Investigating how individuals conceptually and physically structure file folders for electronic bookmarks: The example of the financial services industry

Personal preferences in the development of categorical folders for bookmarks are examined in terms of both the choice and definition of folder domain and the overall structure of the folder system. Study participants from the financial industry were asked to organize the same set of finance‐related bookmarks from a given list, as opposed to describing their organizational approaches using their own personal bookmarks, so that the organizational systems could be compared across the sample. The selection of folder domain is influenced by contextual factors such as intended use and relevancy to current projects. Similarly, the structure of the overall folder system was determined in part by participants' navigational preferences. While the majority of participants created folders that cover the topics of finance, government, accounting, news, law, and tax, the actual definition of these folders and the criteria for inclusion vary across the sample. Furthermore, these criteria cannot be readily discerned from the folder system itself. Variation in folder domain and definition could adversely affect the utility of bookmark management systems for multiple users that involve some degree of standardization. The same variation in interpretation of seemingly identical folders suggests that systems with automatic categorization would not provide users with enough flexibility in how they could organize and access their bookmarks.