Categories - Intertwingled: Information Changes Everything - page 40

Figure 2-17. Facets offer users a map of search results.
Faceted navigation serves up a custom map to search results that helps people understand what
they've found. Users can then select filters to clarify and refine their query. Is this for a man or
woman? Do you prefer black or unorthodox orange? A vegan wallet for $50? Yes, we have a few
of those. Search is transformed into an iterative, interactive conversation in which users build
complex queries, one simple step at a time.
And, in social, categorization is as easy as a #hashtag. Free tagging is descriptive classification
without authority control. There is no hierarchy. Each tag is a category. Each object may have
many tags, and vice versa. It's messy but it works. Heck, #occupywallstreet launched a move-
ment. And event tags like #barcamp are the timely ties that bind us together.