Diigo.com As writers, we all have our go-to tools and resources that help us stay organized and sane when we are in information overload. A long-time tool that is essential for me is Diigo (pronounced DEE-GO). I began using Diigo when I realized I needed a cloud-based system for storing bookmarks, but it has developed into much more. Diigo lets you annotate, archive, and organize all of your information, whether it be research for your novel or recipes for family dinner.
In the "old" days, I would bookmark web sites in a browser and if I wanted to access those sites again, not only would I have to be on the same computer, but I would have to sift through a long list to find the site I wanted (maybe I had organized the bookmarks in folders, maybe not). If your computer crashed, your bookmarks were gone. Been there, done that.
In the "old" days, I would bookmark web sites in a browser and if I wanted to access those sites again, not only would I have to be on the same computer, but I would have to sift through a long list to find the site I wanted (maybe I had organized the bookmarks in folders, maybe not). If your computer crashed, your bookmarks were gone. Been there, done that.
Annotate, Archive, Organize
I shifted to Diigo because I could now import all of those bookmarks from my old browsers to one central location AND have access on any computer or mobile device. Diigo works as a browser extension. An extension is a piece of software you install in your browser that adds new functionality. You can install the extension in multiple browsers (say you use Chrome at home, but Safari at work or on your iPad) and the bookmarks and other information all save to the library connected to your Diigo account.
Searching your bookmarks
Once you create an account and install the extension or bookmarklet in your browser, you are ready to start adding new bookmarks. All bookmarks are stored in the "My Library" area of your account. When you visit this area, you will see a search bar and a listing of how many items you have saved. To the left is a column listing the "tags" you have attached to various items.
Tags are a powerful feature of Diigo for searching through your saved content. Think of tags like the keywords you would use in a Google search or how you would categorize the information. For example, if I had saved a web page on "voice" in writing and now needed to see what other resources I had also tagged the same way, typing that tag in the search would return a complete list. The more specific and numerous the tags, the happier you will be when you need to find the information again.
Tags are a powerful feature of Diigo for searching through your saved content. Think of tags like the keywords you would use in a Google search or how you would categorize the information. For example, if I had saved a web page on "voice" in writing and now needed to see what other resources I had also tagged the same way, typing that tag in the search would return a complete list. The more specific and numerous the tags, the happier you will be when you need to find the information again.
Outliners
Another feature that makes Diigo a great organizer is the ability to add bookmarks to lists, called Outliners. If you are researching for a writing project, you can create an Outliner first. When you bookmark a site, click "Add to an Outliner" and select the list you want (you may need to select "Refresh" if you don't see it at first).
After you add it to the Outliner, when you return to your Diigo account, you can click My Outliners to see all lists. Clicking on a list will display all bookmarks added to it.
Go mobile
Diigo has mobile apps, but they don't work exactly the same as the browser extensions. Instead, I prefer to install a bookmarklet in my mobile browser. It is a bookmark that contains a script that pulls up a Diigo interface much like what you see in desktop browsers.
To create a Diigo bookmarklet (iOS):
- Click HERE to view and copy the bookmarklet code (you will paste it later).
- Bookmark any site (you will change the bookmark in a moment)
- Go to your list of bookmarks and tap "Edit". Change the name of the bookmark to "Save to Diigo". Tap "Save".
- Go back to your bookmark list and tap "Edit" again, then tap the Diigo bookmark. Delete the URL and paste in the code from above. (Note: You can't do this in Step 3. You must save before your device will allow you to change the URL).
- Save the bookmarklet and test it out. When you tap it from any web page, the Diigo toolbar should appear at the top, as in the screenshots above.
Be social...or not
Diigo is often advertised as a social bookmarking tool because it has some great sharing features, but don't let that scare you. Yes, you can make your bookmarks public and visible to other Diigo users or the web, but you DON'T have to. It is very easy to default all your bookmarks to private (most of my bookmarks are private --those that are public are mostly edtech and writing resources). Changing that setting is available under "Options." Usually right-clicking the Diigo icon on the browser bar will pull it up.
For those who have a strong web presence and want to share resources with others, it's a great way to curate sites on a topic (say query letters) and share them from your website or blog.
For those who have a strong web presence and want to share resources with others, it's a great way to curate sites on a topic (say query letters) and share them from your website or blog.
For more information...
I didn't cover Diigo's annotation features, but if actively reading and marking up text helps your research process, Diigo lets you do that. You can add sticky notes and highlights in text and they show up in My Library as annotations to your bookmarks. Check out the video below or the Diigo website for more information.
Diigo follows a "freemium" model, so you can get most features with your free account, but some advanced features (unlimited annotations, cached web pages, etc.) come with a slight cost. If you are a teacher, check out the Educator accounts which give you free premium features and also a classroom dashboard for monitoring and sharing bookmarks with students (great for school research projects).
If you would like more in-depth help with getting started with Diigo, also check out Jennifer Gonzales's 3-part tutorial on Cult of Pedagogy.
Diigo follows a "freemium" model, so you can get most features with your free account, but some advanced features (unlimited annotations, cached web pages, etc.) come with a slight cost. If you are a teacher, check out the Educator accounts which give you free premium features and also a classroom dashboard for monitoring and sharing bookmarks with students (great for school research projects).
If you would like more in-depth help with getting started with Diigo, also check out Jennifer Gonzales's 3-part tutorial on Cult of Pedagogy.
How do you organize your research? I'd love to hear other ideas in the comments.
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