMContentLoaded event, which happens immediately after it is loaded in the browser .As Greasemonkey scripts are persistent, the changes made to the web... |
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| Google Sidewiki Google Sidewiki Google Sidewiki is a web annotation tool from Google, launched in September 2009. Sidewiki is a browser extension that allows anyone logged into a Google account to make and view comments about a given website in a sidebar... |
Toolbar | |||
| Stickis Stickis Stickis is a web service developed and offered by Activeweave, Inc., and one of the pioneers in the social annotation, attention management and ambient social networking spaces.-Technology:... |
Toolbar | |||
| WebNotes WebNotes WebNotes, Inc is a web based application in the field of Web Annotation. Their hosted solution allows users to highlight text and add sticky notes to web pages... |
Snapshots |
Former web annotation systems
- AnnoteaAnnoteaIn metadata, Annotea is an RDF standard sponsored by the W3C to enhance document-based collaboration via shared document metadata based on tags, bookmarks, and other annotations.In this case document metadata includes:* Keywords* Comments* Notes...
- a W3C project that tried to establish a standard for web annotation. - ThirdVoice - a system launched in 1999 that shut down due to lack of success in April 2001.
- Fleck* - launched in 2005 with much publicity as a stick-it notes application for the web. Patent, funding and great marketing didn't stop it from failing. Discontinued in 2010.
See also
- Comparison of notetaking softwareComparison of notetaking software-General features:-Formatted text features, others:-See also:* Comparison of web annotation systems...
- Social bookmarkingSocial bookmarkingSocial bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them....
- Some reference management softwareReference management softwareReference management software, citation management software or personal bibliographic management software is software for scholars and authors to use for recording and utilising bibliographic citations . Once a citation has been recorded, it can be used time and again in generating bibliographies,...
packages also support web annotations - Backlinks
- Online deliberationOnline deliberationOnline deliberation is a term associated with an emerging body of practice, research, and software dedicated to fostering serious, purposive discussion over the Internet...
- FolksonomyFolksonomyA folksonomy is a system of classification derived from the practice and method of collaboratively creating and managing tags to annotate and categorize content; this practice is also known as collaborative tagging, social classification, social indexing, and social tagging...
- MetadataMetadataThe term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
- Threaded discussion
- Virtual graffitiVirtual GraffitiVirtual Graffiti consists of virtual objects and/or digital messages, images, multimedia or other annotations or graphics applied to public locations, landmarks or surfaces such as walls, train stations, bridges, etc. Virtual Graffiti applications utilize Virtual Reality and Ubiquitous Computing...
Further reading
- Signer, Beat: "An Architecture for Open Cross-Media Annotation Services", Proceedings of WISE 2009, 10th International Conference on Web Information Systems Engineering, Poznan, Poland, October 2009
- On Web Annotations: Promises and Pitfalls of Current Web Infrastructure. Venu Vasudevan and Mark Palmer, Proceedings of the 32nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 1999
- A Survey of Web Annotation Systems. Rachel M. Heck, Sarah M. Luebke, Chad H. Obermark. 1999.
- New ways of using Web annotations. Laurent Denoue, Laurence Vignollet.
External links
- Wiki:WebAnnotation
- "Five Ways to Mark Up the Web", Techcrunch April 10, 2007
- "Top Web Annotation Tools: Annotate+Bookmark+Collaborate", MakeUseOf May 13, 2007
- "Protonotes: Annotating Website Prototypes", GigaOM June 2, 2008