--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I think is coming instead are much…" description: "\"What I think is coming instead are much more organic ways of organizing information than our current categorization schemes allow, based on two units -..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/clay-shirky-3364_amount_what-i-think-is-coming-instead-are-much_2709941.jpg" --- # What I think is coming instead are much more organic ways… ![“What I think is coming instead are much more organic ways of organizing information than our current categorization schemes allow, based on two units - the link, which can point to anything, and the tag, which is a way of attaching labels to links. The strategy of tagging - free-form labeling…” quote by Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/clay-shirky-3364_amount_what-i-think-is-coming-instead-are-much_2709941.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/clay-shirky-3364_amount_what-i-think-is-coming-instead-are-much_2709941.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/clay-shirky-3364_amount_what-i-think-is-coming-instead-are-much_2709941.jpg) > “What I think is coming instead are much more organic ways of organizing information than our current categorization schemes allow, based on two units - the link, which can point to anything, and the tag, which is a way of attaching labels to links. The strategy of tagging - free-form labeling, without regard to categorical constraints - seems like a recipe for disaster, but as the Web has shown us, you can extract a surprising amount of value from big messy data sets.” [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Proposes linking and tagging as flexible, organic methods to structure data beyond rigid categories. **In simple terms:** Use links and tags to organize info organically. Key Takeaway Adopt flexible data structures. Themes information organization technology Mood analytical forward‑thinking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - software development - digital archiving - knowledge management Key Concepts network theory metadata semantic web Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance freedom and order in data? - What tools help maintain useful tags? A Different Perspective Tagging without standards can create chaos. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Categorization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/categorization/) [Categorization Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/categorization-schemes-2800771/) [Constraints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constraints/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Currents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currents/) [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Labeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labeling/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Links](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/links/) [Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketing/) [Messy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messy/) [Recipes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recipes/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Strategy Tagging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy-tagging-2800772/) [Surprising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprising/) [Tag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tag/) [Tagging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tagging-1307450/) [Tagging Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tagging-free-2800770/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Units](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/units/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“People love walking around with labels attached to them by others or labels they give themselves. They are prisoners of roles they did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sov8840/people-love-walking-around-with-labels-attached-to-them-by-others-or/) [Sov8840](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sov8840/) > [“Where will this all end up? Will we completely lose our ability to be private, respectful, subtle? Will romance die? Often I long for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/where-will-this-all-end-up-will-we-completely-lose-our-ability-to-be/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [My breasts have a career. I'm just tagging along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/my-breasts-have-a-career-i-m-just-tagging-along/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [Don't be posting nothing up on my wall, stay off my Facebook. And don't be tagging me in nothin' at all, stay off my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wax/don-t-be-posting-nothing-up-on-my-wall-stay-off-my-facebook-and-don-t/) [Wax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wax/) > [“Stop tagging everyone into your life's profile. For all you don't know, some will neither comment nor commend you; some may not like or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/stop-tagging-everyone-into-your-life-s-profile-for-all-you-don-t-know/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I started off tagging stuff - I'm not meant to be having tea and biscuits with the prime minister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-started-off-tagging-stuff-i-m-not-meant-to-be-having-tea-and/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [“You can't tag,remember? Which makes me the other half of our fabulous bagging-and-tagging duo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/you-can-t-tag-remember-which-makes-me-the-other-half-of-our-fabulous/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Dear friend, Please stop tagging me in the pictures where I look like I'm on DRUGS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-friend-please-stop-tagging-me-in-the-pictures-where-i-look-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Humans like nothing more than to pigeonhole the events & phenomena that punctuate their lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/humans-like-nothing-more-than-to-pigeonhole-the-events-phenomena-that/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“There are underwater cables that seem to emerge and interweave the various objects drifting and rotating in space. I can imagine their intersections and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/there-are-underwater-cables-that-seem-to-emerge-and-interweave-the/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“The human compulsion to group people and objects together was ingrained in our being since we evolved. We need to group things, group the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-caruso/the-human-compulsion-to-group-people-and-objects-together-was/) [Charlie Caruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-caruso/) > [A categorization implies a hierarchical way of seeing things. Life is really relational, not hierarchical. Hierarchical is a human way of looking at things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-categorization-implies-a-hierarchical-way-of-seeing-things-life-is/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I have worked really hard to defy categorization, to break down a taxonomy whenever it comes my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-have-worked-really-hard-to-defy-categorization-to-break-down-a/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Maturity is having the ability to escape categorization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/maturity-is-having-the-ability-to-escape-categorization/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [“I don't categorize things merely to simplify my understanding. I'd rather delve into the process of unlearning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-sharda/i-don-t-categorize-things-merely-to-simplify-my-understanding-i-d/) [Nikhil Sharda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-sharda/) ## More by Clay Shirky > [ “\[N\]ew technology enables new kinds of group-forming.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/n-ew-technology-enables-new-kinds-of-group-forming/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [To have a discussion about the plusses and minuses of various forms of group action, though, is going to require discussing the current tools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/to-have-a-discussion-about-the-plusses-and-minuses-of-various-forms/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Mass amateurization of publishing makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/mass-amateurization-of-publishing-makes-mass-amateurization-of/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Information sharing produces shared awareness among the participants, and collaborative production relies on shared creation, but collective action creates shared responsibility, by tying the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/information-sharing-produces-shared-awareness-among-the-participants/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [More interesting than thinking about what's possible in 10 years is thinking what's possible now but that no one has built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/more-interesting-than-thinking-about-what-s-possible-in-10-years-is/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Digital networks are increasing the fluidity of all media. The old choice between one-way public media (like books and movies) and two-way private media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/digital-networks-are-increasing-the-fluidity-of-all-media-the-old/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Even with the sacred printing press, we got erotic novels 150 years before we got scientific journals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/even-with-the-sacred-printing-press-we-got-erotic-novels-150-years/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Tools get socially interesting after they're no longer technologically interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/tools-get-socially-interesting-after-they-re-no-longer/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Carpooling is important for urban density, air pollution and other reasons, but carpooling is not the kind of thing that actually changes the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/carpooling-is-important-for-urban-density-air-pollution-and-other/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [If what you're doing is valuable for people, they will find a way to pay you to keep doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/if-what-you-re-doing-is-valuable-for-people-they-will-find-a-way-to/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Multi-taskers often think they are like gym rats, bulking up their ability to juggle tasks, when in fact they are like alcoholics, degrading their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/multi-taskers-often-think-they-are-like-gym-rats-bulking-up-their/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Civic participants don't aim to make life better merely for members of the group. They want to improve even the lives of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/civic-participants-don-t-aim-to-make-life-better-merely-for-members/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [I would not hesitate to say I was addicted to the Internet in the first two years. It can be addictive, and things not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/i-would-not-hesitate-to-say-i-was-addicted-to-the-internet-in-the/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Bureaucracies temporarily suspend the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In a bureaucracy, it's easier to make a process more complex than to make it simpler,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/bureaucracies-temporarily-suspend-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics-in/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [The more ideas there are in circulation, the more ideas there are for any individual to disagree with. More media always means more arguing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/the-more-ideas-there-are-in-circulation-the-more-ideas-there-are-for/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) [Explore all 132 Clay Shirky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) ## More Amount quotes > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [The amount you give isn't important. What matters is what that amount represents in terms of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-amount-you-give-isn-t-important-what-matters-is-what-that-amount/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [How could you justify giving Holland twice the amount of money that you gave Belgium? Well, finally, I put it up to them. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-averell-harriman/how-could-you-justify-giving-holland-twice-the-amount-of-money-that/) [W. Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) [F. A. Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-a-harper/) > [You have a little bit of talent, a certain amount of good fortune and a lot of hard work in pursuit of whatever truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/you-have-a-little-bit-of-talent-a-certain-amount-of-good-fortune-and/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I have a tremendous amount of respect for military families. To have to worry about your loved ones and still try and live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashanti/i-have-a-tremendous-amount-of-respect-for-military-families-to-have/) [Ashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashanti/) > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) [Browse all 4,202 Amount quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I think is coming instead are much more organic ways of organizing information than our current categorization schemes allow, based on two units - the link, which can point to anything, and the tag, which is a way of attaching labels to links. 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